A Loving Appeal

[0:00] What's up, player? You know, there was actually a band from the 70s called Player.

[0:13] And in 1977, they released a song called Baby Come Back. Baby Come Back? How does it go?

[0:25] How does it go? Any fool could see that there's something and everything about you? Baby Come Back. You can blame it all on me. I was wrong.

[0:38] And I just can't live without you. 70s love songs. I probably heard this song for the first time in the back of my parents' Ford LTD wagon. Going somewhere on a summer vacation.

[0:51] But I've never forgotten it. Baby Come Back. And this song is an emotional love song in which the writer of this song is appealing to his baby to come back to him.

[1:06] Up until this point in the book of Galatians, Paul has been making a very dense theological argument. seeking to convince the Galatians, these Christians of various number of churches in the area in modern southern Turkey.

[1:25] And he is trying to convince their minds that they're no longer slaves under the Mosaic law. But they have been set free by Christ to live for God.

[1:40] And so he's been making this dense theological argument. And in our passage today, I'm just going to be preaching in verses 12 through 20. But in our passage today, there is a very noticeable different tone.

[1:54] Where up to this point, it has felt more like theological treatise. Paul now kind of switches gears to 70s love song. Because this is a very emotional appeal.

[2:08] It's a very personal appeal. It's a very pastoral appeal. And it flows with the whole book. Now, if you're not in the book of Galatians already, would you open up to Galatians?

[2:22] We're going to be in 4, 12 through 20. But if you would just flip back to 1, 6. Paul writes this to this group of Christians. I'm astonished that you're so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ.

[2:35] Baby, come back. And then in 4, 9, we read this. We read, But now that you have come to know God, or rather be known by God, you've been converted.

[2:50] God has saved you. How can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of this world? Whom slaves you want to be once more? Baby, come back. Or in 5, 1.

[3:01] For freedom Christ has set you free, babe. Stand firm then, for do not submit. Again to a yoke of slavery. Don't go back. Come back to me. But what we're going to see in this passage today, this song, this section of Paul's writing, he's not just calling the Galatians back to him.

[3:22] Ultimately, he is calling them back to Christ. What we're going to see in these few verses is that the apostle Paul puts on a gospel clinic to love others unto Christ.

[3:39] And it is very instructive for us. Three ways Paul calls these Christians back to Jesus. He makes a loving appeal.

[3:51] We'll see that in verse 12. And then he has this loving confrontation, 12 through 16. And then he does this loving motive check in verses 17 through 20.

[4:05] And if I were to sum it all up, I would say Paul is persistently loving these Galatians back to Christ.

[4:16] And so for us, it means this. We must persevere in the risky business of loving each other to Jesus.

[4:30] We must love each other unto Christ. And so let's look at this loving appeal in verse 12.

[4:42] It's very interesting where Paul starts this appeal. In English, it starts with the words brothers. Brothers. Now, I get called bro all the time by people.

[4:55] Bro, what's up bro? Bra! Bro! They're people I don't know. They're people who I have a brother, Scott. He calls me bro sometimes. I get that. There's other people in this church that bro me.

[5:08] I get that. I bro them back. We're bros in Christ. But sometimes I'm just all out and about and I get bro'd. Hey, bro. What's up, bro? And so it can be very kind of a generic bro.

[5:21] Paul is being very intentional here. He means every letter of brothers. He's being very intentional. So here we have this Jewish apostle calling these Gentile converts brothers.

[5:40] We're all family. We're all family. We're all been united together in Christ. It's essentially saying given where we just were in 4, 1 through 7, 1 through 11, Paul is essentially saying, Hey, I too am a former slave of the law, but I by God's grace have been set free.

[6:05] And you Gentiles, you heard the gospel and you were former slaves to the elementary principles of this world. But you were set free as well by the blood of Jesus.

[6:16] And we're all family now. Brothers. We're all part of God's new family in Christ where there's neither Jew nor Greek.

[6:29] There's neither slave nor free. There's neither male nor female because we are all one in Christ. So Paul starts, brothers, this loving appeal by saying, recognizing what we have in common.

[6:48] But then what we read is this. Brothers, I entreat you. Become. Become as I am.

[6:59] Become. Now that word become is the first command in the book of Galatians that Paul calls these Christians to change. It's the beginning of many.

[7:11] And so he's saying, you've got to become. You've got to become as I am. Which means they need to unbecome of something they have been messing with.

[7:24] Become as I am. And when Paul requires this of them, he's not saying, hey, Galatians, you need to become Christians like I am.

[7:35] He's already laid down the fact that they are. If you just look up at chapter 4, verse 7, he says, so you, Galatians, are no longer a slave, but a son. And if a son, then an heir through God.

[7:49] They, the triune God, has saved them. So whatever Paul is saying, become as I am, it's not becoming a Christian.

[7:59] They're already Christians. He says, become as I am for I have become as you are. And what he's saying there is this.

[8:11] Hey, just as I was delivered, you have been delivered. I am what you are. We are all one family in Christ. But still, there's a difference because he's calling them to be something that he is.

[8:31] And what he's essentially saying is this. Brothers and sisters, you need to unbecome slaves of the law.

[8:41] You need to release yourself from this false teaching that has snuck in. You got to give that up and become like me. Living out the freedom that Christ has accomplished for us through his blood.

[8:59] And he would sum it up in 2.20. For I have been crucified with Christ. It's no longer I who live. But Christ lives in me. It's all about Christ.

[9:11] And the life I now live in the flesh. I live under the law. I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself up for me. Paul is saying, come, become as I am.

[9:25] Not living under the law, but living in freedom for Christ. In that sense, become as I am. And so, here we have this appeal.

[9:36] It's this urgency. It's getting close to begging. Saying, oh, Galatian Christians. Brothers. Family.

[9:47] In Christ. I urge you. Live in the freedom. That I'm living in. That Jesus paid for you for.

[9:59] Now, let's apply this. Let's apply this loving appeal. We're going to apply it in two ways. First is this.

[10:12] Every one of us in this room. Every one of us are going to need to be appealed to at some point. Because here's the sober reality.

[10:24] We are all prone to wander. We are all prone to drift away from Christ. From His grace. From faith alone.

[10:34] In Christ alone. By grace alone. We're prone to drift away from that. To some kind of elementary principle of the world. In which we are trying to save ourselves again.

[10:46] It's our default setting. And that we need to get into our settings of our heart. And switch off self-saving to Christ has saved me.

[10:57] But what this means is that we need Pauls in our life. Brothers and sisters to love us to Christ.

[11:09] By appealing to us with the gospel of Christ. So we need to be appealed to on a regular basis.

[11:21] But not just we need people appealing to us. To live in the freedom of Christ. We need to be appealing to one another. We must be willing to love each other unto Christ.

[11:37] To make loving appeals to one another. To say to one another. Oh brother, sister. You don't need to be living like that. Become as we already are.

[11:51] Free. You don't need to be living in fear. You don't need to be jumping through hoops. God in Christ has saved you.

[12:04] Now in order for us to be appealed to. Or to appeal to one another in love. It will require a certain degree of proximity to one another.

[12:17] To know each other. And that's one of the reasons why we have life groups. Living out what Christ has done for us together. Appealing to one another.

[12:31] Being appealed to by others. But before I move on to the next point. Let me just ask you this question. Why do you think Paul is making this appeal? Why is he bothering?

[12:44] Why is he taking the time? Because he loves these churches in Galatia. He loves these Christians. He knows many of them by name.

[12:56] He personally saw them. Trust Christ. He personally put a lot of work in. In order to establish them in the faith. And he wants what is best for them.

[13:07] And what's best for them is not Paul. But Christ. And so Paul's saying baby come back. Come back to Christ.

[13:22] We must love each other. Unto Christ. And now we've seen Paul's loving appeal. And that's kind of a spring for us to appeal to one another.

[13:34] But let's look at this loving confrontation. In verses 12 through 16. In this section Paul lovingly confronts the Christian Galatians.

[13:46] And he does so in the most interesting way. He uses a contrast. He contrasts their attitudes towards him back in the day.

[13:57] To their presence added towards him. While he's writing this letter. In 12 through 14. He's going to say back in the day.

[14:09] Do you remember? When I first showed up. I was in rough shape. I preached the gospel to you. And you heard it. And believed it. And there was this warm. Loving.

[14:20] Blessed unity among us. 15 and 16. But now. It's gone from warm to cold. It's gone from loving to hostile.

[14:31] It's gone from blessed unity. To this kind of cursed tension. And so what he does is. He does this gospel recounting. He says do you remember our gospel story?

[14:45] Do you remember where we were? Do you remember what happened? And so he points them back. Back then. In verse 13. We read. You know.

[14:58] It was because of a bodily ailment. That I preached the gospel to you at first. It all started when I showed up. Do you guys remember? When I showed up in Galatia.

[15:09] I was preaching the gospel to you. And if you flip back. To chapter 3 verse 1. You get a sense of what was happening. When Paul preached the gospel to them. For the first time. Oh foolish Galatians.

[15:22] Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes. That Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed. As crucified. That's a reference to his gospel preaching.

[15:34] The Holy Spirit was animating. Paul's proclamation of the gospel. To such an extent. That the Galatians. These Gentiles. They were thinking.

[15:45] It was as if. Christ. Was on the cross. Hanging before them. For them. They were impressed. By the Holy Spirit. To such a degree.

[15:56] That like. He died. For me. And so Paul. Originally showed up. Doing what he does.

[16:07] Preaching. Christ. Crucified. But you'll notice. In verse 13. He also points to the fact. That he showed up in rough shape. You know. It's because of a bodily ailment.

[16:18] That I preached the gospel to you at first. There's been a lot of speculation. On what this bodily ailment. Was. And when we get to verse 15.

[16:29] We'll do a little speculating together. But what you need to see is. Whatever this bodily ailment was. It didn't keep him from preaching Christ crucified.

[16:41] In fact. His difficult circumstances. Were the very means. By which God. Directed Paul. To these Gentiles.

[16:52] To hear. Christ. Crucified. And believe. That's how God got him there. To preach the gospel. So Paul's doing this gospel.

[17:03] Recrouting. Do you remember when I showed up? I was in rough shape. But I preached the gospel. And man. There was a response. Speaking of. This response.

[17:15] In verses. 14 and 15. He describes their response. He first describes. What their response was not. And so in verse 14.

[17:27] We read. And though my condition was a trial to you. You did not scorn or despise me. He acknowledges that his bodily ailment. Whatever that was.

[17:38] Was. If you're reading out of the ESV. A trial to you. Now that word trial. The Greek word for it. Can mean trial. It can mean temptation.

[17:48] And generally speaking. The context gives it away. It's not necessarily super clear here. So if it was a trial. It would have been like this. Paul's.

[17:59] Physical condition. Was an unexpected burden. On these newly converted. Newly minted. Gentile Christians. It was a trial to you. Or.

[18:11] If it was a temptation. It would have gone something more like this. When I first showed up. I know I was unimpressive. And I know. That preaching. The good news.

[18:22] Of a crucified hero. Would have been. Off putting to you. Because you know. In first Corinthians one. That the preaching of the cross.

[18:34] Is foolishness. To those who are perishing. It is folly. To Greeks. And so what this could be a reference to. Is the initial reception.

[18:46] These Gentiles. Who were. Who were not Jews. Hearing this message. Of a hero. Who was crucified. That's scandalous. So it could go either way.

[18:59] Trial or temptation. But either way. Paul. Was very aware. How these Gentiles. Could have responded. But they didn't. They could have scorned him.

[19:11] They could have despised him. That word. Literally means. To spit upon. You could have spit on me. But you didn't.

[19:22] And the rest of 14. Describes. How they did. You did not scorn. Or despise me. But received me.

[19:33] As an angel of God. As Christ Jesus. Instead of spitting on him. They received him. As a very messenger.

[19:44] Of the risen Christ. Maybe another way. To say it is this. It's as if Paul was talking. To these Galatians. He's saying.

[19:55] Do you remember when you received me? You received me. As I was. Sent. By the risen Christ. A messenger of his. To proclaim to you. To reveal to you.

[20:06] The risen Christ. Who had died for you. You recognized. That it was Christ. Who sent me. To you. And what he then goes on.

[20:19] To point out. In all of this. Is. Is just. What was true of them. They didn't scorn. Or spit. They received him.

[20:29] As an angel. As Christ Jesus. Himself. In verse. 15. We read. For I testify to you. That if possible. You would have gouged out. Your eyes. And given them to me.

[20:46] The idea there is. Hey. It could mean. You would have given. Your shirt off your back. For me. Or it is a reference. To his bodily ailment. Did Paul have an eye disease?

[20:59] What we see here though. Is. The Galatians. Responded. To Paul's preaching. Of the gospel. Not in scorn.

[21:09] And spit. But with affection. And love. Receiving it. It points to. This being a work. Of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God.

[21:22] Descending on. These Galatians. Giving them eyes. To see. And a heart. To recognize. That they are sinners. In need of a. Savior. Their very. Response.

[21:32] To Paul. Is an indicator. Of the. Spirit. Changing. Their hearts. To love. A Jewish.

[21:43] Apostle. What Paul is pointing to. Is. He's saying. Hey. Back in the day. When I first came to you. You responded to me.

[21:55] And you were warm. And you were affectionate. You would have given. You would have given. Your shirt off. Your back to me. That was. Then. And then he turns to now.

[22:06] Verses 15 and 16. And he asks. Two questions. That are confrontational. In nature. 15. What has become.

[22:17] Of your blessedness. Where's the love. Where'd the love go. Where's the warmth. And affection. Galatians. What happened.

[22:31] What. What. Did the self. Sacrificial. Christ. Like. Spirit. Born. Love. Go. That's. That's what is meant. By blessedness.

[22:43] That they had been changed. By God. And now. They were. Loving their neighbor. As themselves. And that is a blessed state. What happened. Paul's asking.

[22:55] It's confrontational. And. And then he goes further. In verse 16. He says. Have I then become your enemy. By telling you the truth. It's not just the absence. Of love. Now.

[23:06] He's sensing. Some hostility. From them. And the truth. That he references. In verse 16. Have I become your enemy.

[23:17] By telling you the truth. It's the same truth. That Paul's been describing. As the truth. All throughout the book of Galatians. It's the gospel. The truth of the gospel. Paul.

[23:27] Is confronting. These Galatians. For a very similar reason. He confronted. The apostle Peter. Back. In. Galatians 2. Remember. He confronted Peter. Because Peter's conduct.

[23:38] Was not in step. With the truth. Of the gospel. Their conduct. These Galatians. Their lack of love. Was not in step. With the truth.

[23:50] Of the gospel. And so. Paul keeps. Preaching the gospel. To them. And so. Paul's. Like. Hey.

[24:00] I first came to you. Preaching the gospel. You received it. And now. You're. Sacrificing. You were. Sacrificing yourself. For me. You were. Plucked your eyeballs out.

[24:12] And given them to me. But now. Because of this. Same gospel. I'm preaching to you. You're. You think I'm your enemy. Paul is giving this.

[24:27] Kind of gospel. Recounting. It's a loving. Confrontation. Paul is simply. Showing. These people. He loves so much.

[24:38] That their posture. Towards him. Has dramatically. Changed. From when it started. To where it is at. Right now. It's a very effective way.

[24:49] To confront somebody. It's a very helpful way. To show somebody. Something has actually. Changed. And what Paul is showing. Them is. You've moved from.

[24:59] Being warm to cold. From being loving. To hostile. From blessing. To curse. The enemy. By the way. Maybe you think of that. As being in quotes.

[25:10] Have I then become. Your quote unquote. Enemy. Enemy. By telling you the truth. Because certainly. It wasn't the Galatian Christians. That came up with this idea. That he was their enemy. That. Came from a group of people.

[25:22] These false teachers. That had come in. After Paul. Left. And I will circle back to that. In just a second. But let's ask the question. How do we apply. Something like this.

[25:33] A loving confrontation. A loving confrontation. That we see in the scripture. Of Paul confronting. This. These Christians. Almost 2,000 years ago. How do we apply that. To our life today.

[25:44] First one is this. Brothers and sisters. Expect conflict. Expect conflict. There will be conflict among us. Don't be surprised.

[25:55] When a relationship. Suddenly sours. Don't be surprised. When there's all of a sudden. A chill. In your relationships. With somebody else. Don't be surprised by that. But.

[26:07] Two. How we respond. To that. Coolness. Matters. And we do. What Paul does.

[26:18] We take. Our cues. From the gospel apostle. And we act. In gospel love. We move. To. The coolness.

[26:30] We move. Towards. The hostility. We move. Towards. The tension. If you're sensing.

[26:42] Tension. In a relationship. With a brother and sister. In Christ. You go to them. Take your cues. From Paul. Say something. Like. Okay.

[26:52] Let me just recount. Gospel history together. You say. You know what. Three months ago. I thought we were doing great. But when we were hanging out. Last week. You wouldn't even talk to me. You wouldn't even look at me.

[27:04] What. Did something happen? Did I offend you? We don't wait. When we sense tension.

[27:15] A lack of unity and peace. We move towards it. But. But it's not just on those people. Who sense. Something's off in a relationship. Like.

[27:25] If I become aware. That I may have offended someone. I'm going to go to that person. I'm going to go to that person. But. But. Certainly this doesn't mean. It's only those people who sense that.

[27:37] For. In Matthew 18. If you're a Christian in the room. And you have been offended by someone. If you've been offended by. By a brother or a sister.

[27:48] Jesus is very clear. You go. To the one that has offended you. And show them their fault. Whatever the case may be. We move.

[28:00] Towards one another. When there's tension. Just like Paul. Moves. Towards the Galatians here. And he confronts them in love.

[28:13] There's one more piece to this. That I want to apply. You might be sitting in your pew right now. And you're like. Yeah. That sounds great. On paper.

[28:24] That. Sounds wonderful. And then you're in it. Then you're experiencing. Tension. And coolness.

[28:35] Little hostility. From something. Somebody else. And it goes from theory. To practice. And you start getting. Lumps in your throat.

[28:49] Do you know what Paul was doing. In this passage. He was risking. Risking something. He was risking.

[29:00] His relationship. With the Galatians. By confronting them. There are no promises. Paul doesn't change.

[29:10] The gospel. He doesn't apologize. For the gospel. He moves right towards them. Say what's happened. And he knows. That he's risking it.

[29:23] The risk. We will encounter. Together. When we appeal. To one another. Or confront. One another. To. For Christ's sake. The risk. Is that.

[29:34] We will offend. Someone else more. And the greatest. Of all risks. Is what we don't like. To acknowledge. Is that. We may lose.

[29:45] A friendship. Over it. Confronting. People in love. Whether it's an appeal.

[29:56] Or giving some. Gospel history. A recounting. It's hard. Because it's risky. You're risking. The relationship.

[30:07] But. But. Paul's love. For the Galatians. It was more important.

[30:20] Than fearing that risk. Paul. His love. For these people. It was greater.

[30:31] Than any fear. Of risk. Of losing them. Because. What he wanted. Most. For them. Was for them. To find. Their all. Consuming.

[30:42] Passion. In Christ. Alone. So he was willing. To risk it. In confronting them. And so must we.

[30:54] When we realize. What's at stake. Is a brother. Or sister's. All consuming. Passion. In the risen Christ. We must. Risk.

[31:05] The appeals. Risk. The confrontation. So we persist. In loving people. Unto Christ. Even when they think.

[31:17] We may be an enemy. We must love each other. Unto Christ. We've looked at. A loving appeal. We've looked at.

[31:29] The loving confrontation. And now let's look at this. Loving. Mode of check. In verses 17 through 20. We just got done. In a section. In which Paul. Is contrasting.

[31:41] The Galatians posture. Towards him. Back then. And then. At the time he wrote. And Paul now. In verse 17. He moves into.

[31:52] A different contrast. A contrast. Of motive. And he's going to contrast. The motives. Of. Of a group of people.

[32:03] They're calling. He's calling. They. They. They. They. They. Them. And. His own motive. Why. They're pursuing.

[32:13] These Galatians. And they're very. They're two very different reasons. So let's look at verse 17. Why.

[32:25] These. False. Teachers. Are. Pursuing. The Galatians. They make much of you. They. Being. The false teachers.

[32:36] That have come. Into Galatia. After Paul has left. They are telling. These. New Christians. That. Hey. I'm. We're glad that you believe in Jesus. That's good. But that's not enough.

[32:47] Not only do you have to believe in Jesus. You need to start. Obeying. The Mosaic law. Which means you need to be circumcised. Guys. And what it also means is. You got to start. Shopping. In Woodman's. Kosher aisle.

[32:58] In the kosher aisle alone. And then you need to pick up. A Jewish. Calendar. And start living according to the Jewish calendar. And when you get all those in place. You're good.

[33:09] And so what the Judaizers are saying. These false teachers. They're saying these Gentile Christians. Gentiles need to be Jews. In order to be Christians. And Paul's like. No way. That's not the gospel.

[33:22] Because the gospel. Is faith alone. Grace alone. Christ alone. And so when he says. They.

[33:34] He's referring to these false teachers. These false teachers. Make much of you. Galatians. But for no good purpose. The word make much of. Is a word we get the word.

[33:44] Zeal from. They're zealous for you. They're pursuing you. They're wooing you. They want you to be. Part of their. People.

[33:55] They want you in their orbit. And on a side note. This is why this stuff is so dangerous. It always feels good to be wanted.

[34:07] All of us want to be wanted. And these false teachers. Are making a very emotional. Hey come be with us. You're wanted. You're wanted. Paul says.

[34:22] These false teachers. They're pursuing you. They're zealously. Wanting you. And I know. It feels good to be wanted. But they're pursuing you.

[34:32] For quote. No good purpose. End quote. And then he elaborates. He says. They want. To shut you out. These false teachers.

[34:44] Want to. Shut you out. Shut them out of what? They want. To shut. Them out. To separate them. From Paul's. Gospel. Influence.

[34:55] The true. Gospel. The life giving message. Of Jesus Christ. They. Want. To. Separate. The Galatians. From Paul. Like sheep. From a shepherd.

[35:06] They don't want. Paul preaching. To them. Because what Paul.

[35:17] Is preaching. Sounds crazy. To them. Paul's going to keep on. Hammering on the fact. That. It's faith alone. In Christ alone. It's all by God's grace alone.

[35:30] They're trying to. They're trying to. Shut them. Out. Of Paul's. Influence. But we haven't. Gotten to the real reason. Yet. It's the last.

[35:42] Clause. Of verse 17. They want. To shut you out. That. You. May. Make. Make. Much. Of them. It's the same word.

[35:54] From zeal. Hey. They're zealous. For you. So that you. Would be zealous. For them. What Paul.

[36:05] Is exposing here. Is the motive. They're doing it. For themselves. If you flip over. To chapter 6. Verse 12. And 13. It is.

[36:16] Again. The reference. To those. Are the false teachers. We're talking about here. It is those. Who want to make. A good showing. In the flesh. Who would force you. To be circumcised. And only in order.

[36:27] That they may not. Be persecuted. For the cross of Christ. They want. A good showing. They don't want. Their name drug through the mud. Being associated. With the crucified Messiah. But not just that.

[36:37] Verse 13. For even those. Who are circumcised. Do not themselves. Keep the law. But they desire. To have you circumcised. That they. May boast. These.

[36:51] People. False teachers. They do not. Have the Galatians. Best interest in mind. They are self-serving. When it comes.

[37:02] Right down to it. They are just trying. To get a crowd. Let me try. To illustrate this. Imagine. You have got. A sister in Christ.

[37:14] And. She is really lonely. And. She meets a guy. And this guy. Starts just kind of.

[37:24] Talking her sweet. You bump into this guy. You run into. In a context. Outside of the normal. Normal kind of.

[37:35] Paths of life. And you see. A side to him. That she is. Completely unaware of. And so. You become aware. Hey. She is getting wooed. By this guy.

[37:46] But this guy. Is up to no good. That's what's happening here. Baby. Come back. Come back.

[37:56] To your king. King. These. Men. Are leading you down. A path. That is of no good purpose. They are doing it. For themselves.

[38:08] Now. This kind of. Self-serving. Ministry. Was going on. In the first century. And it absolutely. Is going on. In the 21st century. Men and women.

[38:19] Seeking to gather. A following. In the name of Christ. Only to build. Their own kingdoms. I need a Learjet. I need a Learjet. But before we start. Pointing the fingers.

[38:30] All around. The health and wealth. Gospel folks. It shows up here. I mean. We want our church. To succeed.

[38:40] Right? We want our church. To grow in maturity. We want our church. To grow in numbers. And with those desires. Can come this. Subtle temptation.

[38:50] On a motivational level. That. That what we do. Is ultimately. For ourselves. That's why this is such a good.

[39:01] Motive check. Brothers and sisters. In Christ. Why did we do this? Why are we showing up. Sunday after Sunday? Why are you going to life groups?

[39:16] Why are you giving your time. And talent. And your treasure? Why are many of you serving on multiple ministry teams? Why are we doing this? Is it to make a good showing. In the eyes.

[39:26] Of Christendom. In Wisconsin. Is it to boast in ourselves? Do you know why.

[39:36] It cannot be about us. Because we are nobody's savior. There is no life transforming power.

[39:49] Coming from me. Coming from you. We are just branches. Jesus is the vine. We are not in this.

[40:02] To make much of ourselves. We are in this. To make much. Of Christ. And it is a very different motive. Than what these false teachers. Were pursuing.

[40:14] The Galatians for. That is where Paul goes. In verse 18. He says. It is always good. To be made much of.

[40:24] For a good purpose. That now. This is Paul talking. About his pursuit. His zeal. For the Galatians. I am pursuing you. For a good purpose. And what is that? Verse 19. He says.

[40:35] My little children. My little children. Again. This is familial. Loving terms. With a dash of authority. In it. It is my little children.

[40:48] For whom I am again. In the anguish. Of childbirth. My little kids. Brothers and sisters. In Galatia. Who I am suffering for. Paul is comparing.

[40:58] His ongoing ministry. To the Gentiles. To the anguish. Of giving birth. To a baby. Which helps me. Because I can use that illustration. If the apostle Paul.

[41:10] Uses the illustration. And he is a guy. It never had a baby. I can use it too. I have never. I have never given birth. But I have seen.

[41:24] Three births. And with each birth. That I have witnessed. I have come back. So relieved. That I am not the one. Giving birth.

[41:36] I don't want to have. Any other thing. To do with that pain. And suffering. But gospel ministry. Is being likened. To childbirth.

[41:52] Making. Loving appeals. Loving confrontations. Being accused. Being an enemy. It can get very painful.

[42:06] But what makes childbirth. Worth it. Is bringing another human being. Into the world. And when that baby. Is given to you.

[42:17] It's all worth it. At least it's worth it. For my wife. You know. It's worth it for me too. It's worth it for me. It's worth it for me.

[42:28] It's worth it for me. But what makes the childbirth. Of gospel ministry. All of the appeals. All of the confrontations. All of the prayers. All of the sweat and tears. All the phone conversations.

[42:39] All of the pursuit of people. Who don't want to be pursued. What makes it all worth it. Is in the line. Until Christ.

[42:50] Is formed. In you. It's all about Christ. Christ. What makes it worth it. Is Christ.

[43:01] Formed. In you. What makes it worth it. Is when you get to witness. Someone you have been laboring over. You see God at work in them. And you see.

[43:12] That they're. For the first time. Their all consuming passion. Is Jesus. When that gets formed in somebody. It's all worth it. It's all worth it. The contrast here is.

[43:31] Who you're doing it for. The false teachers were in it for themselves. The apostle Paul. Was not in it for himself. I've been crucified with Christ.

[43:43] It's no longer I who live. But Christ lives in me. In the life I now live in the flesh. I live by faith. I live for the son of God. What we have here is.

[43:56] A motive check. Of why we do what we do. It's that Christ would become. The all consuming passion. Of anyone we engage.

[44:08] And if that's Paul's one great aim. It certainly must be ours. So. If you're a pastor or elder. Of Christ the King Church.

[44:21] Make appeals. Confront. Check motives. Love this church. Unto Christ. If you're a life group leader. Or in a life group.

[44:32] Make appeals. Loving appeals. Do loving confrontation. Check motives. To love people. Unto Christ. King's kids.

[44:43] King's place. Worship. Slides. Sound text. Musicians. Running wires. If you're on the connect team. If you're a husband or a wife. Or soon to be a husband or wife.

[44:55] Make loving appeals. Make loving confrontations. Lovingly check motives. As we love one another to Christ.

[45:05] If you're a parent or a grandparent. Appeal to your children. Appeal to them. Confront them in love with the gospel.

[45:17] Check motives. Now you might be saying. Okay. Okay. I get it. I get it. But where do I start?

[45:30] I start. Why do you think Paul loved the Galatians. With the kind of love he did? I have been crucified with Christ.

[45:45] It's no longer I who live. But Christ lives in me. In the life. I now live in the flesh. I live by faith in the son of God. Who loved me. And gave himself up for me.

[45:57] That's where we start. We start with Christ's love for us. Christ's love for Paul. Compelled Paul to love others unto Christ.

[46:11] And that's where we start. Christ was crucified for me. He loved me. He loved me. He gave himself up for me. And when that hits home.

[46:24] You'll be well positioned to love others. Even when it's costly and risky. Unto Christ. We've seen a loving appeal.

[46:34] A loving confrontation. And a loving motive check. Christ's love for us. Compels us to love others to Christ. So we must persevere in this risky business.

[46:47] Of loving each other unto Christ. And when we do. Let's just see what God does. Let's pray. God thank you so much for your word.

[47:00] God would you make us a people. Who love one another. As you in Christ have loved us. And God we ask for you to do. What only you can do.

[47:11] Would you pour out your spirit. In such a way. That not only would you grow us. In the grace of Christ Jesus. But you would cause the gospel. To go out in Holy Spirit power.

[47:22] And there would be many. Who would come to know you. As their savior and king. Their all consuming passion. And you would add them. To our number. Or you would add them.

[47:33] To churches in town. Whatever the case. Your name be praised. It's your name. Amen.