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What Is Legalism and Why Is It Deadly?

An Introduction to the Epistle to the Galatians

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The essence of legalism is trusting in religious activity rather than trusting in God. It is putting our confidence in a practice rather than in a Person. And without fail this will lead us to love the practice more than the Person.1 Legalism has many faces. Paul’s dealings with the Galatians over this issue was a major theme of his epistle to them. Let’s take a closer look as we continue our study on the Epistle to the Galatians.

[Tweet “Per Jesus, it’s more valuable to heal a man today than to legally wait to heal him tomorrow.”]

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#S3-030: Do You Believe in the Resurrection of Jesus? [Podcast]

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One of my favorite shows from long ago was Get Smart. It was a show about a goofy secret agent. One of the popular catch phrases for the show was ‘would you believe.’ Maxwell Smart would say when he got caught by the bad guys ‘would you believe.’ Here’s some of the dialogue. “I happen to know that at this very’ moment eight Coast Guard cutters are converging on this boat. Would you believe seven? Six? How about two cops in a rowboat?” Or, At this very minute, 25 Control agents are converging on this building. Would you believe two squad cars and a motorcycle cop? How about a vicious street cleaner and a toothless police dog? Or, I once trained a girl to swim across the English Channel five times. Would you believe four times? Would you believe three times across the Mississippi? How about twice around the bathtub? Once around the bathtub? Or, in a short while, General Crawford and a hundred of his crack paratroopers will come crashing into this landing. Would you believe J. Edgar Hoover and I0 of his G-men? How about Tarzan and a couple of apes? Bomba, the Jungle Boy? Or, at this very moment 100 highway patrolmen with Doberman pinschers are surrounding this entire area. Would you believe four deputies and a bloodhound? How about a Boy Scout with rabies? The question arises ‘do you believe in the Resurrection of Jesus? Do you believe it just like the Bible says it or are you believing a watered down ‘Maxwell Smart’ version of the events surrounding Jesus death?

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[Tweet “What death did to Jesus is nothing compared to what Jesus did to death.”]

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Do You Look Like the Galatians?

An Introduction to the Epistle to the Galatians

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Most commentators would agree that quotations from the Jewish Scriptures play a key role in the argumentation of Paul’s letter to the Galatians. From there, it is only a short step to the conclusion that the Galatians possessed a fairly broad knowledge of the Jewish Scriptures.1 How’s your knowledge of these same scriptures? In this series on the Epistle to the Galatians, we will take a verse by verse look at Paul’s strong case for justification by faith and how that helps us in our everyday life.

[Tweet “Certain sins exist in every city. Whatever is going in the world often gets into the church.”]

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#S3-029: Why God Sets Up the Lowest of Men as Authority [Podcast]

How to Increase the Presence of God in Your Everyday Life

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In the last podcast in this series, ‘How Do You Pray for A President You Don’t Agree With?‘ we referenced Cyrus, an ungodly leader, whom God allowed to ascend the throne. Cyrus was a man full of pride. He was a false god worshiper. He was not a lover of the only true Father God in heaven. He treated Him just like any of the other gods of the nations he conquered. God used his religious tolerance policies to His own advantage bringing Israel back to Jerusalem from Babylonian captivity. In this week’s podcast, we begin to take a look at a second king whom God allowed to come to power, Nebuchadnezzar.

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[Tweet “The best candidate for President may be the most inferior as far as God is concerned.”]

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Encore Post: How to Be Up In A Down World

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The world is a negative place. Just turn on the nightly news if you doubt it. I very rarely tune into the news because of this. You can protect yourself from all the gloominess but it takes some work. If you aren’t proactive, it’s easy to be swept away in the tidal wave of negativity around you. Jack Nicholson said, “In my last year of school, I was voted Class Optimist and Class Pessimist. Looking back, I realize I was only half right.1 No matter which half are you, you can grow. You can be an up person in a down world.

[Tweet “They say a mind is a terrible thing to waste. The same is true of your heart.”]

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#S3-028: Encore Episode: How To Release Your Faith With Words [Podcast]

Real Bible Faith: How It Works

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Medicine at Work, published by the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association, has stressed the critical importance of words spoken in surgery. As the anesthetic is given for surgery, deadly fear may strike the patient when he hears someone say, “I’m going to shoot him now,” or, “Hook up the monitor.” “Monitor” to the drugged patient may sound like “monster.” Or a doctor may declare in disgust, “This isn’t my day!” Dr. Paul J. Moses told a medical audience in San Francisco that “the same directions given by two different physicians could help or fail.” One doctor’s voice, Dr. Moses suggested, might make the medicine work, but the other’s might reveal doubt and the medicine would fail. 1 Words are extremely important in the realm of the faith life. Words are difference makers. They are deal breakers. Jesus said, “By Your words you are justified and by your words, you’re condemned” (Matt. 12:37). In this week’s Light on Life, we are going to take a look at the importance of words and their connection to the faith life.

This is part two of the Series entitled, ‘Real Bible Faith: How It Works’. You can find Part One ‘Why is Faith Important and Who Has It? [Podcast]‘ here.

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[Tweet “Circumstances have a voice and once they speak they need to be answered with the Word.”]

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Why Tithing Brings Great Increase and Blessing

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Did you know that 88% of people believe that the Bible teaches generosity? 1 Did you also know that one part of generosity includes giving back to God? It starts with you being generous towards Him. It starts with tithing. Some raise up with objections or comments about why they think they shouldn’t or why they can’t tithe. But, tithing works. God’s promises are true. It works just like clockwork. Here are a few points to bring an understanding of the Bible system of tithing.

[Tweet “Nothing in God is instant – nothing. You plant seeds. You wait for harvest. That’s how it works.”]

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#S3-027: How Do You Pray for A President You Don’t Agree With? [Podcast]

How to Increase the Presence of God in Your Everyday Life

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Praying for your President, or the leader of your nation is the obligation of every child of God. In the area of prayer, there are many good Bible principles to learn and incorporate like Matthew 5:44. One of these principles is praying for people as opposed to praying against them. What we often do is they bring our sense of what we think is right, politically, into the Throne Room. Our sense, at times, is incorrect. We are not the standard of right. Jesus is.  Unless we have scripture for what we say we believe, then all we have is opinion. Be careful in these areas. How do you know that God holds your viewpoint? You just assumed that God is Republican. He’s not. You assumed God is Democrat. He’s not. He’s nineteen thousand billion miles above all of that. So, when praying for your president learn to pray the Plan not your Passions. We are workers together with God. Find out from Him what you should pray for. That’s where the hearing part comes in. God wants to hear His word in your mouth.

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[Tweet “We have incorrectly thought if we pray ‘for a wicked ruler’ we are condoning their behavior.”]

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More of Why God Desires You to Live A Committed Life

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A certain dog had always boasted of his ability as a runner. Then one day a rabbit that he was chasing got away. This brought a lot of ridicule from the other dogs because of his previous boasting. His explanation: “You must remember that the rabbit was running for his life, while I was only running for my dinner.” 1 What are you running for in your Christian life? Paul said he was running for a prize and he ran in such a way as to obtain it. (1 Cor. 9:24). Commitment, consecration, and dedication are all words which should mark our race in God.

[Tweet “If man is a three part being, then your consecration to God must be in three parts.”]

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#S3-026: Why Successful People Allow the Lord to Build Their Life [Podcast]

How to Increase the Presence of God in Your Everyday Life

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In 1787, prayer helped determine the future of our country in a significant way. The Constitutional Convention was on the verge of total failure over the issue of whether small states should have the same representation as large states. In this hopeless situation, 81-year-old Benjamin Franklin offered a suggestion. He was convinced Scripture is right when it states, “Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it” (Psalm 127:1), so he said: “Gentlemen, I have lived a long time and am convinced that God governs in the affairs of men. If a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice, is it probable that an empire can rise without His aid? I move that prayer imploring the assistance of Heaven to be held every morning before we proceed to business.” p 1046 The motion carried. From then on prayer was offered each morning. The change after prayer was introduced was so dramatic that in a short while a compromise was reached which is still in effect today. 1 Successfully praying for the President and our nation’s leaders have several key elements. We begin to examine these elements in today’s Light on Life podcast.

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[Tweet “If you want to live a Holy Ghost empowered life, get used to the concept of waiting on the Lord.”]

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Why God Desires You to Live a Committed Life

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It’s amazing, how much the world generally or the church specifically is looking for better methods. They are continually looking for a better way to do something. Have you ever asked yourself, what does God look for? God does not look for better methods,  he looks for better men. This is not about righteousness here. This is not referencing your positional stand before God. Consecration is about availability; being available for God to use you. Living a yielding life to the Spirit of God so that God can do something with your righteous position in Him. Better men are available men. They are consecrated men.

[Tweet “God does not look for better methods, he looks for better men –  E.M. Bounds.”]

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#S3-025: How Timely Adjustments Unlock The Presence of God [Podcast]

How to Increase the Presence of God in Your Everyday Life

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At the heart of the Christian message is God Himself waiting for His redeemed children to push into conscious awareness of His Presence. 1 Pushing into the Presence of God is the subject of this new series. At times, the path to increase goes through the valley of adjustment. Adjustments must be made before manifestation are a reality.

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[Tweet “How do you honor Jesus? By reverencing His Word and working closely with the Holy Spirit.”]