stand together and sing hymn number 294. 294. Savior, like a shepherd lead us, But we need Thy tender care. In Thy pleasant pastures feed, Thou hast bought us, Thine we are. Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus, Thou hast bought us, Thine we are. We are Thine, do Thou befriend us, Be the guardian of our way.

Keep Thy flock from sin, defend us, Seek us when we go astray. Blessed Jesus, Blessed Jesus, Hear, O hear us when we pray. Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus, hear, oh hear us when we pray. Thou hast promised to receive us, poor and sinful though we be. Thou hast mercy to relieve us, Grace to cleanse and power to free. Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus, Early let us turn to Thee. Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus, Early let us turn to Thee. Early let us seek Thy favor, Early let us do Thy will. Blessed Lord and only Savior, With Thy love our bosoms fill. Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus, Thou hast loved us, love us still. Blessed Jesus, blessed Jesus, Thou hast loved us, Lord, I see. Stay seated. We'll sing hymn number 199. 199. Sinners Jesus will receive, Sound this word of grace to all, To the heavenly pathway lead. All who linger, all who call, Sing it o'er and o'er again, Christ, receive us sinful men.

Make the message clear and plain. Christ, receive us sinful men. Come and He will give you rest, trust Him for His word is plain. He will take the sinful last, Christ receive a sinful man. O'er and o'er again Christ receive a sinful man Make the message clear and plain Christ receive a sinful man Now my heart condemns me not, due before the law I stand.

He who cleansed me from all spot, satisfied its last demand. Sing it. For and for a king, Christ receive a simple man. Make the message clear and plain, Christ receive a simple man. Christ, receive a sinful man, Even me with all my sin. Purged from every spot and stain, Heaven with Him I enter in. Sing it o'er and o'er again, Christ receive the sacrament. Make the message clear and plain, I'm certainly thankful he does. I'm certainly thankful he does receive sinful men.

Galatians chapter 4. Start at verse 8 and read down to the end of the, no, see wait, read down to verse 20. How be it 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 again to be 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. Brethren, I beseech you, be as I am, for I am as you are. You have not injured me at all. You know how through infirmity of the flesh I preached the gospel unto you at the first and my temptation, which was in my flesh, you despised not, nor rejected, but received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus. Where is then the blessedness you spake of?

For I bear you record, that if it had been possible, you would have plucked out your own eyes and have given them to me. Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth? They zealously affect you, but not well. Yea, they would exclude you, that you might affect them. But it is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing, and not only when I am present with you. My little children, of whom I travailed in birth until Christ be formed in you, I desire to be present with you now and to change my voice For I stand in doubt of you.

Our Father, O our Lord and our God, our blessed Master, our Lord Jesus Christ, you, the one true and living God who came, lived among us, dwelt among us, tabernacled among us. And Lord, when you tabernacled, we see your glory. And oh, what a blessed thing it is to see some of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, see some of his power, his grace, his love, and his mercy. Oh, how blessed we are. What a privileged people.

Lord, you've passed by the world, the wealthy, the mighty, the noble, the rich, and you passed by so many of them, came to sinners came to weak, helpless, hopeless people with no abilities, with nothing but weakness, nothing but frailty, nothing to commit, nothing to offer. But Lord, we are so grateful that you did for us what only you can do.

When we face you, Lord, we can say there's no condemnation in our hearts, no condemnation in our minds. no condemnation in our souls because of what you did for us in your life, in your death, in your resurrection. And Lord, you sit now at the right hand of God. Even right now, make an intercession for us and we bless you for it, praise you for it. And now, Lord Jesus, meet with us tonight. Enable me to speak with some liberty. with some understanding, with some wisdom that only you can give.

And Lord, we pray again for those that are sick and weak and frail among us. Doc and Janie, Rick and Helen, Lord, these are people that are having a, you know, you told us to bear one another's burdens. You know, bear the afflictions of our brothers and sisters, so, Lord, we pray for them. And, Lord, we again bring our children, our grandchildren.

I know every parent in here that's got children that don't know you, that don't trust you. Every person in here and every soul that listens has children and grandchildren. And, Lord, we can only bring them to you, and we know that you are to judge in all the earth, and you will always, always do right. And please speak with us for Christ's sake. Amen. M number 303. 303.

Jesus, Savior, Pilate be, Over life's tempestuous sea, Unknown waves before me roll, Hiding rocks and treacherous shoal. Jard and compass come from Thee, Jesus, Saviour, pilot be. As a mother steals her child, Thou canst touch the ocean wild. Cloistrous waves obey thy will, When thou say'st to them, Be still, wondrous sovereign of the sea. Jesus, Savior, Pilate be, When at last I near the shore, And the fearful breakers roar, Then while leaning on thy bridge, May I hear thee say to me, Fear not, I will fight.

I saw some church signs. Gary, I mean, James Elmore used to, when he worked out in the county, he'd always bring me a whole list of church signs and stupid things. It's on them. There's one up the road up here that says, make Jesus your Valentine. Oh, this world is such darkness. And then there's one on the road we go to going home. It says, too cold to change the sign. Sin's bad, Jesus is good. Oh, sin's worse than bad, ain't it? It's much worse than bad. Oh, it's much, much worse than bad. Well, I want to get my subject there tonight in that verse 19. My little children, of whom I travel in birth again until Christ be formed in you. Christ formed in you. I'm going to deal with verses 12 through 20, if I can, for Lord, enable me.

The apostle had great doubt concerning these Galatians. Judaizers had come among them, seeking to turn them from the Lord Jesus Christ, from the freedom that's in the Lord Jesus Christ, the liberty in Christ. They wanted to turn her from the grace of God that's in Christ and to turn them to days and months and times and years. Just right now, you know, I've heard so much today about the last couple of days about Lent. Lent. The Lent started. Now, I don't know what that means. I don't have a clue what it means.

But I know that they're trying to get people And it has something to do with Catholicism because everybody wants to have set up a prayer system for you to pray every day. You pray. And then today, or maybe next week's going to be Ash Wednesday when they'll take ashes and put a cross on their head with ashes. And that's what ends up, you know, I don't understand those things, but that's what Paul's talking about here.

They make something of these holidays, these special days. holy days. What in the world does it all mean? What would, why would anybody think that putting ashes on their head would make them better in the sight of God than anything else they did every day? What would make them think if they had a prayer, a special prayer every day over the days of Lent, how's that going to make them any better? And that's what Paul's talking about here. He said, you make smudge out of days and months and times and years. You have special days and you like them. You like them. And he called them weak. He called them weak things.

No strength in them to do anything for you. They can't make you holy. Can't make you righteous. Can't make you more acceptable to God. In fact, it does just the opposite. It shuts the door on the grace of God. It shuts the door on the blood of Christ. It shuts the door on the righteousness of Christ.

And he called them beggarly. Beggarly. Oh, my. There's no There's nothing in this things beggarly that could profit you in any way, any way. No wealth in it, no riches in it. All the true riches that we possess in this world is in our Lord Jesus Christ. I'd rather have the riches of Christ than to have all the gold that's in this world. That gold, listen, it'll turn one of these days to nothing and it won't be worth anything. But boy, to have the wealth of Christ, the riches of Christ, that's the truth. If you're wealthy, you're wealthy if you got Christ.

And then Paul comes along and reminds them of his ministry among them. His ministry when he was among them. And also shows how affectionate they were to him. And then he asks this question, how did it come to this? When I was so loved among you, so delighted among you, so received among you, how did we come to this, that I became your enemy because I told you the truth? How did it come to this, that your affection for me turned against me? How did it come to this? How did it come to this?

And he addresses them very affectionately. Look what he says here in verse 12. He said, brethren, He calls them brethren. He's not cut them off yet. He's not cut them off yet. Brethren, I beseech you. That's one of his favorite phrases. I beseech you by the mercies of God. I beseech you for Christ's sake. He said, I beseech you. That word beseech, I beg you, I plead with you, I implore you. Be as I am. Be as I am. What does he mean, be as I am?

Well, he said he was dead to the law. He said he is alive under Christ. He said that he was saved by grace. He said he was crucified with Christ. He said he was raised again with Christ. He said he is seated with Christ. So he says, you be like I am right now. I've got this freedom in Christ. Be like I am right now. Be like I am. Oh. I'm free from the bondage of ritualism and ceremonies and days and months, dead to the law. Ain't that what he said over in chapter 2 in verse 9, I think it is, 19? That's what he says, I'm dead to the law, dead to it. And oh my. And he says, you be like I am. Reckon yourselves to be dead to the law. Reckon yourselves to be dead to these rituals. Reckon yourselves to be dead to all these things.

They're fulfilled. All this law and all these rituals and all these ceremonies, all are fulfilled by Christ. Oh, my. Count everything but Christ, but lost and dumb. Everything's fulfilled in Christ. Oh, my. And he says, and it'll look here, says, For I am as you are. I am as you are. What does he mean by that? Well, what he's saying is, I became all thanks to all men that I might by any means save some.

He says, when I was with those that without law, I was without law, except under the law of Christ. He said, if I was with those who had the law, I understood the law and what bondage they were under, so he became all things. If he was a Gentile, he understood that there's no law but Christ, and he preached the law of Christ and the freedom in Christ. If he got among a Jew, he said, I understand the law, I understand your rituals, and I understand what you're standing on and what you believe in, so he became that by any means that he might save some.

Any means he might save some. And oh my, and look over here in 2 Corinthians, just go back a couple of pages over here, 2 Corinthians 11. Look what the apostle says about himself. What he's talking about here, I'm as you are and you are as I am. Said we're all alike in the Lord Jesus Christ. We were chosen in him, redeemed in him, perfected in him. We both are free from the law and its cardinal ordinances, but look what he says here in verse 22 of 2 Corinthians 11. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? So am I. Are they ministers of Christ? I speak as a fool. I am more.

In labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths oft of the Jews, five times I received forty stripes except one. Three times was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I was thrifted, three times I was shipwrecked. A night and a day I followed, I laid around in the deep ocean, in journeyings often, in perils of water, in perils of robber, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils from the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils, now listen to this, among false brethren. Oh my.

In weariness, painfulness, watchings, often in hunger and thirst, in fastings often cold and naked, Besides those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches. And that's what he feels right here, the care. He said he went through all that and said, you know what, I'm more interested in anything. The care of the churches. The care of the churches. Oh my.

And then he goes back over here and I text again there in verse 12. He said, you've not injured me. I beseech you to be as I am and I'm as you are. You've not injured me at all. What does that mean? He says, you've not hurt my feelings. You've not made me angry with you yet. You've not caused me to do anything. You've not injured me. You've not hurt my heart. You've not done anything to me.

But oh, he says, by obeying the law and coming under these Judaizers, You know, by banning them, you know what the offense is? Christ. You've offended Christ. That's what you do. The offense is against Christ, who fulfilled the law, said, you've not injured me, but I'll tell you who you have injured, who you have offended, and that's the Lord Jesus Christ.

And he says, my feelings for you have not changed, but your feelings toward me have changed. He said, I came among you. He told the, that said, I came among you as a nurse who cherishes her children. Oh my. Then look what he said down in verse 13. You know how that through infirmity of the flesh I preached the gospel unto you at the first. And my temptation, which was in my flesh, you did not despise it, but received me as an angel of God, even as Christ. You knew, what he said is, you knew my condition when I first preached the gospel to you. Oh, he said, he told, he said, I come in weakness. I come in weakness. I come in weakness. I come in humility. I come in persecution. I come with bodily afflictions. He said, I didn't come with wisdom of men's words.

And you know what they said about him? Some preachers, people said this about him, said, his bodily presence is weak. You look at him, he's a weak-looking little old fella. He don't amount to much. He said, oh, listen, they told me, and then he said, not only that, but his speech is contemptible. When he preaches, it's contemptible. Oh, my. Oh.

You were not, then he says here in verse 14, And my temptations which were in my flesh, I don't know what they were. But he has some temptations. Maybe it's when he was seeking the glory and, you know, I was a new man above Christ 14 years ago, whether in the body, out of the body. But lest I glory and be exalted above measure, God sent me a thorn in the flesh. Maybe that's what he's talking about.

I don't know. But it says, my temptation, which was in my flesh, he says, you didn't despise it, you wasn't ashamed of it. You didn't say, listen, I ain't gonna listen to you, I despise what you're going through. Oh my. And he says, you're not offended by my bodily ailings, not offended by my sufferings. And oh, you didn't reject me, you didn't reject me. Oh my. But oh, you despised me not, nor rejected me and my temptations and what I was going through.

You were so glad, so thankful to hear the gospel, to hear the good news of Christ. And look what he says, you receive me as an angel of God. Not only that, but he says, you receive me as Christ himself. That's how much affection they had for him at one time. I received, you received me as an angel, and you sent even as Christ himself. That's how much they loved this man. That's how much affection they had. That's what they thought of him at one time. And oh my, then he asked this question, verse 15.

Where is then the blessedness that you spake of? When you was going to pluck out your eyes and give them to me and see me even as Christ, you didn't despise my temptations. You didn't reject me back then. You did not do it. Where is then the blessedness that you spoke of before? If I blessed you and my gospel blessed you, where is that blessedness you spake of in this time? Where is it at?

For I bear you record that if it had been possible you'd have plucked out your own eyes and given them to me. Where's this blessing that you spoke of for me? And then he says, I go on record. I go on record before God, before you, and before everybody else. You would have plucked out your own eyes and given them to me. Some people think that Paul had problems with the eyes. The scriptures does not tell us anything about it. It's just a supposition. It's some things that people think is a theory or something. I don't know.

But he said, I do know this, that you would have plucked out your eyes. He said, you love me so much and cared for me so much and cared for the gospel, cared for Christ. You would have took out your own eyes and gave them to me. That shows how much affection you had for me. Huh? Oh, my. But oh, he goes on to say, I bear you record, I go on record, that if it had been possible, you'd have plucked out your eyes.

What Paul is saying here, that these people were blessed in Christ, were happy in Christ, and happy and glorious in the gospel of free grace. And these law preachers, these law and these preachers influenced them. They not only turned them from Christ alone, but made Paul an enemy. May Paul an enemy. You know, legalist, legalism can only flourish, only flourish, when it can keep people in bondage. If it can't keep people in bondage, it cannot prosper. It can't do it. Legalism, law keeping, cannot prosper.

I remember several years ago, there was this fella, He had his own airplane. He flew around different churches and things and preached. And he was a strong, strong legalist. Oh, he preached on holiness and separation and dedication and all those things. And I remember a fellow from out at Drew Deeds. And this fella, you know, I'd been in fellowship with him and been out there to preach several times, but this man, this fella had his own plane flying from church to church. He come in there and started preaching law and legalism. Well, this fella left the gospel, left where Grace was priest, and he went off and followed this man and went to a legalistic church, went to a reformed church. You know what happened to that preacher? Found out he'd been having an affair with a woman for longest, longest time, and he got caught! Good! Shut his mouth! Let him get caught in his sin. And then everybody said, oh, I can't believe it, I can't believe it could happen to him.

I can. I can believe it. The more legalism you got, you got to get some relief someway, somehow, if you got to go out and get drunk on Saturday night if you're going to be a legalist on Sunday. You got to do something to get out from under that burden. But a legalism cannot flourish unless it can keep somebody under bondage. And I know, I've experienced it. I know exactly what it's like. And another thing about a legalist is, is he always sees something wrong with somebody else, but he never sees anything wrong with himself.

Your hair's not fixed right. Your dress is not long enough. You're wearing too much makeup. Listen, if next time you miss church, I'm gonna come to your house, see what's the matter with you. Oh, that's the kind of junk that people, they just delight in that kind of stuff. that Paul said, listen, that's what they've done to you. They've turned you. They've turned you away from me. They turned you away from Christ. They're trying to turn you away from gospel. Oh my. Oh, they turned them from Christ alone, made Paul their enemy. Look what Paul says down here, down in verse 16.

He said, am I therefore become your enemy? Did I really become your enemy? I've been your best friend. You loved me, you'd have plucked out your eyes for me, received me as Christ. And now am I your enemy? How could I possibly be your enemy? Because I tell you the truth. Oh, Arthur W. Pink says, the man that tells you the truth, tells you the truth because he loves you and he seeks God's glory more than anything else. And that's what he said here. Have I become your enemy? How could I? I was your best friend. You was converted under me. Now you're going to count me an enemy? Then look what he says in verse 17. Now he's talking about these people that's turned them from Christ.

They zealously affect you, but not very good, not well. Yea, they would exclude you that you might affect them. Now what's he's talking about? They zealously, they're very zealously try to have an effect upon you. But it's not well, it's not right, it's not good. They count you, they court you, and they woo you. These false preachers are courting you, pretending great love for you, pretending great concern for you, making so much of you.

So that they can say, listen, these are my converts. These are people that I saved from this licentiousness, from this antinomianism. Save these people from being, you know, grace is going to turn you into licentiousness. That's got to do. You know, and if you really believe grace and you're an antinomian, you're without law. So you can't win with these people.

But Paul says, listen, they want to zealously affect you. They tell you how much they love you and care for you. And, oh, they want you to live a good life. They want you to really understand. And, oh, my, their purpose is not God's glory, not even your eternal good.

And then he says there in verse 17, they would exclude you. And what he says in the margin, exclude us. They want to exclude me. They want to exclude any apostle. They want to exclude anybody that's preaching the grace of God. And they want you to follow them. And they want you to bring them favor and success. That's what they want out of you.

And that's why Peter says, you know, as false prophets were among the people, even so will there be false teachers who privately bring in damnation to themselves. Now look over here in verse 4 of chapter 2. It says the same thing over here. You know, Peter and Barnabas was swept away with those fellas that changed tables, you know, and he says, in verse 4, and that because of false brethren crept in, unawares, brought in, who came privately, despite our freedom in Christ, that they might bring us into bondage. They will bring us into bondage, and I ain't going that way. That's what he says. Oh, my. These false teachers and preachers, their zeal was not to turn these Galatians to Christ, but to become popular and to win applause and say, look at all the souls we've won. And then look what he says over here in verse 18.

But it is good to be zealously affected, always in a good thing, not only when I'm present with you. Oh, it's good to be zealous. You know, zeal has to have an object. Zeal has to have an object. And they were zealously, you know, want to affect you. You know, our Lord says, the zeal of thine house has eaten me up. And that's when he went in and drove everybody out of the temple. And he doesn't consume this zeal. He said, you know, zealousness is good. It affects you in a good thing. You know, it's good to be zealously affected. He doesn't condemn zeal. He doesn't condemn affection.

But only that which has an ulterior motive, ulterior objective. There's people whose objective in this, zealously in this world, is to be wealthy, is to be healthy, is to make lots of money, have big houses, have several million dollars to retire on, that's what zealous, the world's zealous for. They're zealous to be affected and be effective in this world. Paul says, zealousness is a good thing if it's in the right, on the right object.

And oh, the Lord Jesus Christ, he doesn't zeal to hell and high. He said, I am zealously affected in a good thing. And when he says affected in a good thing, it's zealously be affected in towards the gospel. The gospel is a good thing to be affected by. Christ himself is a good thing to be zealous about. His church is a good thing to be zealous about.

His people to be zealous toward them. And he says, and I don't want you to be zealous and affected in a good way, not only when I'm there, not only when I'm present. Oh, he said, not only when I'm present. You know when y'all have this zeal? Continuously and constantly towards the gospel, towards Christ.

And oh my, he desired these people's salvation. He desired their sanctification. desired their peace in Christ, not only when he was there, but when he wasn't there. And when he was present, they attached themselves to him and his truth. And he left, and things started cooling off, started cooling off.

But look what he says in verse 19, my little children. Oh, he told the Told the Corinthians, he says, you got many, many, many fathers. But he says, you don't have one. You have many instructors, but you only have one father. And I say, God used me to convert you. And he used him to convert these people, my little children. What an affectionate, how affectionate he was to these people. They were children of God, but still babes in Christ. Paul's children, he has used of God to bring them to faith in Christ.

Now watch what he says, of whom I travail in birth again, till Christ be formed in you. Our Lord travailed in agony in the garden of Gethsemane. That means his heart was in such pain and such agony. He says, You know, when you intervail, it causes pains, suffering, sorrow. Labor's in the ministry. And he compares this to a woman in labor, surveilling to have a child. He said, I surveil till Christ be formed in you, till you're made, you know, till you're saved by the grace of Christ, and you know you're saved by the grace of And he says, oh, he compares himself to a woman bringing forth a child. The only thing she's interested in is bringing forth a healthy, living child. And oh, my. And Paul had not thought that of himself, you know, had not thought of himself. But then he said, I don't care. I travail. I'm in pain. I'm in agony for you.

He was only concerned about and committed to praying and preaching and suffering for Christ to be formed in them. And what is it for Christ to be formed in you? Well, it just means that you're saved. That's the same thing as being saved by the grace of Christ. It's what being called a new creature. It's where Christ himself comes and takes up his abode in you. And then all Christ be formed in you. so you can see Christ, that you're the letter of Christ, and you yourself want Christ more than anything else. Now, there's lots of forms.

There's a form of religion with its laws and its ordinance and its ceremonies, but that's not eternal life. That's not Christ formed in you. There's a form of morality with its fleshly do's and don'ts. That's not eternal life. That's not Christ formed in you. And then there's a form of profession that people have. Makes its decisions and its baptisms and its works. It's not eternal life. That's not Christ formed in you.

Eternal life is to know God. Eternal life is to know Christ. It's to have the life of Christ inside you. The presence of Christ in your heart. The life of Christ to become your life. to have the presence, the spirit, and mind of Christ, and the very glory of Christ that begot us and created us and formed in us.

Look what Paul said there in Galatians 2.20. Oh, how many times is it? This is what we're talking about right here.

Galatians 2.20.

I'm crucified with Christ, yet I'm still alive. I'm living. Yet, I don't live, but it's Christ that lives in me. Christ lives in me. In the life I now live in this old body, this old flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. Bless his holy name. Oh, anything less than this is no more than useless, vain religion. And it's a miracle, it's a miracle when God says Christ is for him, didn't you? And then he says, look what he says back here in verse, I think it's 20.

I desire to be present with you. I've got such a desire to be present with you. I want to come there and be with you. I want to be present with you. I wish I could be face to face with you. I wished I could talk to you face to face, be there in your presence. And he says, oh, if I got there, I might be able to change my voice.

I don't want to be doubtful. I don't want to stand in doubt of you. I don't want to thank you, Miss Christ. I might change my voice. And your concern and all your concern for circumcision and holy days Make me fearful for you. Look what he says. I stand in doubt. I stand in doubt. Woo. I stand in doubt. I stand in doubt of you. I'd like to change my voice and say I have all the confidence in the world, but I stand in doubt. And I do know this. If there's an absence of Christ in a man's life, it'll come out on him. He can't go on. He just can't go on. You can only go in religion so far. You can only go so far.

Our Father, our blessed Master, O Lord, We don't want to stand in doubt of anybody. We really don't. We want to love people, preach the gospel. We want to tell them the truth. We want to see people converted. We want to see people grow with grace. We want to see them grow in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus.

And Father, we have so many young people coming now, and I'm so thankful for that. Lord, there's people among us, and oh, I pray, Lord, that you'd be pleased to form Christ in them, that you'd cause Christ to be present in their heart and in their mind and in their souls, that you'd open hearts, plant that seed, that perfect seed, that sinless seed in their heart. And, Lord, you're the only one that can do it.

But God, help us to pray for them. Pray for one another. Pray for our children. Pray for our brothers and sisters. Pray for those that are being tried severely. And remember them that are afflicted, as affliction with them. We bless you and praise you. Keep you, dear saints, till we can meet to worship together again. We ask these things in our Lord Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. All right. See you Sunday morning, God willing.