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Today two words are going through my mind: “Power” and “Freedom”. And a question I have been pondering. “Can my service or anyone’s service for the Lord become so onerous that it in itself becomes a bondage?” I have seen ministers who have felt so overloaded and burdened that they become depressed and even leave the ministry.

I hear the Lord, “True freedom comes in living out the full potential you have in being Ian – the Ian that I have sculpted, prepared and loved you to become – as as you grow in that you will experience true freedom. Everyone is born into a slavery to the flesh, the world and the Devil – each one is born unable to help yourself – as you grow up you are being moulded by these forces – although in the background I have always been working – Jesus’ life and death has made it possible for you to be set free from those forces – to serve Me – NOTE: Matthew 11:28/30. Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest (freedom). Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light”. The burden of the world and sin is heavy and exhausting – depressing – you are set free – rather to serve Me with joy – ultimately your service will only be a burden if your attitude is wrong, if you lose sight of My love and My invitation, if you lose touch with the power of the Spirit. My yoke will never be a burden if you keep in step with My Spirit and walk by Him”.

This morning I was reading in Acts 20, how Paul had gathered a number of disciples around him and was delegating more and more tasks to them. So one observation I would like to make is that some ministers don’t understand and apply Ephesians 4:11,12 where the role of the pastor, teacher is to “prepare the people for the works of the ministry”, and end up trying to do everything themselves, for various reasons but often because they don’t trust others to do things correctly. We are all called to be ministers for God towards each other. If this is understood, ministry becomes a real joy.

So this morning on my early walk I saw a sad sight. A discarded mask, lying wet and muddy half under a bush. A feeling of melancholia swept over me as I thought “this is our world today. Everyone covered by masks and here is one discarded and useless just like the Lord has discarded the world”. I quickly realized that thinking was way off course. God hasn’t discarded the world He made. What He has done is put the world under a curse. But His purpose is NOT to throw the world and its people away, rather He has done it for a specific purpose: that many will repent and turn to Him as He prepares His bride. And the mask? Why, that represents the mask that every non-Christian hides away behind. That is the mask that God tears away when we realize that Jesus has set us free. That once we have been crucified with Him and you start living your new life in Him, you will never need again if you appropriate the freedom that God has given you completely.

That is the mask each one of us must determinedly toss away like the discarded one I saw today. The message of Galatians is much about those who, having had their masks removed, find them and put them on again. Hence Paul’s cry in Galatians 5:1 “it is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm and don’t let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.” (Don’t go and find your discarded mask and try to put it on again).

So at the beginning of the week, go out and live and experience God’s freedom and if you still have a mask, dispose of it as completely as you can in Christ. I must confess it is so easy to slip back into bondage again so I am going to talk more about Galatians 5 next time. Bless you all in His name.

As the words of the song “Not my will” are being threshed out in my mind I hear the Lord “I have a special message for you on this, your birthday – it is not a new message – it comes from the ‘Ancient of Days’ and is as old as I am. Look up at the mountain.” I look up and see a vast light shining on top of a tall mountain. “That represents my presence to you – Moses met with me on a mountain, Jesus had a special meeting on a mountain – Psalm 121 says ‘I will lift up my eyes to the mountain from whence comes my help – my help comes from the One who made heaven and earth’, so this is the message for you today – I am still with you – I am still pouring My love out on you – if I gave My Son on the cross for you, how much more will I give you all that you need – and mostly you need Me – you need My love. So this year you will continue to experience My grace – lavished on you, poured out without measure – and as you walk in step with the Spirit – will be helped to make the moment by moment decisions of ‘not my will but yours be done’. The big decision has been made but the moment by moment decisions can only be made as you come to them – that is how you grow in faith – making the decision, often difficult, which you believe by faith, is My will is instead of yours. So go out today and every day in My strength, grace and love which I will continually lavish on you”.

Just a short message today, but one that spoke powerfully to me. In Gal 4:17 Paul writes that “those people”, ie the false teachers, “are zealous to win you over, but for no good. What they want is to alienate you from us, so that you may become zealous for them”. They wanted the glory, they had no desire to give God the glory for the salvation of the people of Galatia.

*** The whole fight, there in Galatia and the whole fight over the understanding of the gospel which is raging in the world on all fronts today, is not about the truth, it is about “my will against God’s will”. It is about me being right and getting the praise for it, which I can measure in the number of people who laud me and follow me. Don’t underestimate this battle. So for me as a teacher of the word, I have to be doubly careful that I submit to God’s word and His will which is revealed in it, remembering especially James 3:1-6. And for you folk it is your duty and responsibility to yourselves and to the church to make sure you are submitting your will to His and to listen to what He is saying to you, through His word and the teachers you listen to.

I am devastated at what I see happening around me in “Christian circles” as God’s word is being taken apart and submitted to the people by teachers who want to benefit from different “interpretations”. What they are actually doing is trying to make a name for themselves, like at the Tower of Babel. Following their own will rather than God’s will. That is why I chose to study Galatians and will tackle this again as I start to preach through it next month. Have a blessed day and thanks to all those who have wished me well on his special day

This is a week in which I feel I can start with excited expectation, – not because I have anything (except my birthday) planned – but because I walk with the Lord – that makes anything possible. As I remind myself to “be still and know the Lord”, He takes me back to Psalm 46 where that quote comes from. The whole theme of that Psalm is a picture of a turbulent world and a God acting in that world like a river of peace – a God not phased by the uproar of nations – a God not phased by corruption, plundering, Covid etc and in the midst of all these we can be still and know this God, who is our fortress, whose river makes glad the city of the Lord. In one way God has plucked us out (yes the Hebrew for salvation has this meaning) of this maelstrom of a world which is rushing along like a torrent, unchecked in a huge canyon – He has already plucked me out, He is plucking each one of His children out – but in another sense we need to remind ourselves that He is our fortress where we must constantly run for protection from the evil of this world – Praise you Lord you are my impenetrable fortress.

On reflecting on the words of Paul in our book Galatians, I am drawn again to the word “promise” which plays such an important part in his argument. He repeats it 9 times in ch 3 and 4. As fallible humans we may see this word perhaps slightly differently to what its biblical meaning is. When you and I may make a promise it would be like “I am coming past your place next week and I will pop in to see you”. Actually it may even be qualified with “I hope to pop in to see you”. The completion of the promise is dependent on many factors, not the least that one may change one’s mind. Because of this unpredictability of the outcome of our promises, we have taken ways of trying to ensure that an important promise will be fulfilled. Hence the practice of signing contracts so that the promise may be verified. In cases where the promises are reneged on there are courts of law which will adjudicate. All because the certainty and value of the promises are subject to so many variables in a world dominated by evil.

Now God made a singularly important promise to Abraham in Genesis 12;2-3, which makes up the central theme of the whole of God’s story, as told in the bible. This promise of bringing a blessing to the world, labouring under a universal curse, was based entirely on His character. Later to confirm it He made a contract with His people in the form of a covenant agreement which was instigated entirely from His side. All the people had to do was accept the conditions of the covenant and obey them to benefit from them. Something they proved unable to do in the years that followed, but this did not affect God’s promise at all.

On the contrary when God saw that the people could not obey, He put into action the ultimate fulfilment of the promise by sending His Son, Jesus, who through His death, put into effect that promise. In 1 Corinthians 1:20 Paul underlines this “for no matter how many promises God has made, they are yes in Christ”. Every promise that God has made is fulfilled in and through Jesus. That is how certain the outcome is. We simply need to stand back and look at the cross and its historic reality to know that whatever God has promised will be fulfilled.

Why am I making such a fuss about this? Because for us to benefit from this Promise we need to accept it by faith, before it becomes real to us cf Gal 3:14,24. And here is the crunch. Where does faith come from? Romans 10:17 faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ”. So as you read and ponder these things which are the message of God’s word, may this discussion strike virulence into your faith as you accept and believe the promises as laid out in that word. Because the opposite of faith is the often held misconception that you can somehow do something to facilitate your salvation, (obey the law) it is extremely important that we understand and apply this teaching to experience the freedom that we are going to talk about next time.

So when we say we have a hope it is based not on the vagaries of some human promise but THE promise and more from our God, based on His unchangeable nature and we can be absolutely sure that that hope which arises from it, will be fulfilled.

May you bathe in the certainty of His Promise based on His almighty power and love.

I have been singing “Praise God who came to the earth, whose love is like a mighty flood”.I have a picture in my mind of a flood, water pouring down everywhere – covering everything – out of control. what is a flood? I ask myself. A flood is where something is given in superabundance – in water it covers everything, apparently out of control.

“My love is like a flood, only in that it covers everything in superabundance – washing away all evil and opposition.” I see the world in the time of Noah – water covering the world in judgement. “Yes My love includes judgement – my love covers everything, but it is only apparent to those who have a spiritual perception – even in the evil of the world I am there controlling it – for the purposes of My love. So receive My love and perceive it everywhere around you in what you can see – But remember it is not only for you, it is for you to pass it on and share it – My community should show each other love so that they are bound together -inseparably – setting aside and forgiving all differences – everyone in My kingdom has a different personality – so these differences have to be overcome through the power of My Spirit – in the full expression of My love.”

In Galatians 3:19 Paul asks a vital question “what then is the purpose of the law”? He feels it is necessary to set the record straight, because up to now he has been making a strong case that we are under God’s promise and not the law and the reader may be asking himself this very question, if the law is ineffectual or even harmful what then could the purpose be in God giving the law which dominates the Old Testament? So in 3:19 – 25 Paul seeks to answer this question. This is a vital part in understanding Paul’s argument in Galatians and the rest of ch 3 and ch 4 go to illustrations which are intended to enable the person who is steeped in the Old Testament to understand what he has said in these few vv. So why don’t you read these vv and ponder over them, asking Jesus to help you understand them completely.

So here are a few comments to help you think. The words of John Stott are helpful: “The function of the law was not to bestow salvation, however, but to convince men of their need of it. Satan would have us prove ourselves holy by the law, which God gave to prove us sinners”.

In short we would not know what sin is if it wasn’t for the law (Romans 8:7). So once the law was given we were held prisoners by it, locked up until faith should be revealed. Gal 3:23.

What does that actually mean practically? When we are under the law we are constantly being made aware of the need to obey it perfectly. So for instance, as Jesus said on the Sermon on the Mount: If you so much as look with lust at someone you have already committed adultery, if you say something bad about someone, you have actually committed murder etc. so in vs 24 Paul says the law was put in charge of everyone like a school-master to lead us to the realization of the need for believing in the promise given to Abraham and put in effect through Jesus’ death on the cross, so that when we believe we are no longer slaves but heirs to Him and His inheritance, like true sons and daughters.

So from a practical point whenever we go back to trying to please God by obeying the law we are putting ourselves back into prison. The Christian now sees each law as a promise, so when the law says “Thou shalt not commit murder” the promise says “Though will no longer commit murder”. Paul is going to emphasize the real freedom that comes with the gospel later, but this is the basis of it. The end of the letter gives much more practical advice as to how we should live this freedom, but now we need to realize the reality and the mechanism of it.

So what is Jesus saying to you? What is your relationship with the law?

I see a light on the horizon – it is the first sign of the sun rising – soon the bright burnished ball of light will appear above the horizon. “This is a new day a new week – reflect on My gift to you – the gift of My Son on the cross – the gift of His death for you, the gift of the Holy Spirit – these are all pure gifts – let me cleanse you of all your prejudices – all those things in your life that are clouding your view of my gift – it is pure and yes – remember it is a gift, which means all you need to do is receive it and even as you receive it – remember that If I have given My Son on the cross for you – how much more will I give you all things (Romans 8:32) – so start this week with this assurance of My love and care for you, receive My gift so that you can continue to make your contribution to My kingdom’s work.”

As Paul continues in Galatians chapter 3 and 4 to show how important it is that we realize that salvation is free, he focusses quite a bit on the “promise” which God gave to Abraham (Genesis 12:2,3). This promise which is described elsewhere as the “gospel declared beforehand” needs to be understood in its context to really appreciate its importance in opening up the understanding of the whole rest of God’s story in the bible.

To grasp the context we need to go back to Genesis 3:14 to the end of that chapter and read the deadly words which God spoke out over His creation in the form of a curse. The ultimate proof and consequence of Adam’s sin amounted to the introduction of the death sentence for mankind (Gen 3:22, 24), amongst all the other dreadful things. These are more fully described in Deuteronomy ch 28. It is worth reading this chapter, because many of us are somewhat surprised, at the awful things that are happening in our country and the world at the moment. Many think these curses as described in Deut 28 are specifically reserved for the Israelites or are limited to the Old Testament times. However, if you look at the book of Revelation and read the graphic descriptions God gave John on Patmos about the end times, one will realize that they are a feature of the whole of the time of tribulation which started at Jesus’ crucifixion and which are a feature of our lives today. Many Christians have tried to comfort themselves by suggesting that these judgements of God will only occur during a short 7 year period before Jesus returns. The bible doesn’t support that view at all. Remember Jesus’ oft repeated words “In Me you will have peace but in he world you will have tribulation”

The only way to avoid the curse of God, according to Deuteronomy Ch 28, 30, is obey the Lord Jehovah fully and completely. So here is where the promise of blessing for the world through Abraham comes in. The blessing, cancelling the curse comes as a result of the promise to Abraham, which is to be put into effect through his “seed” Gal 3:15 (Gen 12:7). It is done by Jesus taking the full judgement of God contained in the curse upon Himself on our behalf (Gal 3:10ff). He was able to obey the law completely and nevertheless still was put to death so that we could escape that capital punishment which actually looks forward to the eternal separation which will come to anyone who does not embrace Jesus’ work by faith.

We need to stand back and contemplate the enormity of this revelation, to see how puny anyone’s efforts are to break the curse personally in comparison to to the power of Jesus’ death. And what is more amazing is that it comes as a result of a promise and only needs to be received by faith. It is an insult to God and to Jesus that we can think His death was insufficient and needs our contribution. I dare say we don’t think of it that way, but that is what it amounts to.

Of course we should not lose sight of the fact that we receive the blessing of God in the heavenly realm (the realm of the spiritual) and are still living physically in a world under God’s curse (Ephesians1:3).

At this time may I say as a comfort to us, it is important to realize that God is still in control of the world and all the happenings, his curse is not out if His control (cf Revelation ch 12).

This all fills me with an enormous sense of thanksgiving and praise. How do you view the death of Jesus as the fulfilment of the promise of God 6000 years before, as it affects you personally?