galatians: starting over {yet again} gods the exorcist

Galatians:Starting Over {Yet Again}

gods

The Exorcist

The DevilDemonsFallen Angels

"I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven"

- Jesus

…so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs- 2 Cor. 2:11

Context: forgiving

The ExorcistI'd run…fast

More like…A beautiful, spiritual personWho invites you to reject TruthAnd find your own path

Or someone who agreesWith your anger and victimhood

And helps magnify Your bitterness

"Trust me- I'll give you control of your life"

In order enslave

If the enemy comesDressed as the enemyWe run

If he comes dressed as a friendWe may welcome him

See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and

empty deceit…

Gnosticism

…according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ- Colossians 2:8

Where you place your trustDetermines how you Experience life

Jesus came to set you free

The Enemy promises controlIn order to enslave

Jesus promises LifeAnd gives freedom

He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and

recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who

are oppressed- Luke 4:18

Anything I place my ultimate Faith in- other than Jesus -

Opens me up to the influenceOf the enemy in my life

And enslaves me

In a very Jewish cultureTo a very Jewish audience

Bound by very Religious Rules:

There's no pleasing you guys!

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest

Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle

and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls

For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light”- Jesus, Matthew 11

Captive to Jewish TraditionsAnd Laws

And the approval of men

"Reject it all and follow me"

Where you place your trustDetermines how you experience life

Jesus came to set you free

The Enemy promises controlIn order to enslave

Jesus promises LifeAnd gives freedom

If you experience anythingOther than freedomOf heart and mind

That's the warning signTo go back and follow Jesus

Satan enslaves with Beautiful lies and half-truths

Jesus sets free With a simple command:

Take up your cross & follow me

Christ calls us to Create relationshipsThat mirror his grace

Which sets people…free

I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from

a slave, though he is the owner of everything

…but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father

In the same way we also, when we were children, were

enslaved to the elementary principles of the world

Gods work through Fire, Water, Air, Earth To control lives and destinies

And they must be appeased

1. False gods- idols-Must continually be served

Or else bad things happen

MoneyPhysical Appearance

Future-tellingWork

Relationship

What's the harm?

Hedging my bets…Checking my start charts…On the safe side…

I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want

you to be participants with demons

You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons- 1 Cor. 10

It's not harmlessIt's not hedging the bet

It's not that God looks away

It has a spiritual component andCauses spiritual enslavement

Where you place your trustDetermines how you Experience life

The enemy always enslaves

The Enemy promises controlIn order to enslave

Jesus promises LifeAnd gives freedom

You were childrenYou were doing those thingsYou were enslaved

…until the date set by his Father

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons

And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son

into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!”

Papa! Daddy!

So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God

The power of the enemyCrushed by the cross of Jesus

Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to

those that by nature are not gods. But now that you have

come to know God, or rather to be known by God

1. False gods must be continually served

2. Cause a loss of wonderAnd gratitude toward God

…how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?

3. False gods- idols- go against All sense of logic

Warning against idolatryServing false gods

Empowering the Enemy

By…?

Warning against idolatryServing false gods

Empowering the Enemy

By trusting OT Law rather thanThe cross of Jesus Christ

You observe days and months and seasons and years! I am

afraid I may have labored over you in vain

Ultimate faith in anything Other than Jesus- Even a very religious thing-

Is an idol that enslaves

The Enemy promises controlIn order to enslave

Jesus promises LifeAnd gives freedom

Brothers, I entreat you, become as I am, for I also have become as you are

So zealous for his religionMurdered in the name Of his God, kept all the rules

Got set free from all of itAnd walks in freedom

Look at me…am I free?Then follow that!

When taking adviceCheck to see how truly freeThat person is

You did me no wrong. You know it was because of a bodily

ailment that I preached the gospel to you at first

…and though my condition was a trial to you, you did not scorn or despise me, but received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus

What then has become of your blessedness? For I testify to you

that, if possible, you would have gouged out your eyes and

given them to me

Delay and DetourThorn in the fleshEye problems

That apparently looked bad

When you follow Jesus There is no such thing as a

Detour or a Delay

That he can't use for his glory

Key? Surrender of my plansTo God's Greater Purposes

Where you place your trustDetermines how you Experience life

"My trust is in JesusRather than my plans, so…"

"Received with honorGiven friendship and help

And love"

As he set hearts freeBy the Gospel of Jesus

If you follow JesusExpect to do ministry

But don't expect to do ministryWithout getting hurtIt's impossible

Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth?

4. Can't hear Truth And turn on those who

Threaten your idols

We trust them…so we can'tListen to you anymore

They make much of you, but for no good purpose. They want to

shut you out, that you may make much of them

Ego games and manipulation

What does that tell youAbout what they preach?

Put your trust in usWe know what's best!

Where you place your trustDetermines how you

Experience life= enslavement

It is always good to be made much of for a good purpose, and not only when I am present with you

…my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of

childbirth until Christ is formed in you!

I wish I could be present with you now and change my tone, for I am perplexed about you

Father AbrahamHad many sons…

Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by

a slave woman and one by a free woman

But the son of the slave was born according to the flesh, while the son of the free woman was born through promise

Now this may be interpreted allegorically: these women are

two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children

for slavery; she is Hagar

Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children

Where you place your trustDetermines how you Experience life

The Mosaic Law leads to the same slavery as false gods

The Enemy promises controlIn order to enslave

Jesus promises LifeAnd gives freedom

But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother.

For it is written…

“Rejoice, O barren one who does not bear; break forth and cry aloud, you who are not in labor!For the children of the desolate one will be more than those of the one who has a husband”

Now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise

But just as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so also it is nowAnd now…

But what does the Scripture say? “Cast out the slave woman

and her son, for the son of the slave woman shall not inherit

with the son of the free woman”(Genesis 21)

So, brothers, we are not children of the slave but of the free woman

For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and

do not submit again to a yoke of slavery

- Galatians 4:1-5:1

The enemy probably won't Look like the Exorcist

But he'll do his best to affirmThe things that will enslave you

And will question/redefine the Christ who sets you free

Idols= anything I place my Ultimate trust in Other than Jesus

RelationshipSmarts

Physical appearance/abilitiesMoney

MetaphysicalPet Sin

Warning Signs:1. Never appeased2. Loss of gratitude for God3. Follow when makes no sense4. Turn on friends…speak truth5. Relationships of manipulation

Jesus sets us freeThe cross crushes the powerOf the enemy

You are free…if you want to be

Let's Pray…

Questions, CommentsDisagreements

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