In this sermon, the speaker shares a story about Jimmy Connors, a famous tennis player, who reads a news article about a man struggling with a mental breakdown. Connors decides to help the man and visits the speaker's house. The speaker describes a bizarre scenario where Connors enters his body through a zipper and they play tennis together. The speaker emphasizes the idea that by relying on someone else's abilities, he experiences a transformation on the inside. The sermon then transitions to discussing the importance of grace and how it can bring peace, joy, and contentment to people's lives. The speaker references Galatians chapter four to explain the concept of moving from law to grace and being heirs to the promise.

We've looked together these last two nights at the blessed truth of grace, and there have come testimonies to me of sweet release in many of your hearts, and I'm glad because that's what grace is supposed to do, and peace and joy and contentment have come to some. I've heard one person say they haven't felt peace like that in years in their heart. I think it was years. It's a long time, they said, for sure. So tonight I want to go on re-emphasizing these truths of grace and taking my last shot in the area that I think we need it most, which is in the area of grace. But I want to do it in a different fashion. I want to take a look at the Old Testament and take some things from there. Before we do, I want to read a New Testament commentary on what we're going to look at in the Old Testament. So let's turn to Galatians chapter 4. And we want to see the grounds for what we're going to set up as a teaching tool for us. All through the Scriptures we are told in several places specifically, especially that what things were written in the Old Testament were written for our warning and for our admonition for those of us who are in the end of the age and that they're meant for us to learn from pictures and types and allegories, etc. And so in Galatians chapter 4, we are studying in the first verse how that a person comes out of law and into grace, understanding. We've seen that the law was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, faith in Christ. And then we see in 4.1 that the heir, the one who's to receive the promise of full grace. Let's look at verse 29 of chapter 3. If you be Christ, then you are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise. And then, now I say that the heir, that's us, as long as he is a child, and it means young child, differs nothing from a servant, though he's the Lord of all. But he's under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. They're teachers that come into our life to prepare us to appreciate the privilege we have of being an heir of the king. And so then he goes on in that chapter and talks about the birth of Christ and goes about talking about Christ being formed in you. And going over in verse 21, he refers back to the law and he says, tell me, then you that desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law? Then he says, for it is written, Abraham had two sons, one by a bondmaid and the other by a free woman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh. But he of the free woman was by promise. Now we're setting up something flesh versus spirit. And then it says in verse 24, which things are an allegory. Now, if you were to look up allegory in the dictionary, you would see that it says a symbolic representation or a figure that speaks. That's what an allegory is. And we're seeing that Abraham's two sons were a symbolic representation of everything we've been reading in Galatians four. It says, for these are the two covenants. One is one covenant and one is the other. Apparently it says the one from Mount Sinai, what's that one? The law and which genders to bondage, this is Hagar. For this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and it answers to Jerusalem, which now is the one on earth and is in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem, which is above the heavenly Jerusalem, is free, which is the mother of us all. And then it says, quoting from Isaiah 54, for it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that did not bear and break forth and cry. You did not surveil. It means to to cry out with joy. But the desolate has many more children than she who has a husband. You see, God's way of doing it's different from ours. He uses the barren womb. He uses the desolate and he uses the woman that doesn't even have a husband to bring forth children in this picture. So now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. We read it up in three twenty nine, your heirs of the promise. And but we're not different from even a servant. Now we're under teachers. We're being taught. Verse twenty nine. But as then he that was born after the flesh, that Ishmael persecuted him that was born after the spirit, even so it is now. Nevertheless, what does the scripture say? Cast out the bond woman and her son. And the allegory would mean that would be Sinai and its offspring for the son of the bond woman. The offspring of Mount Sinai shall not be heir with the son of the free woman. So then, brethren, we are not children of the bond woman, but of the free. And in chapter five, verse one, remembering that the original had no break, stand fast, therefore, because of what's just been said in the liberty where with Christ has made us free and don't be entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Surely referring to the law, surely referring. And then he goes in chapter five and talks about self-justification, us trying by our own activity to bring forth something for God. And then how the two are contrary in that chapter, one to another flesh and spirit. Now, looking backwards at Galatians three, you see, the reason he was saying all this was because these people had been saved by the grace of God. They had come from a Jewish background in a sense. Many of them or they had people there that were trying to convince them that you had to become circumcised as well as believe on the Lord Jesus. There were Gentiles that were also being told that. And so in verse one, he says to them of chapter three, Oh, foolish Galatians, who have bewitched you that you should not obey the truth before whose eyes Jesus Christ has been evidently set forth, crucified among you. This only what I learn of you. Did you receive the spirit by the working of the law or by the hearing of faith? How were you saved? Was it by good works or was it by what you heard of good news? And then he goes and says, verse three, Are you so foolish, having begun in the spirit that you're now thinking you're made perfect by the flesh? Have you suffered so many things in vain? If it be in vain, he's saying, have you, in other words, been under such difficulties and they're not bringing forth any death, really? I mean, are all these things wasted, all your troubles? They're meant to teach you what the next chapter says. The law is our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. We're meant to be brought to freedom and live in it. Now, if I were to ask you honestly today, are you a frustrated Christian? You know, even after all that went on, we hear last night about grace and all that. What would you say? Are you frustrated, Christian? Do you find faith to be a straw that you kind of clutch at, but never can really lay hold of? You just it's always just kind of out of reach or you feel like you're just guilty before God. You never feel like you're going to be right with God. And maybe you're in constant turmoil over one thing or another. Do you always worry? Am I doing the right thing? Am I doing the right thing? Or maybe you say, well, I haven't read my Bible today, so I better not go witnessing. Or I haven't had my quiet time. So God won't hear me pray when I pray. And God doesn't hear my prayers because I can't pray very well. And maybe that's your life, frustration, a life of resolution and failure, resolution and failure. Well, tonight we want to see some things that will set you free, hopefully. Do you wish you could be a better Christian? Oh, I wish I could be better. Well, there's a right sense that that would be a desire of our heart. But there's a wrong sense, too. Are you fearful of taking a step and then offending God because you've taken the wrong step? Well, so many Christians are in this situation and they don't know that there is a key out of that prison. That is a prison. That's bondage. And there is a key and you don't have to live in that. And if you'll reach out for freedom, then he'll give it to you. Now, I want to stop and pray again now that we've begun and ask the Lord to open our heart to receive the gift of his grace and that we will not feel that everything depends upon us hearing properly, but that you will relax and let the Holy Spirit just free us. Every one of us just let him do his work. Let's just pray. Father, we just look to you. Thank you for giving your son the administration of the Holy Spirit, that he would send to us the strengthener who would lead us into all truth and that we would not strive because the servant of the Lord must not strive. But we should learn of you and take your yoke, your your yoke togetherness in on us. And we find rest as we cease from independence to living to godliness. May the truth of your word, Lord, smite us to death and then raise us to life tonight as we look at the word of God. We pray it for Jesus sake that his name would receive the honor that his death and his life deserves. We pray it for his glory and we thank you. Amen. We're going back to Genesis and we're going to look at several accounts there. Let me just rehearse for you some background so we'll know where we're coming from. In Genesis chapter 12 and 13 and 14, we see a man come on the scene, remembering that in the first part of Genesis, man has been given the ability to the privilege of demonstrating what he can do. First of all, Adam has failed. And because of that death passed on all men. And then we see in Genesis five men died, men died, men died. And they built cities and all these things, trying to make a name for themselves. Chapter six, we see that all men have become flesh. God's going to swish off the earth with the flood. He does. Noah and his sons come through. And once again, mankind starts off and they spiral down again all the way to Babylon, to the tower of Babel, where once again, God says, OK, this is it. I'm going to come and break this party up. Man's trying to lift himself up to heaven and I'm going to put him down. And so man has failed. And now God steps in to say, this is what I can do. Genesis one through 11 shows what man can do, which is nothing. And Genesis 12 through 50 shows what God can do and put up with, which is everything. And it's going to be an amazing, amazing study as you look at the remainder of Genesis after chapter 11. But in chapters 12 and 13 and 14, we see a man introduced named Abraham. His name is Abraham at that time. And he's living in a place called, as they say over there, of the Chaldees. And while he was there, but before he was there, excuse me, in Mesopotamia, the Lord appeared to him and called him while he was a pagan idolater. He didn't know God. He worshiped Nanar and Ningal, the sun and moon god of the Babylonians. And he was a hopeless case. Joshua says an idolater. His father, Terah, and himself were. And God, by grace, appeared to him and said, Get thee up out of that country. Get away from your kindred and away from your father's house and get into a land. I'll show you the beginning of chapter 12. We see that fourfold command. Get up, Abraham, out of your country, out of your father's house, away from your kindred and into a land. I'll show you now. Abraham, just like us, didn't really walk in that. We see him as a giant of faith. But Hebrews 11 only lists one of those four that he did. He went out not knowing where he was going. He did take his father with him. He did take his kindred with him. And he didn't go right into the land that the father showed him either. So he went beyond it to Egypt. So he was faltering the whole way. Abraham's life begins. Abraham. Genesis 12, 13 and 14 shows us the awakening of faith, the awakening of faith. Genesis 12, 13 and 14. And it's by the grace of God. God worked in spite of Abraham, not because of him. And that's the same with you. He works in spite of you, not because of you. And the fourfold promise was only partially even adhered to, or honored. But God still, when it comes to Hebrews 11, what does he remember out of all Abraham's failure? He remembers the obedience of faith and forgets the other, the sins he buried in the bottom of the sea. He forgets it. He doesn't lord it over us. Well, Abraham stumbled along. What lessons for us in Genesis 15? We see a new beginning. God takes the initiative again in cutting a covenant with Abraham or Abram and the blood is shed. And Abram believes God and God imputes this to Abram for righteousness. All the others have been bringing him to this faith. Abram's independence is laid down. And in a very real way, Abram becomes aware of the grace of God in a new depth. And after that, in Genesis 16, God, you see, has just promised him a seed. He's saying, look, look up at the stars in Genesis 15. If you can count them, that's what your seed is going to be like. You see, Sarah's barren. His wife can't have children. And that seems like an impossibility. Now, Abram still can have children. He's about 75 or 76 or 78 this time, still a young man in Bible terms. And so in Genesis 16, we move into a chapter called the discipling of faith. And that goes all the way through chapter 21, the discipling of faith. And we're going to learn some things for our life, because after faith begins, there's a lot faith has to learn. And we're going to see that the way faith learns is the way Abram learned. He's the father of our faith. So Abram is going to have to learn a bitter lesson that we've got to learn. And that is this, even though we do have true faith, that's a gift of God. It doesn't prevent us from trying in our own strength to carry out what God has promised. God says, look, I'm going to give you a seed. It's going to be a miracle. It's going to be glorious. It's something that is better than anything you can imagine. And so Abram begins to wait. God is bringing Abram into a vital faith relationship with himself. And there are many things to learn. It's God's work, too. We'll see that as we look along in this. Abram had received the covenant promise of a seed. We saw the other night that seed was Christ. The promise was Christ in Galatians three. We saw that. So read chapter 16 with me. Verse one through four. Now, Sarah, Abram's wife, bore him no children. Now, this is 10 years after Genesis 15, three. Ten years have gone by and there's nothing that we can say. So Sarah, Abram's wife, bore him no children. And she had a handmaiden, a woman she'd brought up from Egypt. His name was Hagar. And Sarah said to Abram, behold, now the Lord has restrained me from bearing. And I pray thee, go into my maid, and it may be that I may obtain children by her. Those days that was considered a legal thing. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarah. See, just like Adam did. And it's all right to listen to your wife when she's right. He went into Hagar and she conceived. And when she saw that she had conceived her, her mistress was despised in her eyes. Now, remember, Hagar is the law. She stands for that which comes from Egypt. She is a servant. And when she begins to bring forth, then she begins to hate Sarah, who looks like she's barren. I mean, she despises her. Obviously, it's pride. I'm better than she. She occupies the place of devotion in Abram. I'm better than she. I should be the one that would be the mistress truly of this man. And so 10 years have passed. Abram is now eighty five about. And there's still no promise. Let's rehearse this. Sarah looks around with her own eyes and she sees nothing. So she picks this Egyptian maid and she says, there's got to be a logical way that we've missed. And all this common sense would tell us that we have to cooperate in every way possible. And so she says, this is the only logical way that God can keep his promise to us. And so she committed herself and Abram hearkened to the voice of his wife. And he looks to the flesh to fulfill the promise of grace. We do that same thing. We do it just different things. And this is always going to make trouble for the household of faith. Always going to begin a lot of stir. So Hagar begins to hate Sarah, as we read. And Sarah is grieved in her heart because there's a rift right down the middle of what once was the household of faith. Misery prevails in this home. And so Hagar must flee to the wilderness. Verse she runs out of verse five. Abram said, Sarah said to Abram, my wrong be upon you. I've done it wrong. It's your fault. I've given my maid to thy bosom. And when she saw she'd conceived, I was hated in her eyes. The Lord judge you. The Lord judge between me and thee, she's saying. And Abram said to Sarah, behold, your maid is in your hand. Do to her as it pleases you. And Sarah dealt very hardly with her since she tried her way. She instead of faith, she tried another way. Promise tried faith and she fled her face. Hagar has to go out to the wilderness. And there she is, a pregnant lady, a pregnant woman out in the wilderness. And as she is out there, the angel, verse 11, the angel of the Lord says to her, behold, you're with child and you'll bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael means God has heard. And because the Lord have heard your affliction. Look at this. Verse 12. Ishmael will be a wild man. He'll be a wild man, uncontrollable. His hand will be against every man and every man's hand will be against him. And he will dwell in the presence of all his brothers. And so then, verse 15, Hagar bore Abram, a son, and Abram called his son's name, which Hagar bear Ishmael. God has heard. This must be the promise God has heard. You see, he thought that was the promise. And Abram was 86 years old when Hagar bear Ishmael to Abram. So that means that he'd been waiting a long time when he had this child. And so Abram's reasonable alternative to faith. Is Hagar the logical way to do it, of course, as you would just see now, very, very important is Genesis 17, one when Abram was 99 years old. Now, that's 13 years of silence between 16 and 17. When he was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, I am the mighty God, the almighty walk before me and be perfect. Sounds like the summer on the mountain, doesn't it? And I will make my covenant between me and you and will multiply you exceedingly. And I wonder what went through his heart when the Lord's talking to him as if the promise is yet future. And he's named the son 13 years ago. God has heard while Abram fell on his face and God talked with him, saying, as for me, behold, my covenant with thee and you will be the father of many nations. And neither will your name be called Abram anymore. But you're going to be called Abraham, a father of many nations. Have I made thee? And he goes on and tells more about the promise. You see, Abram was tested for 13 years by the silence of God. What a test silence is when God wants us to walk in the word, he has spoken much more than even the words that he is speaking now. So he's 99 and he's looking to Ishmael to fulfill the promise of God. All other hope is gone, you see, because now Abram is sterile at the age of 99. He's no longer to be he's no longer able to be who he is, exalted father. He hasn't had a son of promise yet. He's had a son of bondage. He knows he's supposed to. But now when Sarah was barren, that still left a little bit of hope that maybe God would do a miracle in her, maybe because I'm able to do it. But when he went sterile, you see, and he was not able to bring forth children, there was no possibility left for any other way. Both of them are barren. And that's what it means in Galatians when it says, Rejoice, thou barren, that barrens not that brings forth not. That's when God moves in. When man is through, when men can't do anything at all to counterfeit no human way, you know why? Because you don't want any flesh to take any credit or to have anything to boast in. So in those first five verses, we saw that the language of loving omnipotence comes to Abram. And the Lord says, I will. Now, what does that sound like? We've been saying the last few nights, I will make your seed exceedingly fruitful. I'll make you fruitful, not by power, not by might, but by my spirit, saith the Lord. You see, God is the only possible way that the promise of the son will come to be fulfilled. God himself is the only way that I can receive the promise of receiving a son in my life. And so, Abram, a father of many nations, God's purpose is bigger than you are. And it's out of your death and out of the death of yourself and your hopes and your ambition and your dreams that God will bring you forth into his promise. Am I losing any of you? He brings forth the heavenly life, our heavenly father. He knows that if he knows, even if we don't know it, that the flesh can profit nothing. Abram was a believer who tried to help God out. You know, I have a little expression. When you help God out, you leave God out. I think that's a good word. When you try to help God out, you leave God out. We talk about the cross and we profess to believe the cross, yet we have not learned to distrust our human understanding and distrust our own abilities and put away fleshly hopes. We say with our lips, man can do nothing. But you know something? In our hearts, we don't believe it. We try harder. We try harder like Avis, but we can't. We cannot think that it's really a necessity for our own strength to be put away. We just can't believe it. It's down deeper than our ability to even understand the ability to die. How do we do this? We we want to serve God. And it seems impossible to us that weakness and disappointment and self-failure could really be blessed by God, doesn't it? I mean, doesn't any honest people in here? Uh, this is absolutely illogical that God wants me to come to the end of myself, because when I hear it suggested, he came to save you. What I think he wants to save is the old me. Oh, boy, this desperate blunt of gunk is going to be put back together again and life's going to be normal again. No, he came to get rid of that and put the spirit of the sun inside. And so without realizing it, we seek to live rather than to die. And that's what Abram did. We call upon all of our abilities and understanding and resources rather than set them at nothing. We try to pick up broken pieces and put them back together again. And we try to fulfill God's promise of blessing by our own effort, don't we? I mean, I do it. I still do it. And I know you do it. So you don't have to nudge your head. I was trying to get some nudge, but it doesn't matter. You see, we, too, have to experience just like Abraham, the fruit of such action. He had to experience the fruit of that action and what is helping God out and having seed by the bond woman, the flesh, having the results of your fleshy activity haunt you until you become sick of it, to where you will be brought to the place to where Abram is brought in this particular account. This true story. And until we have seen that helping God out is not what he wants, until we've seen it to be futile, the wild man will seek to be the heir. God has heard. Look at this fruit. We'll I mean, we'll do all kind of things. Glossy, glossy promotion campaigns and the star studded billboards with all this psychedelic advertisement for the things of God. And we'll say, God has heard. Look at the nickels in the noses and call it God has heard. And it's flesh. Only when we are so good as dead do we seem to give up on our own resources of our flesh. And the death of self is revealed as the way to inherit the promise. Like we said last night, when a soul has died, when a person has died, a covenant comes in force. You come in living as our own strength that must die. You see, under the law, there is some fruit. I mean, you don't kill and you will be blessed. There is some blessing for keeping the law, but the law makes nothing perfect. And so we try to keep this and bring forth, although it's bondage, fruit to God. And we can bring forth. But it's all wild men, wild men, Ishmael. And it's that which eventually will mock us, as we will see. But yet beneath it all, there's a promise before it all is a promise. What is it? Grace, the promise of God through grace and his son. And the spirit of sonship is not attained by striving or by my effort. Galatians chapter two, three and chapter three, verse two and three. We read those. Let me read them again because I just want to rehearse it here. I may take a little longer than my time tonight because I really want to make this clear in application at the end. Galatians chapter three, when it says in verse two, this only what I learned of you. Did you receive the spirit by the works of the law or by the hearing of faith? Abraham, how did you receive the promise of God? He came in grace when you were an idolater. Well, now are you foolish enough to think that you've begun with God in the spirit, that you're going to help him out by perfecting his promise with your flesh? But it's a parallel out here. Verse six, it's pointing us back to Genesis 15, six. It says, even as Abraham believed God and it was counted to him for righteousness. It's the battle of belief that we're in, not the battle of behavior. Oh, it's the battle of belief that we're in, believing that God is a God who he says he is. Hagar, the flesh is fruitful, but their ones, it's carnal fruit. Carnal fruit, and it's the kind that God can't accept. It's like Abel's offering, the best that man can do, the fruit of the ground that God has cursed. It comes forth and he offers it to God. It's the best I've done. I've been involved in it. And God says, I can't receive it. It's just like that. It's carnal fruit. It genders to bondage and it's not the heir. So in Genesis 17, verse 19, we look back at Genesis 17, verse 19, and we read. Now, if this is hard to follow and if you're sleepy, don't go into bondage. I mean, some of you had a long day. Just put your head on your desk and go to sleep. Seriously, I'm not kidding. It won't bother me a bit. Jan, do it. You're so tired. You're out into like shutters. I remember the night that I went with a dear brother that I really, really looked to in the Lord. And I was there on the front row and I traveled with him and I was there and I was so sleepy and I could, I just finally had to go to sleep. There's just no way. How embarrassing, you know, all these guys look at it. Boy, I wish I was traveling with this guy like him. And here I am going to sleep of all things. So, you know, it's a hard thing. Genesis 17, verse 19. And God said, Sarah, your wife will bear you a son. Indeed. And you will call his name Isaac. You know what Isaac means in Hebrew? It means laughter. That's what it means. Laughter is going to come to the household of faith. And I will establish my covenant with him, this son, Isaac, as an everlasting covenant and with his seed after him. And then as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I've blessed him and I will make him fruitful. I'll multiply him exceedingly. Twelve princes he will beget. I will make him a great nation. But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah will bear to you next year at this time. Ishmael has blessings, but Isaac is the one to whom the promise comes in verse twenty two. And he left off talking with him. And a God went up from Abraham. God speaks and then he leaves. He says, listen, that's it. That's what I'm telling you. And God gives another clear word. This is twenty four years down the road from the first promise back years before when God says you're going to get to see twenty four years. He had to wait. That's the working and perfecting of this promise. So Isaac, which means laughter, a son is going to come in the household of faith. Well, faith laughs at impossibilities. An old person, ninety nine years old, and then a young lady who's a little bit younger, but she's also barren. Eighty six or so going to have a baby. Sure, sure. And so start handing out the scripture verses to celebrate or something. Chapter 18, God comes to Abraham again and gives him the promise again. Verse nine. Look at this. They said to him, where is Sarah, your wife? The Lord and two people with them are two beings. And he said, behold, she's in the tent. And he said, I'm going to return to you according to this time next year. Excuse me, I'll certainly return to you according to the time of life. And lo, Sarah, your wife will have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which is behind him. And Sarah and Abraham were old and well stricken in age. And it ceased to be with Sarah after the matter of women. Therefore, Sarah laughed within herself, saying, after I'm waxed old, shall I have pleasure? My Lord, being old. And the Lord said to Abraham, wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, shall I? Surety bear a child which was about old. Is there anything too hard for the Lord? Ask yourself that tonight. Is there anything too hard for the Lord? You heard the promise last night. You say, I'd like to have that, but not me. I'm too hard. Is there anything too hard for the Lord? Is there? At the time appointed, I will return to you according to the time of life, and Sarah will have a son because it depends on me, not you. Abraham's beginning to see it, you see, and I believe at this time is when the promise came to him. And you see his attitude. Look at Romans four. Look at Romans chapter four. And you see how Abraham came to a place where he was not looking at the visible anymore because the visible had no hope anyway. Romans chapter four. We look in verse 19. Talking about Abraham after the Lord says, so show your CB verse 19, not being weak in faith. He did not consider his own body now dead. He was sterile, about 100 years old. Neither yet the deadness of Sarah's womb. He didn't look at all those things that were impossible. He did not stagger and judge at the promise of God through unbelief, but he was strong in faith, giving glory to God and being fully persuaded. Here it is that what God had promised he was able to perform. Faith isn't just believing God's word. Faith is seeing God's heart and seeing that he's who he says and he'll do what he says. You see, it's seeing beyond the written word because the words only as good as the heart behind it. Abraham saw the heart of God and said, you're able to do what you have promised. And so Abraham's beginning to see the heart of God. What's that? Grace, grace. And he's getting set free. You see, Hebrews 11 verse 11 says that through faith, Sarah also herself received strength to conceive. Oh, she was part of it. And she was delivered of a child when she was past age. Why? Because she judged him faithful that promised they both began to understand the character of God. And so back to Genesis, to chapter 21, tearing your Bible apart to get back there before we're at the next scripture. Genesis 21, reading verses one through five. And the Lord visited Sarah as he had said. And the Lord did to Sarah as he had spoken. He always does when there's belief. Sarah conceived and bare Abraham, a son in his old age at the time of which God has spoken to him. And God said it would happen. And Abraham called the name of his son that was born to him, whom Sarah bore to him. She keeps saying Sarah bore, Sarah bore, wants us to see that Sarah bore Isaac. Laughter and Abraham circumcised his son, Isaac, being eight days old as God commanded him. And Abraham was 100 years old when his son, Isaac, was born to him. Twenty five years, at least he had to wait. Amazing. It's an amazing thing to me. Laughter is born. The heir of the promise has come. And remember, Ishmael is still around. Ishmael, the one who he thought was the promise for so many years while he was looking to God. While he was taking care of Ishmael, trying to bless him, put his life into him, because this is the heir. It wasn't the heir. He thought this was the one that be blessed. It wasn't the one that be blessed. But you see, suddenly Ishmael no longer has his place of prominence. He's no longer the sole star of the stage. You see a child that gets usurped by another child and there's a rivalry there. And you can imagine Ishmael, his feelings become hurt. He's been in the limelight for so long. Listen, Ishmael, by now, is probably close to 16 years old. And I imagine they've always been the same. And you see a baby born and all of a sudden everyone's saying, here he is, the son of promise. And you've been told all your life that you're the special son of promise. And all of a sudden, how are you going to react? And all of a sudden, all this. Now, what does Ishmael stand for? The flesh, the best that the flesh can do. You see, Ishmael's enmity comes to the surface at a certain time. When is it? You see, in verse seven, we see, let's read verse six. Sarah said, God has made me to laugh so that all that hear me will laugh with me. Some of you were laughing last night, just like this, because you saw it. And she said, who will have said to who would have said to Abraham that Sarah would have given children such? For I've born him a son in his old age and the child grew and was weaned. Now, that's two or three years at that time for a Hebrew that nursed for two or three years. And the child grew and was weaned. And look at this. Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned. Big celebration because he's growing up the son of promise. And Sarah saw the son of Hagar, the Egyptian, which she had born to Abraham, mocking. When did his enmity really surface? When the child was weaned, the son of promise began to have a little age and began to get a little teeth and began to move out of the nursing stage. Then when there began to be a little growth in the son of promise in the household of faith. Then that's when Ishmael began to mock. Maybe you see for a while there, the bondwoman and the son have a place in the house and they can have peaceful coexistence for a while. You see the flesh and the spirit living together comfortably, kind of quiet subjection one to another. And the enmity is not evident there, although there's not peace, there's not open rivalry. But when Isaac is being weaned, there's a great celebration because it's coming. It's coming. Then all of a sudden the flesh or Ishmael rears up the head and says, whoa, and begins to mock everything that stands for this son of the promise. You see, the spirit of sonship has come and there's no more room now for the substitute heir and the substitute heir knows it and begins to mock. So you see, God sent forth his son into our heart and the spirit of his son cries out of a father. And when the son begins to cry out of a father, something happens. You see, while Isaac was young, milk was needed. And at such a stage, the carnal flesh of Ishmael did not bother him. In adolescence, just coming to bloom there, you see, there was no rivalry. While Isaac, the promise, was yet a sucking babe. But when he's weaned, when a feast is spread, when you begin to see the good things to eat that your father provides, then the bond woman's son rises up in enmity and mockery and the true character is revealed. The true character of Ishmael comes to light when the promise begins to come to pass. Do you follow me so far where we're building? And then there's a time in our Christian life, isn't there, where we come? We've been desiring the sincere milk of the word. It's been so good. We've been caught up with Bible study and everything begins to be so wonderful. It's those babe years. It's sweet milk indeed. And there comes a time that we begin to turn from milk to meat. Our father sets a feast before us and we've been getting some teeth. Faith has grown. We begin to desire more. When does a Christian turn from milk to meat? If you want to know, keep your finger in Genesis and turn to Hebrews 5. Turn to Hebrews 5 and you'll see when a Christian turns from milk to meat. Paul is writing. It's very, very evident here. He's writing to some or whoever wrote Hebrews. I think it's Paul. Whoever it was, the Holy Spirit wrote it. He says that he wants to write them about the deep things of God, the meat, the deep things of the priesthood and the tabernacle and the covenant and all these feast things, a feast. But then he says in verse 11 that he wants to tell about Melchizedek, of whom we have many things to say, but they're hard to be said, seeing that you are dull, slow of hearing. Why are they slow of hearing? For when the time came that you should be teachers, you should have grown. You have need. One teaches you again the first principles of God's word, oracles, which and you have become such as have need of milk and not solid meat. You see, like a baby instead of like someone with teeth. Why? For everyone that uses milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness. He has no experience. He is a babe, but strong meat belongs to those who are of full age. Who are they? Even those who, by reason of usage, and it means habit of habit of life, have their senses, spiritual senses exercised to tell the difference between good and evil. That means that you've come to the place where you can see flesh and spirit. You can see a difference. The word of God is divided between, and you can tell what's good and what's evil, and those Holy Spirits beginning to bring you and more than tell the difference. You're beginning to make choices in your life. God says, here come the teeth, you know, just like a baby when he teased all kinds of tears and crying. The same thing with Christians. When we begin to tease tears, crying and and we don't sleep sometimes either. And others have to stay up with us all night, rocking us and making us feel better. You see, only as faith operates is there weaning from milk. That's only as faith operates is there weaning from milk. So now then let's say it again. When we receive the new nature, the promise of Jesus in us, the Son of God, and that begins to grow. Galatians talks about that. Paul, like a father, says, I travail in prayer over you again and again until Christ be formed in you. Grow up until he comes to maturity. The old flesh begins to reveal itself in me for what it is. When faith begins to grow stronger, when progress begins to come, when I've made some good choices by the power of God and when I've seen some victory, all of a sudden the flesh rears up and says, What are you doing? Just like Ishmael and begins to mock and show itself for its true character. See, we don't know in our flesh dwells no good thing. We thought our flesh was going to be an heir of the promise of God. This is the promise. Wonderful. And we've been nourishing and cherishing and taking care of our dear, dear flesh for years. And then we begin to discover that it's not a good boy after all. And this flesh is beginning to mock what God says is good. Something's wrong here. What's going on in the household of faith? Well, may I say that your flesh will oppose all that is faith as you begin to walk in it? It will, and it will despise the inheritance of grace. Your flesh wants to get the credit and be the recipient of God's blessing. It wants that. And when you start to grow, trouble begins in earnest. Now, what are we going to do about it? God's remedy is to cast out the bondwoman and the son. They can't live together in the same house. See, in verse 11, let's look at, excuse me, let's look at verse 10. Wherefore, she said to Abraham, cast out this bondwoman and her son, for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even Isaac. And obviously, as it was to Abraham, it will be to us. Verse 11 in Genesis 21. And the thing was very grievous in Abram's sight because of his son, his own flesh. I mean, that's his flesh. I mean, part of his family. He loves this son. I mean, we love our flesh. It's very grievous to Abram because, you see, it's pruning away part of that which is dearest to you. You know, it hurts to put away our flesh. But God commands it. And that's what we're seeing. It's agony. We part with deep attachments and it hurts. But Ishmael can inherit nothing, only Isaac. And as long as you allow him place under that same roof, your tent, your temple, then he is going to resist and mock everything God wants to do through Isaac. The promise is only to the son of God. Who is that? Christ in you. The hope of glory. And to thy seed were the promises made. You see, when we were first saved, we were blind to the boundless of our flesh. Weren't we? Weren't we? Yes, we were. We, we, and we may think we saw it, but we were blind in its deep, true character. And as we grow on the milk of the word, I'm saying it again. We began to see the opposition of our flesh is there. And it becomes obvious as we see the true character that no flesh can inherit the kingdom of God. Flesh and blood. First Corinthians 15, I think it's 51 or something like that. Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God. It can't do it. So judicially, the life of our flesh ended at the cross. Judicially, judicially, judicially, Abram had the promise 25 years before he experienced it. Judicially, when he believed. But you see, there came a time when he had to be disciplined and learn faith. And so now we must cast out the flesh. You do not follow the flesh with the affections and lust thereof. And it says, make no provision for the flesh with the affections and lust thereof. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. Watch and pray that you do not fall into temptation. Cast out the old for the new. The natural must be thrown out for the spiritual. My resources have got to be put to nothing in order to receive God's resources. You see, the flesh has no hope. The God's remedy, God's remedy for our flesh is not consecration. It's crucifixion. We try to consecrate it. Oh, Lord, let Ishmael stand before you. Abram will say it. Oh, Lord, oh, that Ishmael, my son, would live before you. Oh, he pleads with God later because it's grievous to his heart. And the Lord says, I'll bless. But this cannot be the heir, just like us. God will bless your life. He'll bless your flesh. Yes, he will. He may provide all kinds of things for you. But your flesh is not the heir. Jesus Christ is the heir in you, not you. He there is no promise to me in the word of God. The promise is to Christ in me. I'll tell you something. That's really a word to remember. I don't claim a promise just because God's a good old boy. I claim a promise because Christ lives in me and every promise of God is yes and amen in the promised son. And I become a joint heir under his heirship of that promise. So I cast out the bondwoman and her son. And if the son of God will set me free, then I'll be free indeed. The flesh has no hope. My efforts at righteousness only get in God's way and mock. His promises. You see, that's what we're doing when we try to do it in our own strength, it's Ishmael rearing up and saying. The promise is not needed, I'll be the heir. The promise we're mocking God. If we act in the flesh, we will reap what we sow. That's what Abram did. He sowed to the flesh Hagar and he reaped of the flesh. Ishmael and it was a perpetual strife. So we've been made free now by the cross to relate to God on a love basis, not law. We're forever joined on the inside with another resurrection life. The son of God, the child of promise to our heart. And now we live for the father. And like Abraham, we don't look at the natural. We see the heart of him who promised. We don't look at my own stupidity or my own lack of resources or my own hardness or this or that. I don't look at that. It's impossible for me to be good. It's impossible for me to have Jesus like that. Abraham did not consider himself, but he considered God and he says, Lord, you're faithful, you're able to do even with me beyond the possibilities of man. You're able to do the grace of God. Now, there are a lot of Christians who are tolerating Ishmael's in their life. A lot of Christians who have in sincere, in sincere desire, done something, they've maybe even gone to the mission field because they felt like they should to pay God back. And it's an Ishmael. It's not the Isaac of their life. I'm not saying that's Ishmael in everybody's life. But I'm saying if it's birth of my flesh, the results of trusting flesh are common sense. God says it is Ishmael, cast it out, get rid of it, get rid of it. Oh, but it hurts, Lord. It's humiliating. It hurts and it's agony. Cast it out. No sentiment on the flesh. Have no sentiment on your flesh. And I'll tell you something, when you do it, that is a radical step in your life. New freedom will come. But you can expect, as it says in Galatians, opposition from those who are of the bond woman and those who are of the Ishmael tribe. They will fight you to the end. They'll look at you and say too much. You shouldn't do that. That's you're going overboard. Now, let's not get carried away here. That's going too far. You see, children of faith must walk as such. And they must stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free and not be brought back under the power of the yoke of Hagar and her son. And that's happening all around us. You should do this. You ought to do that if you're going to be better than this or that. And it's very, very appealing. Oh, that this might be so that we might do these things and live before you. And the Lord says no flesh can glory in my presence. I've chosen the things that can't receive credit to use. So many of our frustrations and disappointments and failures are due to the fact that we're allowing the bond woman and her son to live in this house. Conflict and under the same roof, and there's only room for one. When you begin to cast her out and obey God, prison doors will open. You'll have freedom and liberty and blessing. Now, I don't know what you may be thinking of. You need to get it right from God, but he'll be as specific as he needs to be with you. He will be because he loves you. And the desire is blessing that you might become a great blessing, but you can't when you have two confusing errors under the same roof. You see, Galatians 5, 17 and 18 says this. I say we read it last night or the last session. This, I say, walk in the spirit and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh. You walk in the spirit of the son of God and you will not be conceding to all the whims of Ishmael. The flesh lusts against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh. These two are contrary one to the other. And you can't do the things that you wish or that you would. The flesh loves to perform. It always will. We love to make a fair show in the flesh. We love to try to think we're helping God out or that he needs us or that we are walking sensibly by our own detective ability in the Word of God instead of by grace, and we're putting ourselves under bondage every step. God's going to have to let a corrective come to bring you back to the foot of the cross, to where you see no flesh. You see, the flesh lives by the desire of man, but faith lives by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God. And it only is done by the cross. So cast out the bondwoman. Quit trying to improve her or to accommodate in peaceful coexistence. You see, if you can accommodate because you don't have teeth yet. When teeth begin to come and you begin to seek to really go on with God and chew the deep things, my meat is to do the will, Jesus said. When you desire to do the will of God, my meat is to do it. Then you will discover that Ishmael will rear his head and you are to cast out everything involved and Jesus will never cast you out. Therefore, you're to cast that bondwoman out. You're dead. Your life is hidden with Christ in God and you'll never be any better than you are. Never, because you see, it's another system altogether. You won't get better. He has totally accepted you in Christ by grace and he's allowed Christ to live in you and he wants to be your righteousness, only him. I tell you something, that is a real bummer to the flesh and we hate it. We hate it, but I want to improve. Well, you can't. You can't. There's no hope for your flesh and we don't like this truth until we're desperate. That's why we have to come to the end of ourselves. The flesh hates it. They that are Christ have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. Now, I just want to make a few practical applications and then we'll be through. That means, then, that life is not my responsibility. It wasn't Abraham's responsibility to have a son. It was his responsibility to believe God. Life is not my responsibility, but life is my response to his ability, considering that he's faithful and able to do. And the grace of God, when I move into it, leaves me room to grow. We said this last night, a couple of us guys talking. But when I really see this grace of God, it gives me room to fail. Takes away the fear of being wrong, because I know I am wrong and I know I am down, so I fear falling. It's not very far to the ground. If you're on the ground, you don't have to fear it. You see, what the law demands, grace provides. What the law demands, grace provides. And I'll tell you another thing, to really understand grace causes us not to shudder when we say, I'm a saint. Can you say that? I'm a saint. I'm a saint. Try it, it's great. I'm a saint. It's wonderful. Well, when we really understand grace, it doesn't make us shudder. Now, if we're trusting flesh, it makes, ooh, don't say that. How could you dare to say that? Ishmael's talking. But when you really see that it's God who makes us a saint by his presence and grace in our life, then when you say I'm a saint, you're not taking any credit. You're giving him all the glory and you don't shudder anymore. The old man is crucified, not consecrated. It is a shuddering thought to think of consecrating Ishmael. I want to just give you another scripture, too. Hebrews 7.22. Hebrews 7.22. This is this is good news for bankrupt people. Hebrews 7.22. It tells in there about the priesthood of Christ, of Melchizedekian royalty. And in verse 22, it's talking about an oath from God himself. God swore forever that he would honor what Christ had done. And then by raising him from the dead, he was trying to communicate to us, saying, verse 22, by so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament. He was by his resurrection made a surety of a better covenant than that which depends upon law or your flesh. Finding fault with the flesh, finding fault with us. God gave a better covenant, which was in the son of promise. We've been trusting the other one a long time. We've grown up with it. It's hard to cast it out of our thinking and our mind. You see what he wants to say to us that he's a surety. Now, what is a surety? A surety is a dictionary will tell you one who stands for a weaker one, one who a surety would be, for example, if I was trying to buy a car and I couldn't get any credit at the bank because they said, buddy, you're a bad risk. You are bankrupt. We know who you are. We can't give you any credit. And so I go to Bill and I say, Bill, will you be a surety for me? Will you cosign for me? Because the bank knows you and they know your character and they support what you're doing. And if you stand behind me, then all your riches will be laid on my account. And so Bill goes down to the bank and smiles at the president because he knows him and says, here's my name. Here's my name. I put it on this person's account here. And now, Al, I'll stand behind you. And so I go away thinking I've pulled a fast one because, you see, I've gotten this car and all I had to do was just get a signature behind it. And now I'm going to pay it back. And so I began to make those payments. And it's not too hard at first, you know, I plan, budget and really be clever and all these things. And I began to work two jobs. And as I began to work two jobs, I began to get real tired. And then I began to get just miserable. And then I knew three jobs because I missed the payment. And they began to come and say, listen, your payments are late. That's bondage. You're in bondage. Your payments are late. And I said, oh, I cannot let Bill down. Oh, I can't let the bank down. So I try harder and I try and I stay up nights and I lose weight. And if possible, and and all these all these things. I mean, I just become under terrible bondage. And one day the bank comes and says, I'm sorry, you're in big trouble. That's what the law always says. And you see, I keep the law says this. The law says as long as I struggle with my own debt, as long as I am able to pay. Then the surety doesn't step in. But you see, when I declare bankruptcy. Legally, it all goes to him. And you see, our problem is we're slow to admit bankruptcy. We struggle on in our own Ishmael power to pay God back and to produce a fair show in the flesh and to do all these things rather than sink down before him and self-confessed poverty and no resources of my own. And, you know, when I do that, I go and I say, I'm bankrupt. I can't pay. I really wanted to, but I can't. And they call Bill and say, Bill, this guy, he's just what we thought. He was he's worthless, worthless. And Bill steps in and says, well, why didn't you call me sooner? Well, he hadn't. You know, and there's no big deal for Bill. Isn't that sweet? I mean, that is so sweet. Bill is so sweet. The Lord is so good. But he waits until we are bankrupt and are willing to admit it. We've got to declare it. We've got to declare and reckon ourself dead indeed. There's no hope for me. That's what reckoning yourself dead is. There's no hope for me. I cannot produce one thing good in my flesh. Well, there's no good thing. There is no hope for me. But the law says as long as I struggle with my own surety, then with my own debt, the surety is not involved. But Jesus Christ is made a surety. One who stands on behalf of a weaker, he's given us his name and he is just willing and yearning to be the riches of God and the grace of Christ Jesus. My surety will step in and make it good. Grace must be our ground or we are thrown back on our own resources. The very fact that we're not trusting grace consciously means we're trusting ourselves. Now, I want to give an illustration of a tennis player. I've given this a lot, but it's so clear. Suppose that Jack Arthur and I are playing tennis. He's very proud, proud of his tennis game. And and I'm not a good tennis player. Let's say Bill and I, that'd be better because Bill can beat Jack even a bit, I mean, I call you Bill. But but Ben and I go out and Ben just humiliates me over and over again. And I am so tired of trying that I work. I go take tennis lessons from Bob Hayes and and I really, really seek to work on my forehead, my backhand, my feet work, my footwork, everything. I do everything. I practice 10 hours a day and I go out with Ben. He stomps me. I mean, how defeating. I mean, I was so sincere and so seeking to do it. And I thought it would work. And you talk about depression. Well, all of a sudden, Jimmy Connors calls me one day because, you see, Chattanooga News Free Press has heard about how Ben is humiliating me. And they run a story in the humanities section about the poor, needy fellow out there who's going into a mental breakdown because he's trying but failing. And so Jimmy Connors reads that one day as he's passing through the airport and he says he picks up the phone. I'm going to help this guy out. So he calls me up on the phone. And this is where the sublime turns to ridiculous. He says, I'm going to come over. And he comes over to my house and he says, look, I'm going to fix this up for you. I'm going to get inside of you. And so I have a big zipper on my skin. You can't really see it. It's beneath my shirt, but I unzip it and Jimmy Connors gets inside of me. And then I zip him back up and you look at me and there's no difference. You say, isn't that amazing? That's amazing. Jimmy Connors is inside of him. And so I go out with Ben and Ben and comes out and he's passing around and leaping over the net. And, you know, the news free press is there and he is so proud. And and I'm just smiling because nothing on the outside has changed, but everything on the inside has changed because I've given up on my own ability and now I've called in somebody else. And so we're there and he says, go ahead and serve, jump. And so as as I serve, he says, go ahead and serve. I said, I just did. Oh, you did. Yeah, that's the 15 love. Then we go on and on and on and he doesn't even see the ball. And as I produce a tremendous victory, that was not even me doing it. I go and I leap gracefully across the net and Ben is shaking his head and he says, I just don't know what's gotten into you. And you say, that's the key. It is not what's gotten into me. It's who's gotten into me, who's gotten into me. And see, that's the thing when we quit struggling with our own ability. You see, the illustration would take us to this. God says under the new covenant, here's the covenant I'll make. I'll put my law in your mind. I'll put my law, my law in your heart, your delight in it. You'll understand. You'll know me and I'll be your God and your sins and iniquities. I'll remember no more. This is what I will do. Abraham, this is what I will do. I'll do it. See, and we've got to do it. Lord, I'm trying to get your law in my mind. Just beat myself with and try to do all these things, trying to get what into me in the flesh where only God can fulfill in his spirit. And so I try and try and try. And you see, the new law that is in me through the finger of God is often very frustrating because I look like Hagar and Abraham did and see no evidence of it. Silence tests faith. And as I see nothing at all showing me that it's really there, I begin to produce things on my own. But you see, it's just almost like you would take invisible ink and write on a piece of paper, a message, and then you could look at it and say, I don't see anything, but it's there. And then you take it and you put a chemical on it or you hold it up to the light and the message comes out strong. Well, God says if you're his, he has written his law in your mind. It's there. It's in your heart. It is there. You look, you don't see evidence. It's there, friend. It's there. Well, then how can I ever experience it? Well, Hebrews 11, one tells you how it's like the chemical or the agency that brings out the writing. Now, faith is the substance of things hoped for the proving of the invisible. You see, when you begin to get teeth and walk and take what he says he'll do in you, then all of a sudden the invisible comes to light instead of sitting back, waiting in fear and cowardice saying, oh, I can't, I can't. We begin to say, God, you've done it. You've done what you said and you're able to perform what you've said you're able. I do not consider my own circumstance or evidence. I'm going to trust you, Jesus. And as I do, you know what happens? The law that he has put in there, the new covenant begins to come to power as I reckon myself dead indeed and put aside Ishmael and cast out the bondwoman. Divine things are laid hold of and entered into by revelation. Never reason you always enter in by revelation, not reason. And you always possess by faith, not feeling. And we want to feel it before we believe it. God says, believe it. And then I'll let you feel it. Goosebumps follow faith, they don't precede it, but boy, they do follow. I heard an old fellow say in the country one time, if you can have it and not know it, if you can have it and not feel it, you can lose it and not know it. I like that. It's not really true, but it's I like it anyway. So the word comes to us and burns in our heart and the finger of God makes the word alive and faith makes it come to our consciousness. Appetite for the word is there because life is there. Now, you've seen these things, we've talked together these hours, and let me just say you're maybe a little bit frustrated and you say, well, I just don't know how. Is there anything too hard for God? Is there? I mean, are you a unique case? You see, I just want to point this out to to myself and to you. God is the only one that can show you a truth like we've been talking about. If it's come and gripped you, it's because God has come and gripped you. Nothing else. You haven't figured it out. Reason hasn't laid hold. It's revelation and revelation is his initiation. He's come and showed you these things by the Spirit. And God is not a tempter. He is not a he's not capricious. He doesn't hold out carrots. One time we used the illustration of an old donkey with a stick on his back with a carrot six inches in front of him. And he keeps on walking, trying to get that old carrot. And you're trying to get to it. And you just say, donkey, why don't you be still and sit down? And the donkey sits down. You know what happens? Carrot just swings into his mouth. And that's just what happens to us. The Lord says, be still and know that I'm God. Quit striving, cease all your works and know that it is finished. And trust me, the revelation when it comes to me is proof that God has taken initiative and he wants to do something good and right in my life. And all he's waiting for is a response of faith. Yes, Lord, you're right. I'm wrong. You didn't expect me to be right anyway. Two quick scriptures and we're through, I just want to read them. Romans five to now just to cement these truths, you see, we've talked about coming to God, being saved by grace through faith and entering in like the Galatians. We're saved by the beginning of God's spirit working in our life. Well, how do we keep on in the Christian life? How do we keep on? Romans five to by whom also we have access by faith into this great in which we're standing. Listen, we start by grace, we stand in grace and we're going to finish in grace. We can no more maintain a right standing before God than we could attain one in the beginning. You can't maintain it. Only he can. It is absolute grace. We stand in grace. And then in first Peter, the same thing is reiterated. Chapter five, verse 12. Oh, it talks about the grace of God. It says by Silvanus, a faithful brother unto you, as I suppose I've written briefly, exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God in which you stand. You see. Unless you're standing in the grace of God, your house is divided. And if your house is divided, you're a double minded man and you're unstable and everything cast out the bond woman. And you will begin to see the son of God develop in new ways in your life. Well, may the Lord add his his presence and his understanding to these words and do with them what he wishes. Let's have prayer. Father, we want to thank you for your presence. In this room. Lord, I feel that we're on holy ground. Ground is made holy when you're there and we thank you for what you want to do. I just pray that. Truckloads of change will be left in this room tonight, that the bond woman and the son, Mount Sinai, the law will be abandoned and we will cleave to our risen Lord, looking only and totally to him to live in this suit that has been in the grave and now resurrected by faith. By these words to our heart, we pray and don't let the fowls of the air distort them or take them in Jesus name, may the word flourish and the purpose you've sent it for may liberty and joy and peace come because you've spoken to all of us. We thank you in Jesus name.