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We'll read now from Galatians.

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You want to turn your Bible to that book of the Bible.

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Standing right at the beginning, just to introduction.

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Where we read God's word as follows.

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Paul, an apostle sent not from men nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father,

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who raised him from the dead.

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And all the brothers and sisters with me, to the churches in Galatia, grace and peace

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to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue

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us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be

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glory forever and ever.

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Amen.

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Thanks Rob.

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Good morning church.

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Before we look at God's word, let's come to our God and ask him for his help with this

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text.

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Father God, we are so indeed grateful for the gospel and for your grace that has worked

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in our lives.

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This morning we ask that as we, your people, come around the words of eternal life, that

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you would please give us ears to hear, hearts to understand that we would be transformed,

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that our minds wouldn't just be renewed, but our lives, our hearts set afresh anew for

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this good gospel, this wonderful gospel that you have given us.

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We ask for this in Jesus' name.

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Amen.

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I don't know if you have children at daycare or at school, but it's one of the worst feelings

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when you get a text or email through the day to say that your little one has been hurt.

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It actually happens quite a lot.

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That's what kids do when they run around and play.

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They trip or they fall and they get hurt.

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So a lot of the time you're just being informed that your little one has grazed an arm or

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a cheek or something like that.

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But imagine if throughout the day you were told that some of the teachers got fed up

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or bored with some of the things that they were doing and decided that they should bring

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deadly snakes into the classroom for the children to play with.

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Or thought that the kids could do with a day of running back and forth across the street

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to see if they could dodge all the speeding cars and trucks that were whizzing past.

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I don't know about you, but I would be absolutely livid, fuming and sickened by the people who

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would be so careless and cruel to do that to the little ones who were under their care.

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Well much in the same way, that's the context of the book that we're looking at this morning.

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These false teachers had come into the churches that Paul had planted in the region of Galatia,

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which is modern day Turkey, on his first missionary journey.

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And they were leading God's children into all sorts of danger by telling them that though

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Jesus is important, they had to do more to be saved.

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They had to do more like be circumcised and keep the whole law that was given to the Jews

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to be accepted in the sight of God.

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And so because these people were relatively young in the faith, they were accepting a

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false gospel that was to have a devastating effect on them.

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To put it simply, because of these false teachers that had infiltrated the churches, the people

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in this region were in danger of spiritual shipwreck, abandoning Christ alone through

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faith alone, the gospel that they had first received.

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To adopt a poisonous heretical view that would end up spiritually killing them.

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And so Paul, furious as you can imagine, writes them this letter that's one of the greatest

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treaties on what we have in Christ because of his work on behalf of his people.

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He writes it so that these people might realise what was going on, repent and reform back

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to the gospel that they had first received.

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And church, this is what we're going to be looking at over the next few months that will

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pretty much take us up to the Christmas season.

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We're going to be exploring the letter to the Galatians and hopefully see that because

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of Christ alone, because of God's grace, which means his undeserved favour, because of God's

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grace towards his people, everything that needs to be done to make us right with God

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for all eternity has been done.

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We're saved because of the grace of God and not because of our own works.

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Something that these people were in great danger of adopting.

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And so this morning, we're just going to look at the first few verses to set this whole

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series up and I'm hoping that you catch wind of just a few things, three things in particular.

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First, Paul's no ordinary guy and this is no ordinary letter.

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Second, there may be many congregations but there's only one church and gospel and third,

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the gospel is the power unto salvation.

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So if you have your Bibles with you there this morning, we're just going to look at

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the first few words of verse one.

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We read Paul an apostle.

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I have to laugh every time my mum sends me a text because you can really tell she hasn't

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grown up in the iPhone generation because she usually signs her name at the end of every

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single text.

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She does it all the time.

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She sends a text and even though she's in my contact list and know exactly who she is

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and she has the exact same thing her end, she always signs love mum.

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It's a way of letter writing that's pretty much lost on younger generations.

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You sign your name to the letter you write.

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Well, Paul lived in a world where one would sign their name on the letters they wrote,

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not at the end but at the very beginning.

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That's what we read here.

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This letter was from Paul an apostle.

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And so we might ask the question, who was Paul and what's an apostle?

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First, Paul.

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Well, believe it or not, Paul didn't start his career off as a church planting missionary

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but actually as one of the first terrorists that went out to destroy the church.

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That's right, our author here once went by the name of Rabbi Saul of Tarsus and he was

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a zealot for the Jewish religion that travelled around persecuting Christians in all manner

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of ways.

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That was his passion to stamp out the new movement that had arisen in Jerusalem in which

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people were claiming that this Jesus was the Messiah.

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Paul was driven to ruin anyone who claimed Christ as king.

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That was until, however, Jesus himself got hold of Paul on the road to Damascus while

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he was on the way to persecute Christians, that is.

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And it's reported in Acts 9 that Paul was knocked off his horse, that the resurrected

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Jesus met him and that he was never the same again.

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He went from travelling around persecuting Christians to travelling around proclaiming

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Christ as king because of this encounter.

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So that's Paul.

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Second, what's an apostle?

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Well, quite simply, an apostle in the Greco-Roman world was someone who was commissioned by

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the emperor to claim to all the territories in their kingdom that their king had taken

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more land and dealt with their enemies.

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You might think of an apostle as a person who would herald good news to all the people

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who claimed Caesar as king.

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You might remember we looked at this just a few weeks ago when we were in our Matthew

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series in how Jesus gave this name to 12 guys while he was on earth.

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And he gave them this name because he trained them for the purpose of sending them out to

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proclaim the good news of the kingdom of heaven and to proclaim how the king had come to deal

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with our greatest enemy being sin and death.

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That's what an apostle was.

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An ambassador sent in the name of a king with his authority to deliver his message.

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That's why Paul said he was sent.

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And notice it, Paul says something else here that's important for us.

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He was sent, this is in verse one, but not from men nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ

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and God the Father who raised him from the dead.

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In a few weeks we'll be ordaining a couple of men from among us and commissioning them

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as deacons to serve the church with the gifts that they've been graciously given by God.

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We as the church have recognised this, we've called them, we've nominated them, the elders

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have trained them and will ordain and then commission them to their office to serve the

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church.

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It's a beautiful picture of people, the people of God recognising gifts that have been given

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and then commissioning those men into their ministry.

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That's not what Paul said happened to him.

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No, he's saying Jesus who has been risen from the dead had called him.

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But the risen Jesus had commissioned him and Jesus had sent him, not the apostles, not

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Peter or Paul's missionary sending church in Antioch, but Jesus.

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To put it plainly, Paul opens this whole letter by asserting the divine mission and authority

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of his apostleship.

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He insists on that, not because he feels threatened by false teachers or defensive about his own

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rights, but because the credibility and the authority of the message of the gospel depends

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on it.

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Church, it's important that we know this about Paul.

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It's important because his message wasn't from him.

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We're actually going to learn a bit more about that later in this chapter in the coming weeks.

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He was chosen and sent not from men nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father.

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Actually in saying that, you could almost take the phrase not from men nor by a man

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as the big picture of the whole book of Galatians.

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That's actually what we're going to see time and time again in this series.

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Paul's going to keep reminding us about the grace of God in various ways throughout this

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whole letter.

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Not from men nor by a man is the great big theme of this book.

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Whether in the calling of an apostle or in the conversion of a sinner, grace itself is

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not from us or by us.

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Church, one of the reasons that this book is so important for us to understand is because

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we've got such minds that find it hard to understand grace.

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We're consistently trying to insert ourselves into the plan of salvation and put ourselves

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in a place where we can look at our own accomplishments and say, look what I did.

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Look what I did to deserve God's approval.

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That's why we need to understand the opening of this letter.

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The assertion of divine authority that Paul is making is because we have to stop wrestling

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with God and submit to the authority of Christ.

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He's speaking to us by his apostle.

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He's proclaiming to us even now and assuring us by his word in the name of the risen savior

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and almighty God that grace itself is not from us nor by us.

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It's from God.

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That's right.

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Grace is from God and it's free.

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So in light of that, we need to lay down our frivolous efforts to secure the favor of God

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by our own performances.

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We need to stop with our attempts to find peace and rest and being good enough.

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It's an impossible task if you have tried.

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We will never find ultimate comfort in our own works.

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So brothers and sisters, hear Paul loud and clear this morning right where you are.

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Our only hope.

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Our only hope comes not from us or by us, but in the glorious free grace of Jesus Christ

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who was risen from the dead.

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So we see something here.

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Paul starts his whole letter by reminding his dear brothers and sisters in the faith

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of exactly what we have.

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God has been at work in this world.

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He sent his son who was raised from the dead.

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He sent his apostle whom he raised from spiritual death to deliver them good news.

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Good news that they needed to be reminded of.

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That all God's people need to be reminded of.

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That's the next thing we catch wind of here.

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There might be many congregations, but there's only one church and gospel.

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We see it in the language that Paul employs here in verse 2.

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This letter is from Paul and all the brothers and sisters with him to the churches in Galatia.

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Now I want you to notice something here.

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Paul does say churches in the plural, but that doesn't mean he's speaking to different types

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of churches or denominations here.

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Now he's speaking to a region of churches or what we might call different congregations

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or gatherings in the region of Galatia.

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Think about it like this.

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We might say the churches in Armidale, but really because of the work of Jesus, gospel

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established churches are just different congregations that have been built by our risen Lord and

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Saviour through the faithful proclamation of the gospel.

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And so we might think about it like this.

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So we gather in different congregations where all brothers and sisters living in the one

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house of our Father.

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In fact, a little later on in verse 13 of this very chapter, Paul will say to the congregations,

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you've heard of my previous way in Judaism, how I intensely persecuted the church of God.

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That's why you might often hear me say that we the church are like one house in different

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rooms.

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And I say that because I want that picture to help you envision that even though we might

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not all gather in the same congregation, there's only one church and that one church has only

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one Lord and gospel.

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Paul says it like this to the church in Ephesus.

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You're no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God's people.

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You're members of his household built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets with

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Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone.

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In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord

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and in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by

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his spirit.

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Church this is incredibly important for us to see and remember.

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The risen Jesus hasn't set up his body to be divided and fractured and really at its

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core it's not.

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And we can say that because the true or invisible church as the reformers came to call it is

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one because of our status in Christ which makes you and me spiritual brothers and sisters

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with the worldwide church.

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You see we run into a terrible era when we look to our local community, our ethnicity

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or denomination to unite us.

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Now if you look at the gospel and that's the thing that unites us, our status in Jesus

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Christ.

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Meaning that you and I have brothers and sisters from every tribe, nation and people that worship

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in other congregations.

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They might have Baptist, Reformed, something or other, Methodist or Anglican in the title.

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The list goes on and please excuse me if I've missed out on a few hundred of those titles.

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That's not to say that we agree on every jot and tittle of every secondary and peripheral

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matter nor is it to say that spiritual oversight of each congregation isn't important.

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I'm also not saying that everyone who has church in their name is actually a true church

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but the point is this.

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The real children of God, the true church of Jesus Christ that he has purchased with

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his blood and established, we're united not because of our denomination, the country we

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come from or the community that we grew up in but because of faith in Jesus Christ.

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This is what makes me a new family.

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That's what unites the congregations in Armidale, Perth and beyond.

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And here's the thing, the brothers and sisters, the children of God, churches built on the

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foundation of the apostles and prophets with Christ being the cornerstone, they won't only

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preach but also be corrected by the word of God.

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That's what faithful teachers and congregations are led by the Holy Spirit to do.

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They're led to be faithful to the word of God in the proclamation but also the rebuke

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and correction that the word brings.

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Which means where traditions, philosophies or liberalism or heresy has infiltrated and

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threatened the gospel, they're refuted in light of what the word has to say.

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That's something that was certainly the matter here in the context of our letter.

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A particular heresy had infiltrated the congregations in Galatia and the children of God were being

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led astray.

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They were being sold at Jesus plus something else, doctrine.

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And so again, that's why Paul starts this letter by reminding them exactly who he was

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and with what authority he was writing under because they needed to hear the word of God.

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They needed to be reminded of who and what they are in Christ so that they might realize

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and repent and reform to the gospel to which they had first trusted.

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And here's the thing, though Paul has no problem in distinguishing himself from the others

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because of his apostolic authority, notice it.

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Notice the text, the brothers and sisters with him.

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They're all concerned.

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They all wanted their spiritual siblings in Galatia to hear the word of God and repent.

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It's a beautiful picture.

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The church doesn't say, oh well, the brethren in Galatia have gone off track.

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Let's try somewhere else.

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No, they're all concerned.

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They're all invested in reminding their brothers and sisters of the gospel that saved them.

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And that's where Paul takes it next, which is our third and final point.

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The gospel is the power unto salvation.

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We read in verses three and four, grace and peace to you from God, our father and the

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Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age

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according to the will of our God and father.

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Church look at what Paul is laying out for the church.

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The gospel is a declaration of something Jesus has already done.

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Grace and peace is ours because of God acting on behalf of his people.

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Jesus gave himself.

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That is such a beautiful picture.

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The love of God worked itself out in a real self-sacrificial action in this world.

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Grace and love is what we're meant to see here.

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The son of God loved and gave himself for us.

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Why did he do it?

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Well it's for our sins.

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I don't know about you, but I haven't just broken the law, but smashed the law in every

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which way in thought, word and deed.

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And there is nothing, not in myself, in ourselves that we can do to rescue ourselves from the

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just penalty that our sin deserves.

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Eternal separation in hell.

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Eternal separation in hell.

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But this is the thing, God so loved us that he proactively rescued us by atoning for our

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sin.

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The Lord Jesus Christ stood in the place of his people as a substitute and received the

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wrath of God on the cross.

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He atoned for all our wrongdoing.

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He atoned for all the things, all the wickedness that we have done.

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Luther puts it like this, his riches for our filthy rags.

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And why?

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Because Paul says it was to rescue us.

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That's why God sent his son.

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Why did God in the, sorry, God sent his son, God in the flesh died on the cross and he

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did it so that he could rescue us.

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Rescue us from the penalty of our sin and the present evil age.

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That's important for us to see here as we prayed this morning.

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Grace and love has broken through.

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Grace and love rescued not just as a future hope, but also in the present.

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That's right.

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Resurrection isn't just something we look forward to, but something that we have, that we possess

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here and now.

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Paul is saying that the kingdom of heaven, the age where God will be with his people

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and his people will be with our God has broken into the present and delivered us from this

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world that is seriously under judgment.

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It's made apparent and clear for the world to see in the resurrection.

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The new age has begun and because of the work of Jesus, he is the redeemer of anyone, no

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matter what they've done, who have put their faith in him.

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And this is the most astounding thing.

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All of this was God's plan for his people.

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God's plan for his people, including you and me.

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As we read here, it's according to the will of our God and Father.

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Do you see that this morning?

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The cross, the grace, the peace, the rescue mission, it was all because God loves saving

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and forgiving his people.

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It's so important that we see that God loves rescuing and saving his people.

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Brother, sister, if you trust in Christ alone, you are right at this moment, a rescued and

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beloved child of God.

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You've been chosen by him, you belong to him and he absolutely loves you as his own.

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It was our God's delight to send his son.

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It was our God's delight to lay his life down.

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The father and son, they're never at odds with one another.

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Isaiah puts it like this, it was the Lord's will to crush him and cause him to suffer.

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And though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he'll see his offspring, he'll see

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his offspring and prolong his days and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.

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Our Father in heaven sent his son to seek and save the loss because of his grace and

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love for you and me.

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And nothing, but nothing can separate us from the love that he has for us in the Lord Jesus

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Christ.

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The gospel proclaims grace alone, by faith alone, in Christ alone.

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Not a Jesus plus something else kind of thing.

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And all of this is meant to result in all God's people glorifying our great God and

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Father.

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That's how Paul finishes his introduction here.

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He doesn't start with what's gone so terribly wrong, we'll get to that, but what has gone

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so right.

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And that's that the grace and love of God has infiltrated our lives.

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The grace and peace that God has towards his people has broken through, which should raise

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our eyes heavenward with Paul by declaring to our great God that all glory goes to him.

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We see that in verse five.

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Church as we end in this small few verses, I want to point out something that's vitally

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important for us all to see here at Grace Christian Church and for anyone who calls

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upon the name of the Lord in whatever congregation they find themselves in.

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Things go off track when the gospel gets lost or is diluted.

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We've robbed God of his glory and his work when we forget the gospel.

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That's where things go so terribly wrong.

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Things go wrong when we look to our own works.

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Our own law keeping, our own religious performances for the world to see.

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Maybe that's you.

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Maybe you found yourself saying I prayed, I committed, I gave, I showed up.

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That's why God loves me.

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We all find ourselves, all of us find ourselves thinking things like this from time to time.

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This is why we need to be reminded of the gospel time and time and time and time again.

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That's because something in us always wants to look at some work so that we might say

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see that's why God accepts me.

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That's why God loves me.

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It is the gospel that smashes self-righteousness and reminds us that we are accepted not because

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of our work but because of the work and the grace and the love of God for what he has

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done on our behalf.

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He gave himself for our sins to rescue us from this present evil age because this was

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God's plan for his people all along.

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And that's why I think this book is going to be good for us because it's going to help

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us refocus not on ourselves but on the one who has rescued us by his grace alone.

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It's going to help us focus on the one with whom we have peace and hear this we have peace

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with him right here right now because of his great love for us.

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It's our prayer that as we focus our gaze once again upon Jesus as presented to us in

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the gospel that our hearts will burn afresh so that the gospel will be front and centre

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here in this congregation in the church of Armidale.

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So that this congregation might look not to ourselves and our work but live to give glory

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to our great God and Father for all that he has done for his people who he loves by his

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grace alone.

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Would you please pray with me?

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Father God we are so thankful for the good news of Jesus Christ.

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We are so thankful that you sent him you so love the world that you sent him and that

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this was the plan from all eternity that it was the good pleasure of the Lord Jesus God

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in the flesh to come and lay his life down for us as people.

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Father we ask that as we go through this series over the next few months that you would please

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reveal to us where we have gone wrong.

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Reveal to us we ask by the work of your Holy Spirit where we have grabbed onto other things

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and added them to the gospel.

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We ask that we would be a church that is continually listening, that is continually being reminded

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and a church that is continually reforming back to the gospel and your word.

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And we ask for this for your glory and for the outgoing of the gospel in this city and

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community and we ask for this for your glory alone in the name of Jesus.

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Amen.