Good morning. Good morning. Great
to see you all again. I thought we was just together.
You will begin turning to Genesis 16. We don't have a bulletin
this morning. We've ordered ink and it ought
to be here this evening. In this day and age, it's hard
for me to have news to tell somebody. I go to tell somebody something
and say, oh yeah, I already knew that. Everybody knows everything
before, half the time, before I know it. You may already know
this, but I'll tell you anyway. Brother Dee Parks, Moose and
Sandy's son, Dee, he's just a couple years older than I am. They live
there in College Grove. I'm just so used to when I say
where somebody's from, somebody tells me where they're from,
I say, oh, I sat under Chris. He sits under Chris. That's sir
from Tennessee. He's been, they thought it was
a lymphoma he had in his stomach, and they weren't sure, but they
did some more testing, and it's a certain type, a rare type of
small intestine cancer he has. And they said if he responds
very well to treatment, he may have two years left. If he doesn't
respond well, he may just have a couple months left. But if
very well, maybe a little more than two years. And so he's mid-40s. I've got two young children.
They've sat down and spoke with the children about these things.
So for him and those children, his wife and his in-laws, Bob
and Janet Morrell, we pray for him. They said his spirit, his
encouraging spirit hasn't wavered and his trust remains strong.
That's probably the calmest man in that whole storm is the one
that we're all crying for. What's wrong with you? Lord sent
this. Calm down. He didn't make a mistake. He
did what was right. As you're able, remember them.
All right, Genesis 16. Genesis 16. The life of Abraham up till Chapter
16 here, the Lord called him out of Ur of the Chaldees, and
he said, I'm going to give you a lineage. You and your wife
don't have any children, but I'm going to give you a whole
bunch of them. At 75 years old, up in Haran,
the Lord said, it's time to leave now. You disobeyed me for five
years. You wouldn't listen to what I
told you. I killed your father. It's time to leave. You're going
to go down here to this promised land, and I'm going to make a
great nation there of you. And he took him in Bethel. Took him
up in them mountains. Showed him, said, you see this
land? This is the land you're going to inherit. Then he left for
Egypt. That took some time, didn't it?
Went all down to Egypt for a while. Told Sarah to lie so he could
spare his own neck. That took some time. Well, they'd
come back and come back and Lott looked at this land too and they
grew too big. That's some time in growing. So Lott took the choice land.
And then he got tied up in Sodom and was captured as a war. Abram
went and found these people, slew them, 318 men, and brought
back the people. The people. And then he gave
all those goods to the king of Sodom. Melchizedek came and visited
with him. Revealed himself to him. And he gave all those riches
to the king of Sodom and he kept the people. He feared. He had
great fear. And the Lord come to him and
said, Fear not, Abram. I'm your shield. I'm your great
reward. And he said, Lord, give me a
sign. It's been a long time. We've been walking a long way.
I was walking from Egypt all the way back up Bethel. I had
time to think about this. Lord, can you show me a sign?
He said, Yes, child. Come outside. Look up. You see
all them stars? The seed I told you that you
were going to have would be more than those stars. No, Lord, I
can't. He believed. He believed God. He believed what God told him.
He believed what God said. And it was counted unto him for
righteousness. When that happened, the Lord
looked on him and said, right there is righteousness. How'd he know
that? He put it there. Righteous Abraham,
who believed God, said, well, can you give me something? How can I know? I believe you. I see what you showed me. I see
the sign. But how can I know?" And the Lord gave him a sacrifice. He said, you go take these animals
I told you to take, a heifer of three years, and she goat,
and he goat, and the young pigeons, and you're going to burn them.
Sacrifice them. And you're going to see that
smoke going through there because they're being consumed. They're being
accepted. The sacrifice is accepted. And you're going to see a light
going down there. God's presence, Almighty God is pleased with
the sacrifice He gave you to provide for Him, to provide for
Himself. Is that enough for you, Abram?
That's how you're going to know. You believe me. It's already
been counted to you for righteousness. You believe me. I gave you a
sign. I gave how you can know the sacrifice has been accepted.
That's how you can know. He's 85 years old, still no child.
But he's had the signs and the promises of God, and knowing
all this, because of that accepted sacrifice, knowing that, boy,
he's mature now, isn't he? Has he grown? He's all squared
away. He's just on cruise control.
Not yet. Not yet. Genesis 16, verse 1. Now Sarai, Abram's wife, bare
him no children. And she had a handmaid, an Egyptian,
whose name was Hagar. They brought this slave girl
back with them from Egypt. And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold
now, the Lord hath restrained me from bearing. I pray thee,
go into that my handmaid, my maid, that it may be I may obtain
children by her. Maybe that's what the Lord meant.
We've been waiting all these years and we're mature now. We got some discernment. I bet
that's what God meant. Ain't that right, honey? She's
whispering in his ears. what pain that caused, what pain
that's still reflecting in this day on us, whispering in his
ear. And she said, maybe it'd be that
I obtained children by her. And Abram hearkened unto the
voice of Sarai. And Sarai, Abram's wife, took
Hagar, her maid, the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt 10 years
in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be
his wife. And he went in unto Hagar, and
she conceived. And when she saw that she had
conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes. Can you imagine
the deception? Well, this goes along with the
next hour of a couple different points, but here's a young woman,
young, nice looking, still no wrinkles, pretty, young, and
now she has a child with the man. This is the head honcho. That's the most powerful man
in that area. She's got some riches now. She's entitled to
some riches, and she's got some position of power. His only child,
she's the mama. She was rich, she was young,
and she was a ruler. That's what we'll look at next
time. And you think, whether she was cocky yet or not, here's
the older lady. She sees this young thing coming,
and already she don't like it. This was her idea, to have her
come here, and already she don't like her. What a shame. Turn
over to Genesis 21. Just a few pages of Genesis 21. Genesis 21, verse 1. And the
Lord visited Sarah as He had said. She just put her hand to
it. Sarah just came up with what
she thought was good. But the Lord visited her as He
said He was going to, and the Lord did unto Sarah as He had
spoken. For Sarah conceived and bare
Abram a son in his old age, at the set of time of which God
had spoken to him. And Abraham called the name of
his son that was born unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac. This come to pass. What lot God
had promised had come to pass. And Abram circumcised his son
Isaac, being eight days old, as God had commanded him. And
Abram was a hundred years old. When his son Isaac was born unto
him, and Sarah said, God, hath made me to laugh, so that all
that hear will laugh with me. And she said, who would have
said unto Abram that Sarah should have given children suck? For
I have born him a son in his old age. She said, have you ever
had that happen in life? Lord turned something, you just
did not see it happening that way. And you just laugh, that's
all you can do. Look what the Lord did. Well, her heart's changed a little
bit now, hasn't it? Her heart's changed. And the child grew,
verse 8, and was weaned. And Abram made a feast the same
day that Isaac was weaned. And Sarah saw the son of Hagar
the Egyptian, which she had borne unto Abram, mocking. Oh, what
a delightful day this is. They're having a feast because
this child's weaned. Here, maybe another month or
so, we'll see what that means. That's important. They grew up. Things happen when they grow
up. Things change. But they had a celebration, a
feast, because his child was weaned. And while this was taking
place, this time of celebration, she looked over and there was
Ishmael mocking. Here's a little young teenager
making fun, making fun of his little brother. Wherefore, she
said unto Abram, cast out this bondwoman and her son, for the
son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with
Isaac. And the thing was very grievous
in Abram's sight because of his son. He loved Ishmael. And God
said unto Abraham, Let not this be grievous in thy sight because
of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman, in all that Sarah
hath said unto thee, hearken unto her voice. For in Isaac
shall thy seed be called. And also of the son of the bondwoman
will I make a nation, because he is thy seed. And Abram rose
up early in the morning, and took bread and a bottle of water,
and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her shoulder and the child,
and sent her away. and she departed and wandered
in the wilderness of Beersheba." Now turn over to the New Testament. Turn to Galatians chapter 4. Here's a commentary of what the
Lord's shown us between these two women, these two motives,
and the two outcomes of these motives. Galatians chapter 4. I mean, Cameron left a message
on this. Faithful man of God from years ago. He said, turn
over here. I think it's in Galatians 4. And he paused a little bit. And I thought, well, he's giving
him time to turn. He said, turn here. Well, people's got to get
there. I'll wait for the pages to stop. And he said, well, now
let me find it. And I thought, well, that's nice
and kind, you know, because maybe you don't remember where this
is. I know not where it is. I mean, it wasn't a dramatic
pause. It was crickets for a while. He said, let me read this chapter. He sat there about a couple minutes
and read it. I looked it up. I wrote it down.
Galatians 4 verse 21. Here's a New Testament commentary
on what we just read. We can read these things. These
are historical facts to us. We need somebody to enlighten
us on these things. Galatians 4 verse 21. Tell me, ye that
desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law? For it
is written that Abraham had two sons, one by a bondmaid, that's
his first one, Ishmael, by Hagar, and the other by a free woman,
his wife, Sarah. But he who was of the bondwoman
was born after the flesh, but he of the free woman by promise."
How did Ishmael show up? Well, that's just the natural
course of things. They had a child. He went into Hagar. She was young.
It didn't matter for him. She hadn't been through menopause
yet. And that was just the natural course of things. That was by
the flesh. The flesh did that. How did it happen through Sarah?
She was old. Her body was barren, doubly. She wasn't able to conceive
her whole life, and then she went through the natural order
of things where now she definitely couldn't conceive. But God had
promised. That's a miracle of the Lord.
Why was that? Verse 24, which things are an
allegory? For these are the two covenants.
That's not just two children. That's the two covenants. the
one from Mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. For
this Agar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem, which
is now, and is in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem,
which is above, is free, which is the mother of us all. For
it's written, Rejoice, thou barren, that bearest not. Break forth
and cry, thou that travailest not. From the desolate hath many
more children than she which hath a husband, now we. Brethren,
as Isaac was, are the children of promise. We're the children
of that covenant. A covenant of promise, covenant
of God, worked. But as then he that was born
after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit,
even so it is now. They're still mocking those that
want to be under the law, those that want to have the flesh ruling
over them. Nevertheless, what saith the
Scriptures, cast out the bondwoman and her son, For the son of the
bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the free woman. So
then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the
free. We're given this whole story
of Abraham having a child with Hagar named Ishmael. Thirteen
years later, he has a child with Sarah in her old age. And then
there was a dispute there. They could not get along. And
that bondwoman, was cast out. It had to leave. And all that
is a picture of us of two covenants. The covenant of promise and the
covenant of works. The covenant of God and the covenant
of flesh, of man. We see that illustrated here.
That's the difference between law and grace. Hagar had that son,
was the firstborn Ishmael, but it was born after the flesh.
That was the doing of mankind. They're good ideas. They're good
thoughts. After human reasoning, that's just a good idea. That's
what I think. What does Solomon say? There's a way which seemeth
right unto man. We need to get after it. But
the end thereof are the ways of death. Trying to fulfill that
law by your own hand. Reach up and touch that ark.
You hold it up. Watch what happens. Ways of death. Sarah had Isaac. God opened her womb after it
was impossible to conceive. Because the Lord promised her
and promised Abraham he was going to have a son. The son of doing, but the miraculous
son of promise. One that God promised. The life
that came from a covenant of grace. That's what that was.
Not a life that come from a covenant of works. Paul calls this an
allegory there in verse 24. What's an allegory mean? That's
the use of historical facts to teach spiritual truths. We have
something that really happened and we can understand to teach
us something that's spiritual. We have something The way we
can see and understand things. We read it first in Genesis.
And now Paul tells us plainly what these things mean. This
is not just a history lesson. It's to teach God's people how
he saved sinners. That's what he's done it for.
The stories in the Scriptures are more than just stories. People
say, well, there's just so many nice stories in there. They make
up wallpaper. That always gets me. I don't
know why. Pictures, playground equipment,
all these things because it's nice little stories. No, it's
not. And these stories that the Lord gives us, these allegories,
we see His power displayed. How was Isaac born? That was
the power of God doing it. The mercy of God towards unworthy,
undeserving sinners. That's what we see in these.
The purpose of this story of Hagar and Sarah is to teach believers
that we are completely and totally free from the law. That's why
we have it. Plumb free, we're going to see
in a minute. We are the children of promise.
And we are not to return to the law. The Lord freed us from the
law. Now stop going back to it. We need to find our terms. We're
going to speak in these words. I told you what an allegory was.
What's the law? That's God's holy demands. We see that in the Ten Commandments,
don't we? Everybody knows those are on some courthouses still
in this country and some schools still in this country. We've
got the Ten Commandments. That's the Mosaic Law. Is that
what it's talking about? Yes, it is. What about the Levitical
Law? The Ceremonial Law? How do they
have to do all these things? The 613 laws of that. Does it include those? Yes, it
does. But that hasn't happened yet.
There's still 430 years before that law comes about. Before
Moses comes down from that mountain. What else is there? God has moral
law. What's that mean? You have to
obey Him and love Him with all your heart. That one scribe asked
the Lord, which is the greatest commandment? He said, Thou shalt
love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul,
with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. Before that law of Moses, before
that law for the Levites come out, you had to obey God and
love Him with all your heart and what comes later, agree with
all the law. If you could keep the Ten Commandments,
and you could keep those 613 Levitical laws, and you did love
the Lord God with all your heart, you got to agree to it. Why kept
it? Well, you got to be happy about
that. I'm glad that law is there. That's what we're free from.
What's grace? Unmerited favor. It's a gift.
That's something you didn't earn. You didn't work to get it. It's
grace. Mercy, they go hand in hand together. What's that? That's
something that you did deserve and you didn't get. We deserve
wrath for breaking that law. Which one? All of them. Every
one of them. Y'all was at the house yesterday.
I've got pole beans growing with my corn, so I don't have to trellis
them. You just plant them a couple weeks later, they'll grow up
the corn. That's illegal. If I kept the whole 612 Levitical
laws, that's one of them. I deserve an eternity of hell
and damnation because I planted... Well, that ain't right. We're
taking it up with God. It's His law. It's a holy law. What's
a covenant? That's a contract in our day.
We understand that. You go buy a home or a car or anything else.
It's a legal... That's just... It's right. It's right to do so. A legal
buying contract. And it's done on purpose. On
purpose. It ain't an accident. You go
buy you a car and you sign the title for it. Where did that
come from? You bought it. You went and got
it, didn't you? It's done on purpose. That's what the terms
are. So how do these things apply
to these characters that are in this story we're given? How
do they apply? Sarah. She's the picture of that
covenant of grace. That contract of unmerited favor. That's what she's a picture of.
That the Lord established and brought to pass. Whose covenant
is that? He says it's His covenant. It's
the Lord's covenant. Isaac here, her child, he represents
the children that are of that promise. That covenant that God
made, the offspring, the results of it. God's elect. That's the
children of promise that come from her. Whose promise was it? It was His promise. It was the
Lord's promise. It's His covenant. It's His promise. His workmanship. All that are born again. All
that are born by the purpose of God. They're born by the power
of God, because we couldn't do it. They're born by the promise
of God. The Almighty God of heaven and earth. It's His doing. promised
to Abram and Sarah. His power opened her womb because
he had the purpose to do so. Hagar, she's a picture of that
covenant of works. That's man's own ability and
strength and wisdom and what we just think's right. It just
makes sense, don't it? She shows us a picture of those
that go about to establish their own righteousness. I can do it. We'll do it my way. What's the
result of that? Ishmael. That's the result of
mankind's works. That's the result of us putting
our hand to it. He was born after the flesh, and he was the work
of the flesh. And I'll tell you what he ended
up being. Don't turn there, but in Genesis 16 it says, The angel
of the Lord said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, thou shalt
bear a son, and call his name Ishmael, because the Lord has
heard thy affliction. And it says he will be a wild
man. Ishmael's going to be a wild man, and his hand will be against
every man, and every man's hand against him. Does that mean they're
just going to fight all the time? Well, they do. His seed's still
fighting, ain't they? But everyone's trying to outdo
the other. What they can put their hand to. His hand gets
there, I'm going to outdo you. Well, I'm going to tie my tie
a little tighter. I'm going to wear my halo a little
straighter. And everybody's trying to outdo
that one. And it says, and he shall dwell in the presence of
all his brethren, in the presence of all his brethren. What's that?
What's outwardly seen? That's the product of it. What's
outwardly seen? Well, but now I just don't smoke
or drink. I quit that. I read only good books, and I
watch only good things, and I only do this, and it just squeaks
when I smile because I'm so clean and good. That's the outward
appearance. That's not what's inward. What's
inward? Grace is inward. Works is outward. Grace is inward.
And boy, I tell you what, there's a result. The Lord said, we'll see it in
a minute. They ain't going to know that you're my children
because you got your doctrine squared away. I know he's telling
the truth because he said something. No, they're going to know because
you have love one for another. And you can't fake love. You
can whine and dine it for a little bit, but it won't go away if
it's true. And you can't fake it if it ain't
there. That's how you're going to know. It's inward work, an
inward work. Paul said in Galatians 4.29,
But as then, He that was born after the flesh
persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it
is now. Even so it is now. There's a war between the two.
There's opposition between law and grace. They cannot mix. They can't be
in the same room together. They can't be in the same place.
It's oil and water. You can't mix the two. But people
in our day are trying just as hard as they can. While we're
reading Galatians, a little bit of leaven was put in. How much
was it? Just a tiny bit. They believed
everything them brethren at Glacier believed. But, now, hold on now. We've got to do just a little
bit. We've got to do just a little bit. And Paul come unglued. He
said, I don't care if it's an angel from heaven saying this.
It's a lie. Don't listen to him. Let him
be cast into hell. That's strong. I want to take
every stumbling stone out of that road to the city of refuge.
If somebody has any hang-up, if there's anything that could
be offensive in me to keep someone from coming to Christ, I want
it gone. But at the same time, those stumbling stones of people
holding on to their own glory, things they can glory in, I pray
the Lord will use His Word to cut every one of them away. Because
if you cling to something of you, you're not clinging to Him.
And you either get all of Him or none of Him. That's how that
goes. And I have a heart for people.
It's almost like I have to give an account for your souls. Well, Kevin, you don't need to
cover my soul. Boy, you better hope I tend to it. Lord, allow
me to, enable me. People try in our day to mix
the two. They want the two children to grow up together, live in
the same house. It cannot be so. That's why Paul wrote this
letter. He said in Galatians 5, 9, a
little leaveneth, leaveneth the whole lump. And I pray we can
be shown the difference between what we do for salvation, which
is nothing, we can't do anything, and what another did for us.
What another established a covenant for us and provided that covenant
for us and purchased us in that covenant. Where he is now, what's
left to do? Nothing. It's finished, that's
what he said. And I hope we're enabled to Old
brother Scott Richard said, drop Hagar and that son of perdition
off in the wilderness with a jug of water and leave them alone.
Walk away from them. We want to keep looking over
our shoulder, don't we? Looking at that old life we used to live.
It's done. Walk away from it. Leave it alone. What about this seed of promise?
Was Isaac special? Is that physical offspring special? Is that nation that's over in
the Middle East, is that something special? Do we need to honor that and
give some special honors to it? We'll look at that pride in the
second hour too, but look here in Galatians 3. Galatians 3, verse 15. Paul says, Brethren,
I speak after the manner of men, though it be a man's covenant,
yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth or addeth thereto.
If you have a covenant between people, that's binding. We know that. You don't add anything
to it, it doesn't get disannulled. Now to Abraham and his seed were
the promises made, this covenant that the Lord made. He saith
not unto seeds as of many, but as of one, and to thy seed, which
is Christ. That's what he's talking about.
And this I say, that the covenant that was confirmed before of
God in Christ, the law, which was 430 years after, they didn't
even have the law yet, cannot disannull. that it should make
the promise of none effect. What does that mean? Is the law
against it? Is the law fight it? Look down
at verse 21. Is the law then against the promises of God?
God forbid. For if there had been a law which
could have given life, verily righteousness should have been
by the law. But the scriptures hath concluded all under sin,
that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to
them that believe. But before faith came, We were
kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards
be revealed. We were imprisoned. We were shut
up to sin and death because we was under that law and we was
too busy working, trying to do something. Verse 24, therefore
the law was our schoolmaster unto Christ to bring us is what
it did, but that's in italics, isn't it? It was a schoolmaster.
We looked at that before when we was in Galatians. That was
that hired servant of the master to bring their children to school.
They walked them to school. They took them to the teacher.
What did that law do for us? I can't keep that. I ain't got
no chance at all of keeping it. Not even outwardly, much less
inwardly. That has to bring me to Christ. That has to bring me to His feet.
That has to bring me to the one that fulfilled the law, ever
jot and tittle, that we might be justified by faith. But after
that faith has come, we are no longer under that schoolmaster.
Once we are in Christ, we fulfilled the law in Him, it's fulfilled
for us. That law doesn't apply to us
no more. We're dead to it. For ye are all children of God
by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been
baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There's neither Jew
nor Greek. There's no pride in this. There's
neither bond nor free. There's neither male nor female.
For you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ, then
are ye Abraham's seed. Remember what the Lord says,
count those stars? He said He's gonna have one seed,
but He said count the stars. That's gonna be your seed. What is that? If
you're Christ, then you're Abraham's seed. Then you're what He's talking
about. That's Christ that lives and
abides and dwells in you. His incorruptible seed. His seed
in you. And heirs according to the promise. according to the covenant, according
to the working of God. He did it. He did it. What's
the believer to do now? That covenant of works, of do
something. Don't look in these scriptures
for what to do. Look what's been done. It's finished. There's nothing. I'm going to
sanctify myself. You'd be better off slapping yourself. I don't
know. That's nonsense. Just saying Christ ain't enough
is what that is. That's hogwash is all it is. That works are
gone. It's been fulfilled. There's
a covenant of works, there's a covenant of grace. And if it's all of grace, it's
all of grace. And I wouldn't have it no other
way. Now, what do you do? What do we do? People get mad. They say, Kevin, you can say
you're free from the Mosaic law. You can say you're free from
the ceremony law. That's fine. Don't you dare say that people's
free from the moral law. If the Lord said, I purchased
you, I've loved you, do what you want. Well, don't we have
to bow to him? They said, Kevin, if you say
that, people do whatever they want. That's exactly right. That's
exactly right. The Lord's completely fulfilled
all the law, all He requires. And what will I do? What do I
want to do? What do you want to do? Run to
Him. Would I run away from Him and
rob a bank? No, I want to be in His presence. I want to follow
Him. I want to praise Him. I want to thank Him. We don't just sit around and
wait, do we? Doing nothing. My brother Fortner said that.
He said, Lord saves people, not blocks of wood. That's just cold
deadness to somebody else. Boy, that's life to the believer.
Look what the Lord did to us. He promised something and He
fulfilled His promises. He was faithful even though just
like Abram, I'm doubtful that every five years I might look
like somebody that ain't worth spitting on. Give me a sign. Well, how am
I going to know? He's faithful. That's what I'm
thankful for. Turn over to John 13 and we'll close. John 13. What does that heart that's born
out of promise, born out of that covenant of grace, what does
it fulfill? Paul told us in Galatians 6,
bear you one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. Now we're under the law of Christ.
We're under the law of grace. That's what we're under. John
13 verse 14. The Lord gave us this example
and then he's gonna explain it to us. He says, if I, he's washing
the feet, if I then your Lord and master, this ain't something
just teacher, this is the Lord, if I'm your Lord and I've washed
your feet, ye also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have
given you an example that ye should do as I have done to you. People have stopped there where
I grew up and they literally go wash one another's feet. And
it was talking about You don't want to wash my feet, I don't
want to wash your feet. Spiritually, yes, I'll cover
your sin. We'll walk in backwards and cover it up. But I ain't
trimming your toenails. Down in verse 34, here's what
the Lord was telling us. John 13, 34. A new commandment
I give unto you, that you love one another. That you love one
another. How? Here's where you can't fake
it. How? As I have loved you. You're going to love your brethren
in the same proportion Christ has loved you. You want to grow
in more grace? Well, you're going to have to
be given more grace. You want to grow in love? The Lord's going
to have to reveal His love to you more. That's what it is. You want to grow in being merciful
to somebody? You're going to have to mess up. You have been
messing up. He's going to have to show you
you've been messing up, and you have to cry out for mercy. And when I cry
out for mercy, boy, it's easy to be merciful. New commandment I give unto you,
that ye love one another, as I have loved you, that ye also
love one another. By this shall all men know you
are my disciples, if ye have love one towards another. Now,
who was them disciples of the Lord walking in the earth? Boy,
they was just high and lifted. Oh, they was respected by all
men everywhere. People wanted to loan them their
personal jets to fly around. They were despised, weren't they?
Looked down upon. They loved. They didn't do nothing. They just loved one another.
They believed God. That's crazy. Y'all be doing
something. They were despised and rejected men, weren't they?
All is purposed and promised. All is fulfilled by Christ. Now
just go love one another. Rejoice together. Cry together.
We have brethren that go through trials. I weep. I weep. I hurt for them. I hurt for their
families. I hurt for the ones around them that trials of that
effect. And I weep that Christ is merciful in us. and He's going
to be revealed to the heart of that child again. And if they
have faith withstanding that storm, it's because He gave it
and they know it. We cry together. We rejoice together. We praise
the Lord together. Those outward results there between those two
covenants, they look the same, don't they? Abraham was the father
of both. He entered into each of his wives. There was a son born, right? Both of them strong. Both of
them looked like their daddy. What's the difference in those two?
The motive. Which child are you? You one
of God's works? Something He performed? Something
He promised? Are you like Isaac? Or are you
a child of man's works? Are you an Ishmaelite of your
doing? Paul said in Galatians 3, And
if you be Christ, then are ye Abraham's seed and heirs according
to the promise. I'm His. I'm not my own. I've
been bought with a price. He bought me. He established
that covenant and he redeemed me and I'm his now. He's loved
me first. Boy, I wish I could learn more
about that love. I wish I could display it to him. He that abides
in you and his people. I want to know. I know him and
I want to know him more. I love him. I want to love him
more. I love you. We're creeping up on four years
I've been coming here to visit him with you. We got to know
each other a little bit over that time. I want to know you
more. I want to love you more. I do. The Ishmaelites, they'll
be at war with that true seed of Abraham until this world is
done. They'll fight it tooth and toe
now. The whole way. Because they reject
it. We'll see that. That's the 11th, the whole lot.
The Lord said those things he hates. He said first is a proud
look. Why? That's the root of it. That's
the root of it. Pride is the foundation of anything
else that's wicked and evil. It's pride. All right. Father, thank you for this. These
lives that you've given to allow us to see your power and your
purpose and your grace in action. Lord, allow us to be grateful
and give us hearts that are humbled and that see Christ daily. Lord,
allow him to be our life. Allow us to love as he's loved
us. Allow us to be merciful as he's
been merciful. Tender, long-suffering. Lord, how blessed we are. Thank
you for this place. Thank you for our brethren here
that you've gathered. Thank you for keeping your word
with us. Lord, bless it to our hearts. Have your spirit upon
us. It's in Christ's name that we ask it. Amen.