Tag: Galatians

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 27:10 — 18.7MB)

Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Galatians 6:11-18

Galatians
Freedom’s Cross
Galatians 6:11-18

We can be free from worrying about what others think.

So, when Christians began to proclaim that Christ had to die on a cross for our sins, many people were offended.

They were trying to avoid persecution, but that put them in bondage to the need to impress.

We may not yet be killed for following Christ, but we are ridiculed sometimes, and we are at times considered “narrow minded bigots” by some.

They themselves don’t keep the law, but they want you to keep it just so they can boast.

The cross sets us free! It sets us free from self (Galatians 2:20). It sets us free from the flesh (Galatians 5:24). And it sets us free from the world (Galatians 6:14).

So, boast about what God is doing inside you, not about what you are doing on the outside.

If you want true peace and freedom, stop boasting about yourself and your own achievements, and start boasting about the cross.

But only as we boast about the cross, do we find real peace and mercy in our lives.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 22:46 — 15.6MB)

Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Galatians 6:1-10

Galatians
Freedom’s Harvest
Galatians 6:1-10

How does my spirituality affect what I do with my money?

We share because we want to out of love.

Those who are free give as much as they can, and they do it gratefully.

As believers in Christ, we are free to spend our money any way we want.

If I invest time and money in things of the Holy Spirit, I will grow spiritually.

Continue to invest your time and money in spiritual things, and you will eventually see lasting, spiritual results.

Good things happen to those who persevere, so don’t quit. Don’t be discouraged by set-backs and failures.

As free people in Christ, let’s share and reap and share some more, so that the Kingdom of God can be expanded in this place and around the world.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 26:39 — 18.3MB)

Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Galatians 6:1-5

Galatians
Freedom’s Restoration
Galatians 6:1-5

How can any Church become a place where people caught in sin get set free?

God calls us to restore the sinner, not blame him.

As we climb the summit to be all that God created us to be, sometimes we fall.

Only the Spirit of God has that ability, and we need to let Him oversee the care of spiritually broken and wounded people.

If we want to become a place of healing for broken people, then we must restore the sinner spiritually.

If we’re going to be a place of healing for broken people, then we must restore the sinner gently.

When we restore a sinning believer there is no room for comparison. There is only room for humility and self-examination.

If we’re going to be a place of healing for broken people, then, we must restore the sinner humbly.

Legalists only add to people’s burdens. On the other hand, love lifts and bears the burden.

May we be known as a place of healing for broken people, because we restore them spiritually, gently, humbly, and lovingly.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 28:46 — 19.8MB)

Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Galatians 5:16-26

Galatians
Freedom’s Fruit
Galatians 5:16-26

How do we conquer this sinful nature that resides in each and every one of us?

The sinful nature and the Holy Spirit are at war in our hearts.

But as long as we depend on the Holy Spirit to hold us up, then our sinful nature cannot pull us down.

If we want to win the battle against our compulsion to sin, then we must live by the Spirit and so conquer the desires of the flesh.

When we, in our own self effort, try to better ourselves, we only make ourselves worse. That’s because the flesh knows no law.

So, it is when we let the Holy Spirit live His life through us. We begin to exhibit the beautiful fruit of the Spirit.

Be led by the Spirit and defeat the deeds of the flesh.

So, cater to him. Seek to please Christ by keeping in step with His Spirit.

Walk with the Spirit and so enjoy the death of the flesh.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 20:58 — 14.4MB)

Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Galatians 5:1-12

Galatians
Free To Serve
Galatians 5:1-12

Do you want to find a little heaven in all your relationships? Then learn to serve. It’s the reason why Christ set us free.

There is a particular kind of love here that sets us free to serve, and that’s the unconditional love of God demonstrated on the Cross of Jesus Christ.

Rather than being in bondage to the Law or to the sinful nature, [we are now free] to be in bondage to one another.

It’s His love for us, as we respond to His unconditional love.

We don’t need to bite and devour each other, because God loves us.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 26:41 — 18.3MB)

Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Galatians 5:1-12

Galatians
Freedom’s Enemies
Galatians 5:1-12

It’s time to take a stand because there are those who would try to enslave us all over again to their religious rituals and legalistic systems.

Even though Christ has set them free, they want to go back to prison; they want to put themselves in bondage again;

The law is not a buffet or smorgasbord. You cannot pick and choose the parts you like and leave the rest.

If we insist on living the Christian life ourselves, if we insist on earning our way, then we get nowhere.

The law leaves us feeling helpless of ever reaching perfection. Faith gives us the hope of future righteousness.

Instead, live your life in dependence upon the Lord and be enriched with hope for the future and love in the present.

It only takes a little bit of their teaching, and before long it permeates the whole church.

If we’re going to enjoy our freedom, we must stay free from the law, and we must stay free from the legalist.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 29:02 — 19.9MB)

Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Galatians 4:21-31

Galatians
Freedom’s Children
Galatians 4:21-31

Mothers are very important people (VIP’s). You don’t want to offend them, because they wield so much influence.

The first book of the Law, the book of Genesis, makes it very clear that Abraham had two children with two different mothers. One was a slave.

When we seek to secure God’s promised blessings through our own human efforts, we don’t get blessed; we get trouble.

There is a relationship with God based on adherence to the rules. The law said, “Obey and God will bless you; disobey and God will curse you.”

That’s what the covenant of law does to us. It makes us slaves to sin.

We relate to God on the basis of a promise with its unconditional blessings.

That’s because, as believers, we don’t relate to God on the basis of law; we relate to God on the basis of promise–the promise of His unfailing love.

So, get to know your mother, and throw out the other. Believe the promise, and stop trying to earn your way.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 31:25 — 21.6MB)

Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Galatians 4:12-20

Galatians
Seven Habits of Highly Effective Lovers
Galatians 4:12-20

There are 7 habits of highly effective lovers that will improve not only our marriages, but also our relationships with our friends, our adult children, and even our co-workers.

WE MUST CHANGE OURSELVES for others without demanding that they change for us.

We must accept people just as they are, unconditionally, even with their imperfections.

If they do, then you have learned to love like God loves us, unconditionally.

Relationships are enriched when lovers give up something special for the one they love.

True love is not blind to the truth. On the contrary, it acknowledges the truth even when it’s painful.

They set people free in their relationships without trying to control the one they love.

And that’s what we must do if we want to be highly effective lovers. We must suffer when the one we love suffers.

We don’t always know what to do when someone we love is hurting. That’s okay, because the best thing we can do is cry–not in a manipulative way, but with genuine tears of sorrow.

In a word, we must demonstrate GRACE in all our relationships. We must love freely and without conditions.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 25:30 — 17.5MB)

Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Galatians 4:1-11

Galatians
The Freedom of Maturity
Galatians 4:1-11

Instead, God has something for us, His adult children, that works a whole lot better than any “law.”

For nearly 1500 years, from the time of Moses until the time of Christ, WE WERE CHILDREN in God’s eyes.

But now, since Christ has come, WE ARE ADULT SONS OF GOD.

God gave us Jesus to set us free from the rules and regulations, which were our guardians and trustees.

God did not send His Son to teach us a lesson like we were little children. No. God sent His Son to redeem us, to free us up to be His adult sons.

This the language of a man, inspired by the Holy Spirit, who had the highest respect for women, putting them on the same level as men.

Please, let Him fill your heart with hope, no matter who you are or how bad off you are.

Stop trying to earn God’s favor when you already have it.
Stop trying to prove yourself to a God who already approves of you as adult sons and heirs.
Stop trying to get God’s blessing through your busyness.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 26:09 — 18.0MB)

Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Galatians 3:23-29

Galatians
Freedom’s Relationships
Galatians 3:23-29

What will it take to launch us out of our legalistic systems, which can only take us down?

Get out from under those unrealistic expectations, which can only lock you down, and enjoy your freedom.

God has freed us from all that. So, get out of prison, and stop listening to your babysitter.

So quit trying to prove yourselves because you don’t have to with God. He already accepts you as you are.

When we trust Christ, God clothes us with Christ who died on a cross for us.

No matter who we are as a believer in Christ, it makes no difference with God. He loves us all the same!

God does not view us as any less valuable, because we struggle. He treats us all the same, so we have nothing to prove.

We are free from the pressure to perform, because God already treats us as His full, adult, incredibly successful children.

There is no pressure to perform anymore. You don’t have to work to please Him anymore because He is already pleased with you.