back to indexBerean Community Church Wednesday Bible Study Galatians 4:21-25
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I know it was raining hard, treacherous terrain outside. 00:11:15.120 |
God, we are so grateful when we think about you 00:11:22.120 |
looking upon us with both pity, kindness, and love. 00:11:30.120 |
we're oftentimes slow to learn, oftentimes resistant, 00:11:40.120 |
And Lord, as we participate in another Bible study, 00:11:45.120 |
We would be longing, Lord, to receive your instruction. 00:11:48.120 |
We would long for conviction from your truth, Lord, 00:11:52.120 |
We want to now join our voices to praise you. 00:11:55.120 |
We want to lift you up on high as you deserve, 00:11:57.120 |
and we ask, God, that as we give to you the worship, 00:12:01.120 |
Lord, ultimately, it would be pleasing unto you. 00:19:30.120 |
Father, we just thank you for this time of worship. 00:19:36.120 |
and we wanna trust in you more and more each day. 00:19:44.120 |
We're the same God that we worshiped here today. 00:19:47.120 |
So God, as we just continue through the study 00:19:49.120 |
and just continue to reflect on the cross, Lord, 00:19:52.120 |
we pray that we would continue to just grow in amazement, 00:20:00.120 |
I would just thank you for this time once again, 00:20:04.120 |
So we'll just break off into our small groups 01:07:35.120 |
It looks like everybody's coming back into the main room. 01:07:37.120 |
If you're in a classroom, please make your way over 01:08:31.120 |
So as we're thinking about that or getting situated, 01:09:10.120 |
and God, just how faithful you have proven to be, 01:09:16.120 |
And we know, God, that that is such a challenge 01:12:20.120 |
just simply talking about the bondwoman, yes? 01:15:28.120 |
when we think about wanting to be under the law, 01:15:39.120 |
because they love making a good showing of the flesh. 01:15:51.120 |
how many of us struggle with the value of self? 01:16:14.120 |
that we're not meeting up to somebody's expectation, 01:16:33.120 |
is something we need to hear over and over again, amen? 01:16:56.120 |
even though you try to get everybody within the system, 01:17:53.120 |
God had already given Abraham promises of blessing, 01:18:14.120 |
What an incredible promise of blessing from God. 01:18:21.120 |
"'what will you give me, since I am childless, 01:18:24.120 |
"'and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?' 01:18:45.120 |
"'Now look toward the heaven and count the stars, 01:18:50.120 |
"And he said to him, 'So shall your descendants be.' 01:18:56.120 |
"and he reckoned it to him as righteousness." 01:19:01.120 |
He takes him outside and looks at the stars and says, 01:19:16.120 |
that he walked miles and miles from the Ur of Chaldeans 01:19:22.120 |
and went through Egypt and all that kind of stuff? 01:19:24.120 |
Was this righteousness that he did amazing things 01:19:29.120 |
It's kind of crazy to think his righteousness 01:19:32.120 |
is just staying still and being amazed at the stars 01:19:50.120 |
to trust and wait beyond what he sees with his situation. 01:19:56.120 |
and he has nothing to show for it in the physical flesh. 01:20:00.120 |
His righteousness is to say, but I still trust you. 01:20:17.120 |
for God to just say the word because God never lies. 01:20:21.120 |
But God expresses, visually expresses his sovereignty 01:20:28.120 |
Verse 12 says, "Now when the sun was going down, 01:20:33.120 |
"and behold, terror and great darkness fell upon him." 01:20:41.120 |
Verse 17 says, "It came about when the sun had set 01:20:46.120 |
"there appeared a smoking oven and a flaming torch 01:20:51.120 |
"And on that day, the Lord made a covenant with Abram, 01:20:54.120 |
"saying, 'To your descendants, I have given this land 01:20:57.120 |
"'from the river of Egypt as far as the great river, 01:21:03.120 |
Now, the reason why I'm reading these passages 01:21:09.120 |
he was showing visually so that we could all see. 01:21:14.120 |
But what's more, as you know, in our passage, 01:21:17.120 |
and this is one of the more profound biblical covenants 01:21:28.120 |
And not a single one of his promises will fail, 01:21:44.120 |
It's not just simply a contractual agreement. 01:21:46.120 |
You do this, then you do this, and then you do that, 01:21:49.120 |
and when you fulfill it, then I will keep my part. 01:22:17.120 |
"Now Sarai, Abraham's wife, had borne him no children, 01:22:20.120 |
"and she had an Egyptian maid whose name was Hagar. 01:22:29.120 |
"'the Lord has prevented me from bearing children.'" 01:22:44.120 |
And what's more, Sarai, in trying to convince Abraham, 01:22:59.120 |
"Perhaps I will attain children through her." 01:23:15.120 |
it was 25 years since the time God promised him children, 01:23:19.120 |
and then when they finally received Isaac, 25 years. 01:23:23.120 |
And as you guys know, but it wasn't just any 25 years. 01:23:43.120 |
And what's more, periodically, in certain moments, 01:23:56.120 |
"Oh, my goodness, I've got this incredible master plan 01:24:21.120 |
Just to sympathize with the weakness of our hearts 01:24:27.120 |
Now, we read the story continuing on in verse 3, 01:24:37.120 |
"and gave her to her husband Abram as his wife. 01:25:32.120 |
It's like she's screaming at the top of her lungs, 01:26:01.120 |
And then I do think this is a moment of weakness. 01:26:05.120 |
And the Scripture is so real about the weakness of man. 01:26:09.120 |
Straight up, he's just like, "Not my problem. 01:26:29.120 |
It created division between Sarai and her servant. 01:26:34.120 |
And as you know, this has lasting consequence 01:26:44.120 |
and more and more sin ends up being produced. 01:26:52.120 |
it becomes to us first a fortress where you think, 01:26:55.120 |
"Oh, this is where I'm going to receive blessing." 01:27:41.120 |
because if we're desperate for something we want 01:27:46.120 |
because sometimes all it requires is a little lie. 01:28:04.120 |
How many of us have been compromised that way? 01:28:18.120 |
How many of us would turn to our own measures 01:28:27.120 |
what he's talking about primarily is justification. 01:28:30.120 |
You cannot be justified by your works through the law, 01:28:58.120 |
that it's going to be by grace through faith, 01:30:09.120 |
Can you turn your eyes to chapter 17, verse 1? 01:30:27.120 |
It says that now when Abram was 99 years old, 01:30:39.120 |
I will establish my covenant between me and you, 01:30:51.120 |
and you will be the father of a multitude of nations. 01:30:59.120 |
for I will make you the father of a multitude of nations. 01:31:07.120 |
I will establish my covenant between me and you 01:31:15.120 |
to be God to you and to your descendants after you. 01:31:21.120 |
I will give to you and to your descendants after you 01:31:57.120 |
Will a child be born to a man one hundred years old? 01:32:10.120 |
There's a reason why I read that long section. 01:32:19.120 |
and this is how I will hold my covenant with you. 01:34:18.120 |
or has correspondence to a spiritual reality. 01:35:32.120 |
and Ishmael is then underneath as a slave, right? 01:35:39.120 |
But then she points to this idea of Mount Sinai, 01:35:53.120 |
are those who are adversaries of the nation of Israel 01:35:58.120 |
and now comprise of the majority of the Arabs in that area. 01:36:02.120 |
What you would think as current like Saudi Arabia 01:36:29.120 |
let's see if I can boil it down so that it doesn't get too long, 01:36:36.120 |
one, we understand that what he's trying to point at 01:36:41.120 |
is she represents that line that is to be rejected. 01:36:47.120 |
But what's more, there is a spiritual reality to this analogy. 01:37:14.120 |
Earlier, we were just describing the contrast between 01:37:22.120 |
Haggad represents that which is condemnation. 01:37:26.120 |
Here's a passage for you that you'd want to jot down, 01:37:29.120 |
and it comes from Hebrews 12, verse 18 through 24. 01:37:37.120 |
In comparison, the author of Hebrews says in verse 18, 01:37:42.120 |
"For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched 01:37:45.120 |
"and to a blazing fire, and to darkness and gloom and whirlwind, 01:37:51.120 |
"and to the blast of a trumpet and the sound of words, 01:37:54.120 |
"which sound as such that those who heard beg 01:38:02.120 |
"if even a beast touches the mountain, it will be stoned. 01:38:06.120 |
"And so terrible was the sight that Moses said, 01:38:12.120 |
"But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, 01:38:27.120 |
you know, I realize I probably, like, have a better way 01:38:33.120 |
but what I'm going to just say by summary is, 01:38:39.120 |
everything that resonated with man's resources, 01:38:46.120 |
You had everything in relation to turning to slavery again, 01:38:50.120 |
turning to things that would cause us to be imprisoned, yes? 01:38:54.120 |
And then, here, he corresponds that and says, 01:38:58.120 |
to this present Jerusalem, that is still earthly. 01:39:03.120 |
If you think that being in Jerusalem is causing you to be free, 01:39:06.120 |
he's saying, no, spiritually, you're still enslaved, yes? 01:39:10.120 |
And so this sets us up for the contrast to say, 01:39:13.120 |
what we're looking forward to is nothing earthly. 01:39:16.120 |
We're looking forward to the Jerusalem above, okay? 01:39:42.120 |
that, God, we can so easily turn away from trusting 01:39:45.120 |
the God of the universe to trusting our own hands. 01:39:49.120 |
And what's more, we keep trusting the things that we can see. 01:39:53.120 |
We trust kings, we trust nations, we trust all these other things. 01:40:00.120 |
So I pray, Father God, that you would continue to challenge us 01:40:14.120 |
but, God, to have such an eternal perspective. 01:40:55.120 |
have been kind of following along with all the announcements, 01:40:59.120 |
And, as you guys know, that Monday to Wednesday on 730, 01:41:03.120 |
we're going to be having Passion Week devotionals. 01:41:09.120 |
we're going to have a dinner fasting, just a time just to pray 01:41:13.120 |
for unsaved loved ones and family members and for the church. 01:41:19.120 |
So Monday through Wednesday, we have our Passion Week devotionals. 01:41:26.120 |
And it starts at 630, and it's going to be in here, 01:41:35.120 |
And Pastor Mark's going to be leading us through 01:41:37.120 |
just how the disciples would have had the Last Supper with Jesus, 01:41:42.120 |
and how the Jewish people for many years conducted the Passover meal. 01:41:48.120 |
And so if you haven't done so and you are a member and you sign up, 01:41:58.120 |
Like, priority will be given to first-time participants who are members. 01:42:04.120 |
It's not quite yet open for non-members, so just kind of keep that in mind. 01:42:08.120 |
Just because of seating, it's $10 per adult and then $5 per child. 01:42:15.120 |
If the child is under four, obviously it's going to be free. 01:42:19.120 |
Friday of the Passion Week, we have a Good Friday service. 01:42:24.120 |
That part of the youth room is going to be an overflow room. 01:42:28.120 |
So we're expecting it to be a little bit chaotic. 01:42:31.120 |
So what we're asking everybody to do for the Passion Week, 01:42:35.120 |
but especially Good Friday, is to get here early. 01:42:39.120 |
Last Friday, we had All-Church Praise and Prayer, 01:42:41.120 |
and then the shuttle team, they said between 7:20 to 7:45, 01:42:46.120 |
like two-thirds of the church came all at once. 01:42:48.120 |
So it just threw everything into a little bit of a clump. 01:42:58.120 |
And the cafe will be open every day that week from 5:30 and on. 01:43:02.120 |
And so we're going to need a lot of help that week just to get everything running. 01:43:08.120 |
So there are sign-ups available, so please do take note of that 01:43:12.120 |
and then sign up as the Lord leads your heart. 01:43:17.120 |
And then Sunday morning, we have early sunrise service in the courtyard, 01:43:25.120 |
And then if you are here, you can pick up a Hawaiian barbecue lunch 01:43:33.120 |
But it's three weeks away, so just kind of keep that in mind 01:43:36.120 |
and start preparing your hearts for all that's to come. 01:43:42.120 |
We're going to be having, this coming Saturday, starting at 9 a.m., 01:43:49.120 |
There's a lot of stuff, a lot of little corners and crevices to organize 01:43:54.120 |
So if you can sign up, please do sign up like Josh Yoon is doing right now. 01:44:02.120 |
but there's no guarantee you're going to get a specific task. 01:44:05.120 |
So there will be refreshments, and by about noon, we typically finish. 01:44:14.120 |
And then, as I mentioned, we do need volunteers for the Passion Week signup. 01:44:19.120 |
And this is not up here, but just for all the ladies, April 13th, Saturday, 01:44:25.120 |
there's going to be a women's conference, just morning until about lunchtime, 01:44:32.120 |
So if you guys can, just kind of start clearing your schedule for that 01:44:38.120 |
All right, and then here are the discussion questions, 01:44:41.120 |
and have a good discussion time with your groups.