The Gospel Not According To Man

Jeremiah 17:5-15, Galatians 1:1-12, Titus 2:11-15

Tracey sent me a video this week, powerful video, which is a life experience that teaches us to follow the voice, follow Jesus! Not to pay attention to what is going on around you, but just listen to the voice!

There a lot of voices, but the True voice is found in Jesus Christ and the Word of God is the only voice that we listen to!

I often thought about the disciples, they had Jesus right with them and He was not going to lead them astray, if they stayed with what they saw!

We have it just like they did, only it is through the Word of God and the Spirit!

I began to think then about our life experiences and all the things that we see and go through, there is a lot of voices and junk out there. In this present world.........

I believe why I have been overwhelmed at times is because of my expectation! We live in a world now that if our life doesn’t turn out how we expected we become devastated and overwhelmed!

Our expectations of life is what seems to pull us to other voices!

Let’s look at Jeremiah 17.......Jeremiah is writing about the sin of Judah....Idolatry.....they had fell into captivity by the Babylonians, only because God allowed it......

All throughout history the Israelites would do good for a while then fall right back into worldly things and then idolatry and so on and so forth.....the Biblical scholars call it a Deuteronomic cycle......it continues today with mankind.....

2 Corinthians 4:4 “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.”

The devil is trying to hide the Glorious truth of Jesus Christ in worldly expectation...

The hope for those expectations

The complacency when those expectations are met

The devastation at the loss of those expectations or never finding them

Listen to what God says through Jeremiah......Jeremiah 17:5-10........

Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind (the world system).....finds strength and comfort in the fleshly.

With eternity in mind there is no strength in man!

I like a part of that video where he says that if he does not listen to the one voice he will die.

The man could not fly that plane, without that voice!

With eternity in mind, we cannot live without Jesus Christ....my favorite verse John 15:5 “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”

So, we are cursed every one who trust in man...........but “blessed” is the man the trust in the Lord.....

Bro Matt and I was talking Wed. night and he was in a discussion at work about blessed and what was said about being blessed was profound...

I believe that being blessed is according to OUR expectations!

Blessed is according to the riches of God, that is walking in His ways not ours! That is blessed!

All the apostles were persecuted for Jesus’ Name sake but they were stilled blessed!

Not according to man, but according to God! Who matters man or God? Temporary or Permanent?

Jeremiah goes into a prayer after all of this....”Heal me, O Lord......Save me......from this present worldly fall......

Notice Jeremiah’s expectation........Heal me, O Lord and I will be healed......Save me, and I will be saved!!!!

Jeremiah knew that it was a done deal, when he trusted in the Lord rather than man!

The people around Jeremiah were hoping in man and when things didn’t go their way, they would ask “where is the Word of the Lord now?

That sounds like Rusty that follows after the flesh!!!!

Galatians 1:1-12...............

Notice the introduction.....verses 3 and 4..........Grace and peace only from God through His Son Jesus Christ......

Who gave Himself for our sins, for our following after man......In the giving of Himself on as a human, in suffering and the cross and in His resurrection.....we are delivered from this world......

We are delivered from this world.........This world is not our resting place, this world is not the ideal world......no matter how good we have it, nor how good we expect it.......we need to believe and trust that it is evil.......

Jesus delivers us from this world and brings us back to God where when we are with Him, all the calamities of life will gone!

People were teaching a different Christ a different Gospel!

Their teaching was worldly and according to the flesh........have you heard any teachings or sermons this way?

Paul tells this church that the Gospel is not according to man, it is totally and completely according to God.

If anybody preach anything else let them be accursed......Paul calls it “another Gospel, but then says not another but they pervert the Gospel...

Meaning....a gospel with Jesus in it but that pulls man to the flesh and this world, rather than Jesus delivering us from this world and bringing us to God!

Living separate from this world, our expectations are turned from the world and how it turns out, and are now in a hope that is everlasting and sure

Hebrews 6:19 “Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast.......”

Our expectation is no longer something weighing in the balance, it is an assurance, sure and stedfast!

Hope in the Bible is means an earnest expectation.....

Go back to verse 4.....at the end Paul tells us that this is the will of God and then if you move down to verses 15 & 16 that he was called by Grace by God to “reveal His Son in himself”

That is our calling from henceforth, we are no more children wandering, we have a purpose and we know which way to go and Who to listen to.......in that life we reveal the Son of God, Jesus Christ to the world!

Finally, Titus 2:11-14........The life of someone that believes in Jesus Christ, is no longer spent in misery, but in a joyful expectation of Jesus’ coming to get us......Jesus has laid the ground work...

He has appeared to all men as a man and lived according to the way of God (godliness).....teaching us

To deny anything that is not of God....all the manmade teachings and leadings........all the other voices.....there is only One voice and He is completely separate from this present world and He testifies against it!

Jesus taught us how to live godly in amongst this present world!

We are now focused on HIs return and HIs glorious appearing!