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Once again, good morning. Please turn in your Bibles to Galatians chapter 4. Galatians chapter 4. I'll pick up there. Verse 21. Go ahead and read the text. Galatians 4, beginning in verse 21. I'm going to read to the end of the chapter. Galatians 4, verse 21. Tell me, you who want to be under the law, do you not listen to the law?

For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the bondwoman and one by the free woman. But the son, by the bondwoman, was born according to the flesh, and the son by the free woman through the promise. This is allegorically speaking, for these women are two covenants, one proceeding from Mount Sinai, bearing children who are slaves.

She is Hagar. Now, this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia and corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem above is free. She is our mother. For it is written, Rejoice, barren woman who does not bear. Break forth and shout, you who are not in labor.

For more numerous. Are the children of the desolate than of the one who has a husband? And you, brethren, like Isaac, are children of promise. But as at that time he who was born according to the flesh persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, so it is now also.

But what does the Scripture say? Cast out the bondwoman and her son. For the son of the bondwoman shall not be an heir with the son of the free woman. So then, brethren, we are not children of a bondwoman, but of the free woman. Well, it's been a little bit since I've been with you, so I'll do a little review just to bring you back up to speed where we are.

But before I get into that, I want to tell you a little bit about how my life with Nancy began, certainly our married life. It began with a promise. As many of you who entered into marriage, it begins with the promise, a promise on her side and a promise on my side.

Now, I want to play a little game, and I want you to hear a couple of renditions of a wedding vow, and I want you to guess which one was the one, was the words that I actually said. So here's the first option: I, Tom, take you, Nancy.

To be my wife, so that you can have and to hold me from this day forward to serve me in labor and toil as the supreme object of your affection. So long as you perform well, you will have my love in return. I promise not to blast you off into space until you fail to be a good wife.

That reminds me years ago, there was this newlywed couple. This is long before the days of motor vehicles. And after the wedding, the husband and wife get off in their carriage and they trot off. Well, the horse comes to a pothole in the road and stops. Well, the man gets out of the carriage, slaps the horse, and says, That's one.

And then gets back in, trot down a little bit further, and they come to a little ravine. And the horse stops again. The man gets out, slaps the horse, and says, That's two. Well, then they get a little bit further down the road, come to this ravine. Rock in the middle of the road, and the horse stops again.

Man gets out, pulls out his gun, shoots the horse, and says, That's three. Of course, the wife just has a fit. What are you doing? That was cruel, that was mean. And he looks at her very calmly and says, That's one. So, option number one: as long as you are good and we're good.

The problem is, many people kind of have this view of God. I know it's kind of it sounds a joke, and it is, but many people really do have this view of God. As long as we are good servants, as long as we don't fail, somehow we know we're good with God.

Well, there's a second option, I said, marriage value. I made these words: I, Tom, take you, Nancy, to be my wife, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish until death do us part.

Part. Parch. Till we eat so much, we just till we part. Now, which of the two do you think I actually said? Option number two. It's not hard to figure out, is it? Now, which of the two do you think is better for the marriage? A performance-based love?

You do this, and you'll have my return, or a covenantal-based love that says, I have set my love upon you, and now, based upon that love, her love towards me, my love towards her, and that being a given and granted, now we're ready to go and live together and have a life together.

It's not hard to understand that, is it? That that's going to be much better for a marriage, a covenantal-based relationship that's based on grace, rather than a performance-based that's based on love. It's easy, it's not difficult. I don't think anyone would enter into a union with that first option.

And yet, that's exactly what the Galatians were doing. The Judaizers had come in and basically said, I'll tell you what all this is about. It's about you coming back to the law and obeying, enter into a performance-based relationship with your Heavenly Father. That's what it's about. And they were very good at convincing people into a performance-based relationship with God.

And the problem with that is we can't fully measure. We're not perfect. So we're not going to fully measure up. You see, Paul knew that coming under the blessing of God and coming into a relationship with God was a work of God that was brought about through faith in the gospel promises.

He preached the gospel. There's good news in the gospel. Those who believe those promises, a supernatural work takes place. A new spirit is put into them, and they understand that God is not their enemy, but He is a heavenly Father. He is not some tyrant just waiting to catch you.

He is a loving Father waiting to embrace you. And when they heard the gospel, they were excited and they came alive. And then some people came in and started telling him: No, no, no, let me tell you. Their whole purpose that Christ came was so that you can obey the law.

Look at chapter 2, verse 16 of Galatians. This is Paul's thesis. He says there towards the end, nevertheless, nevertheless, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but through faith in Christ Jesus. How are you made right with God? Verse 16. Man is not justified, not made right with God by the works of the law or by his performance, but through faith in Christ Jesus.

That's the basis. That's Paul's whole thesis for his book. And so, what he does is he goes on in chapter 3 and chapter 4, and he defends that thesis. Look at the beginning of chapter 3. You foolish Galatians. We looked at this previously. Chapter 3 and chapter 4 is all about Paul's defense of this notion that man is not justified.

You and I are not made right with God on a performance base, but upon a faith based in what God has promised in the gospel. And he begins chapter 3, you foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you? Who has cast a spell over you? And now you're trying to go back away from faith in Christ, but in faith in yourself and faith in your ability to perform all perfectly that God wants.

As if a performance-based relationship with God was better than a grace-based relationship. Now, Paul goes on in chapters 3 and 3. For to describe that the law is good. The law of Moses is very good. It was a tutor to lead us to Christ. It's a guardian. It's a manager to Christ.

But there were those who were making the law a greater substance than the lawgiver. And so, in Paul's mind, those who seek to be justified by the law, by their performance, are like slaves, ever trying to please and never getting there. Destined to failure, destined to prove that you cannot do it.

What a way to live. To go through life, destined to prove you are a failure and that you can't live up to God's perfect standards. Well, that's what the law was intended to do: to kill you, and to say, Yeah, I can't do that. Good. Now we can talk about how God brings His righteousness into your life and how He fits you for heaven.

The proud aren't going to get there. It's not based upon a human work, but on a supernatural work of God changing our affections from our selfish ambitions to His glorious kingdom. But on the other hand, those who are seeking to be justified through faith. Are like children who, because of their relationship with the Father, inherit everything.

You see, the slave doesn't inherit anything from this estate, but the children do. And so, when you come into chapter 4, we looked at this inheritance of grace in the first six verses. What is that about? The inheritance of grace. It moves somebody from the category of being a slave to performance, to perfection in their own strength, to being a son.

And the word that son there isn't just about gender, it's about status into the position, from being a slave into the place of one who receives all the inheritance from God. And then he goes on: that's the inheritance of grace. We are transformed. This is what the gospel brings to us.

Good news: that, look, you don't have to go on living without God in your life. You can come to Him today, come under His blessing through the blessed Jesus Christ and His work, the gospel. But then, what do you do with this? And Paul goes on in verses 7 through 20, in chapter 4, that you receive.

This inheritance by grace. This is reality. You're in Christ. You are now an heir of all things. You're an heir of heaven to come and all the blessings that are associated with that. You are also heir to live your life now in His presence with Him. But you're to steward that grace.

You are to steward this inheritance that He has given you. Grace is costly, cost him everything. So we are to steward that inheritance. We don't go back to, as in verse 9, the weak and worthless things of the world. We continue to live for him and labor for him.

And then he comes to verse 21, which is where we're going to pick up. And here, notice, tell me, you who want to be under the law, do you not listen to the law? Paul now addresses those fools that he began in 3:1, you foolish Galatians who has bewitched you, and now he's addressing this same crowd.

Again, tell me, you who want to be under the law, you Judaizers, you who want to take these people and make them into Jews. Tell me, you who want to be under the law, are you not listening to the law? Do you really not understand what it's saying?

I mean, this was the theological issue of the day. You have these Gentile upstarts who were swayed by the Judaizers. They didn't get it, but they thought they did, and so they are taking on Paul. And what Paul is saying is, look, you want to be under the law, but you're not really listening to what it says.

Listen to it. And so that's what Paul is going to do in these next 10 verses. He says, I want you to hear what the law is saying. If you want to be under it, I want you to hear what it is saying, because it involves you. You see, many of the biggest problems with many churchgoers today is that we really aren't skilled in listening to what the Bible actually says.

We're good at getting a little snippets from a podcast here, we might have a little teacher here, or a thought here, or maybe a friend says something here, and we think we get it. But what we have failed to do oftentimes is be really skilled in listening to what the Bible is actually saying.

There's a lot of opinions out there. I mean, we live in information overload. We're not short. On people talking about the things in the Bible. We're not short about things written on the Bible, but we are short on people who really dive in and are really getting skilled in listening to what the Bible actually says.

And like the Judaizers, we oftentimes think we can articulate a position well, selectively choosing our text, mixing them up with our own notions and maybe some of our favorite teachers, and then we synthesize this theology and we then become champions of it ourselves, fully convinced in our minds.

And Paul is saying, look, and that's what's happening in Galatia, and he's like, look, you who want to be under the law, you need to get skilled in understanding what it's actually saying. Because you're in error, gross error, and you're leading other people into that error because you don't have the skill to really go in.

And that may be a skill of laziness or a skill of pride or whatever it may be. Guess what? We have a seminary right here you can jump into. Yes, that's a shameful plug for the shameless plug for the seminary. Yeah, that's what we do. That's why we host an accredited seminary here, is so that we can grow at that kind of level.

We can learn how to. Take the text, go deep, understand what it's said, make connections and not just be dependent upon what he says or she says or our own notions, but to really get to the heart of listening to what the Bible actually says. And that's what Paul is doing.

This is a very important theological issue. Did Christ save us so that we could just go back and obey the law? Was that what that gospel is? Is Jesus some sort of gateway drug that just kind of gets us into the law? Is the law of greater substance than Christ's likeness?

No, of course not. And that's what Paul is. And so, what Paul wants his readers to do is he wants them to listen to what the law says. The title of this message is Ishmael's Isaacs and the Mothers Who Birth Them. Ishmael's Isaacs and the Mothers Who Birth Them.

And he wants them to grasp these concepts so that they're going to cast out all of this works righteousness, this performance-based relationship with God and embrace a grace kind of relationship with God. That's the spirit of sonship versus the spirit of slavery. These verses, in these ten verses, which by now you probably figure there's no way I'm going to cover them all.

So, guess what? This is going to be a series. We're going to talk about the Ishmaels. Abraham had two sons. They came out of two mothers. And there is one conclusion. And all of this is really what Paul is doing in these verses is he's taking us into an extended metaphor or an allegory.

What's an allegory? Hopefully, all of you who've been up here in our pilgrim days, when we go through pilgrim's progress, you know what an allegory is. What's the difference between an allegory and maybe just symbolic language or is symbolic language usually just has like one connecting point. But an allegory is kind of like an extended metaphor.

It's extended. There's many points of contact, and that's what he is doing here. He's going to take us in an extended metaphor, talking about two sons, two mothers. And so the Ishmaels, the Isaacs of the world, and the mothers that give rise to them. And so, but today, our purpose is small.

We just want to look at the two sons. I want to look at the two sons. That's probably all that we will have time for. Look at verse 22. For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the bondwoman and one by the free woman. But the son of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and the son of the free woman through promise.

It is written, verse 22, that Abraham had two sons. It is written, where? In the law. In the law. Genesis is part of the law, the Torah, the first five books of the Bible. And so he's telling me, listen, guys, are you not listening to what the Bible says?

Let me spell it out for you. Abraham had two sons. Now we know that he had later had more sons. After Sarah died, he married Keturah, and there were several other sons that came out of that union. But what Paul is doing is he's focusing on just these two.

Abraham had two sons. We know their names from the book of Genesis, Ishmael and Isaac. It's interesting that in these verses, in verse 22 and 23, Paul doesn't mention their names. That's because he's not emphasizing their names, he's emphasizing their status. Notice one is born by the bondwoman, one of the free woman.

There's a status that he is emphasizing. Two sons. And they came into existence under two very different conditions. They entered into this. World with two very different places in society. Now, the original audience knew exactly who Ishmael and Isaac were. They were very familiar with how they came into existence.

But we're probably not so astute in that area these days as the original audience was because this is where they spent a lot of time. So I want to spend our time, a little bit of time this morning to make sure we go back to understand the conditions that gave rise to both Ishmael and Isaac so that we can grasp what is taking place.

We won't understand the metaphor if we do not understand the historical record behind it. And so that's what I want to do this morning: spend a little time in Genesis. So you can turn to Genesis 16 and I'll walk through that chapter and we'll look at the Genesis record regarding the birth of Ishmael.

I'll just read some of the verses and just comment as I go. But I think it's very important that we bring this record, this historical record, fresh into our minds as we navigate this allegory that Paul is laying before us in chapters 4. It's kind of the high point of his argument.

Section that we're in, and so it's good to have a good historical record of what took place. Two literal sons, two true sons, both true sons. Genesis 16:1. Now, Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. She had an Egyptian maid whose name was Hagar. So Sarai said to Abram, Now behold, the Lord has prevented me from bearing children.

Please go into my maid. Perhaps I will obtain children through her. And Abram listened to the voice of Sarai. Now, the problem with Sarai's infertility was not in Abraham, it was in Sarai. Now, her name is going to be changed to Sarah. So, if you hear me saying Sarah, it's one and the same.

But notice what she says in verse 2: the Lord has prevented me from bearing. Now, think about the pressure. Let's just step into this. We're not going to condemn these figures in the Bible because what I love about the Bible is it just gives us this raw picture of humanity.

I love the fact that you know that the Bible is not a fraud because no one would write their history. The Jews didn't just make this up because no one would write their history like this. I mean, there is, they would polish it up. Bit, but this we'll just walk through and not with the intention to condemn characters, but to empathize and to understand what is taking place and to just understand the need that we do need God to intervene into our world because without him, things are messy.

But it's the Lord that had prevented her, and Sarah sees it as such. But think about all that had happened in chapter 15. God has promised Abraham offspring so much. Abraham's very wealthy, and yet he has no heirs. Sarah has never produced a child. Think about the pressure that she's been feeling, especially in the light of all of God's promises.

And so then she says, you know what? I've got this Egyptian maid. Now keep in mind, Abraham's about 85 years old. I've got this Egyptian maid. Please go in to her. Please take her. And maybe I'll get a child from her. Now think about that situation. Here's my servant girl.

You can bet she's a lot younger. Here, take her. Now I want a child. Maybe I will get a child. And you notice that? Here, take my handmaid. Talk about taking servanthood to another level. Here, take her, and then I will get a child out of the deal.

That was Sarah's thinking. Instead of waiting to God, waiting for God to bring about what he promised in his Timing, Sarah, and then Abraham said, Well, that sounds like a good idea to me. Let's go with it. Sarah and Abram, Abraham took matters into their own hand. It's like they both agreed together: let's use Hagar to bring about God's blessing.

God needs our help here, so let's set ourselves in, let's bring about God's will. He needs a little help. And so, in verse 3, after Abram had lived 10 years in the land of Canaan, Abram's wife, Sarai, took Hagar, the Egyptian, her maid, and gave her to her husband, Abram, as his wife.

Notice that. She was given to him as his wife. The Bible records polygamous relationships in the Old Testament, but it never, it's always a mess, and it never esteems it. Just, you see, the God of grace behind all this, because we really mess things up. That's what sin does.

But think about it from Hagar's standpoint. She didn't have any say in the matter. She was a slave. She was the human attempt to bring about God's blessing. It wasn't in it for her to have her own husband who loved her. Instead, that was not her portion. She was a slave, born into slavery.

And to serve the best interests of the household, which in her case meant bringing forth an heir. It's a horrible situation, isn't it? But it gets worse. Verse 4: He went into Hagar, Abram, later changed to Abraham. Those names are interchangeable. He went into Hagar, and she conceived.

And when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her sight. Text doesn't say why. Maybe pride, maybe anger. But the slave girl despised Sarah. Verse 5, and Sarai came to Abram, May the wrong done me be upon you. Who wronged who? And here's Abram.

Yeah, I knew it was going to end up being my fault. May the wrong done me be upon you. And I don't mean to make light of this, but this is what it's. I gave my maid into your arms, that when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her sight.

May the Lord judge between you and me. What a messy situation. This is what happens when we take matters into our own hands. Verse 6: But Abram said to Sarai, Behold, your maid is in your power to do to her what is good. Your sight. So Sarai treated her harshly, and she fled from her presence.

Notice how Abram referred to Hagar, not my wife. Remember, he just said Hagar was given to him as his wife, but he doesn't refer to Hagar as his wife. He says, your maid. She's still a slave. She's still a servant. Take your maid. Do whatever you want. Now, did this conception bring joy to Sarah, this offspring that she had, now she got the heir, right?

You think, oh, great, this is what we were hoping for. No, it really turns ugly. Now, look, you know, so the point is, Hagar's status is not to be envied by anyone. But God in His mercy steps in. Look at verse 7. This is the first time we enter into this relationship or this understanding of the angel of the Lord.

Now, the angel of the Lord found her by a spring of water in the wilderness. He said, Hagar, Sarai's maid, where have you come from and where are you going? And she said, I am fleeing from the presence of my mistress, Sarai. Then the angel of the Lord said to her, Return to your mistress and submit yourself to her authority.

Moreover, The angel of the Lord said to her, I will greatly multiply your descendants so that they too, so that they will be too many to count. The angel of the Lord said to her further, Before, behold, you are with child, and you will bear a son, and you shall call his name Ishmael, because the Lord has given heed to your affliction.

Ishmael shall be his name. It's a good name. God hears. That's what it means. God hears. And you think about the context. Here is a very destitute woman been afflicted, and God steps in, and God hears. Then she goes and talks, then he goes on to say what this child is going to be like.

In verse 12, he will be a wild donkey of a man, and his hand will be against everyone, and everyone's hand will be against him, and he will live to the east of all his brethren. You talk about a strong-willed child. This is it. I wonder what Abram's, Sarah's home was like with Hagar back in it, and Ishmael growing up in there with this wild donkey of a man.

But it's there that Hagar, in verse 13, then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, You are the God, you are a God who sees. For she says, I have even remained alive here after seeing him. So Hagar bore Abram a son, verse 15, and called the name of his son.

Whom Hagar bore, Ishmael. And Ishmael was 86 years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to him. That's the account. That's the record of Ishmael's birth. Ishmael himself was a living testimony to the mess that humans make when they do not wait upon the Lord. Now, then Isaac. Isaac comes along.

Let me take you through portions that highlight Isaac's birth. Right after in chapter 17, verse 1. Now when Abram was 99 years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, I am God Almighty. Walk before me and be blameless. And he goes on and he talks, he says, okay, Abram, you're no longer going to be called Abram.

You're going to be called Abraham. Your name is going to change. I'm going to make you a father of a multitude of nations, and I am going to establish an everlasting covenant. My everlasting covenant will be with you and will be your descendants. And then he goes on in verse 15 of chapter 17.

Then God said to Abraham, As for Sarai, your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name. I will bless her, and indeed I will give you a son by her. Then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations.

Kings of peoples will come from her. Then Abraham. Fell on his face and laughed and said in his heart, Will a child be born to a man 100 years old? And will Sarah, who is 90 years old, bear a child? It's a laugh. But it's a laugh with the, it's not a laugh of unbelief or scorn.

It's a laugh of, ha! There's belief mixed in. Like, this, surely this couldn't come about. I'm too old for this, God. Don't humor me. And then look at what Abraham says in verse 18. And Abraham said to God, Oh, that Ishmael might live before you. Let's just go with the Ishmael plan.

But God said in verse 19, No, but Sarah, your wife, will bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. And I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. As for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I will bless him and make him fruitful and will multiply him exceedingly.

He shall become a father of twelve princes, and I will make him a great covenant, a great nation. But my covenant, verse 21, I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this season next year. And when he had finished talking with him, God went up from Abraham.

Now, turn over to Genesis 18 and verse 9. Genesis 18, verse 9, this is when these heavenly ambassadors come to Abraham concerning the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah. And then in verse 9, we'll jump right, cut to the chase, and he says, They spoke to him, Where is Sarah, your wife?

And he said, Well, she's there in the tent. In verse 10, he said, I will surely return to you at this time next year, and behold, Sarah, your wife, will have a son. And Sarah was listening at the tent door, which was behind him. Now, Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age.

Sarah was past childbearing. Sarah laughed to herself, saying, After I have become old, shall I have the pleasure? My Lord, being old also, shall I now have the pleasure? You can tell she wanted to have a child all of her life. Shall I now have the pleasure of a child at my old age?

She too laughed. And we know from Hebrews 11, we read that earlier, that there was belief mixed in her laugh. There was belief that she did believe God and that considered him faithful. But again, it's kind of like she's saying, I'm old. This is, wow, pleasant. This pleasure, it's beyond me.

It's funny. Is this what God would really do? Let a 90-year-old woman have a child. The Lord said to, in verse 13, and the Lord said to Abraham, Why did Sarah laugh? Verse 14, he says, Is anything too difficult for the Lord? Is anything too difficult for the Lord?

At the appointed time, I will return to you at this time next year. Sarah will have a son. Sure enough, this is what takes place. Turn over to chapter 21. Look at verse 1. Then the Lord took note of Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as he had promised.

Notice, God had made a promise. He's making good on that promise to Sarah. Verse 2: So Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the appointed time which God had spoken to him. Abraham called the name of his son who was born to him, whom Sarah bore to him, Isaac.

Then Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, and God had, as God had commanded him. Now, Abraham was 100 years old when his son Isaac was born to him. Sarah said, God has made laughter for me. There's an old woman laughing at 90 years old.

Laughing. Everyone who hears will laugh with me. Can you believe it? Look at this. Nine-year-old woman. Yeah, here he is. What? God really do this. Yes, nothing is too difficult for the Lord. That's the point. Laughter. The very name Isaac means laughter. Everyone's laughing, like, can't be. But that Isaac's name, Sarah had wanted to bear a son to Abraham all her life, and here, after it seems like the sun is setting on her life, and all hope is long gone, Isaac comes in.

God fulfills his promise. What is Isaac? Well, Isaac is a testimony that nothing is too difficult for the Lord. He's also a testimony of his grace to the undeserving. Sarah didn't deserve a son, son of promise. Yeah, so Ishmael is a living testimony to the mess humans can make when they do not wait upon the Lord.

Isaac is a living testimony that God fulfills his promise, that God shows grace to the undeserving, and that God, there is nothing too difficult for him. Let's come back to Galatians chapter 4, those verses. Galatians chapter 4. These are the two sons. As I mentioned earlier, these are the two sons that Paul was using in his analogy.

He doesn't emphasize their names, but he emphasizes their status. For it is written, verse 22, that Abraham had two sons, one by the bondwoman, or the slave girl, and one by the free woman. Verse 23, but the son of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and the son by the free woman through the promise.

Abraham's firstborn was born into a condition of slavery. His birth came about because of human obligation to a human master. That's how Ishmael is described by the bondwoman according to the flesh. She was his whole existence came about because of Agar's obligation to a human master. He's also born according to the master.

The flesh. You notice how he comes into the existence of Ishmael was due to the natural processes, the elemental processes of nature under the ingenuity of man, under the direction of the ingenuity of man. Okay, here, okay, if Sarah cannot have a child, then here, here's her handmaid.

Now, the same natural processes are at work, and there he comes forth. There's Ishmael. Beautiful name. God hears. But how Paul is using him in this analogy is that he is one who is born according to the flesh. He was born because Abraham and Sarah figured out how to bring him into existence, thinking that they're going to accomplish God's will for him.

Hagar's condition was obligatory. She produced a child who was under and in the same status that she was. She was still a slave. She would never enjoy the same status as Sarah, no, and nor would her child Ishmael. The definite caste system. Ishmael was an earthly solution to.

Abraham's problem of no children. Ishmael was a work of man. In one sense, as we think about how this might relate to us, we give birth to Ishmaels all the time, don't we? Earthly solutions to our problems instead of waiting upon the Lord. Anytime you launch off and take matters into your own hand, you can be sure an Ishmael is going to come out of it.

Wild donkey. It's not going to produce the joy. It's not going to produce all the good things. But in another sense, we may be an Ishmael ourselves. Are you an Ishmael? Are you nothing more than a product of man-made religion, or have you embraced the true gospel? Where are you with these things?

Are you a product of your own thinking or man-made philosophies or what you've picked up here and there and synthesized in your mind? Or have you brought yourself by faith to trust in what God has promised and said through the one that he resurrected from the dead? If you think earthly or think worldly, you know why that is?

It's because you are worldly. And in the context, the Judaizers are the Ishmaels. That's what Paul is saying. These Ishmaels, these Judaizers are like Ishmael. Slaves. Slaves. They will have no inheritance at all. Don't listen to them because you will be like them. But then there's Isaac. Paul is in these verses, same verses.

He describes Isaac as born by the free woman through the promise. Through the free woman. This is the one not bound in slavery, the one who is loved by her husband through a promise, the promise, the promise of God. You see, the existence of Isaac was supernatural. There was nothing in Abraham, there was nothing in Sarah that could bring Isaac into existence.

Yes, there was the natural means, natural relationships that God used, but it was way beyond the natural order. God stepped in, opened a 90-year-old womb that had never could bear children, and provides a son. Isaac was God's solution to the problem, not man's. Isaac was a supernatural work of God.

But God was doing more than providing a solution to Sarah's barrenness. He was providing a solution to the spiritual barrenness of planet Earth. Look, when everybody lives for themselves, when people fail to give God glory, when you fail to give God glory, when you live for yourself, ambition, guess what?

It's going to put you in conflict with others. Because the world that we now live in is a world of competing interests. And when you think that person is in your life so that they can serve you well, or else you blast them off into space, you have really missed what life is all about.

And there's no wonder there's relational conflict in your life. God was providing a blessing to all the nations through the seed, through the promised seed, Christ. In Abraham, all the nations would be blessed through Abraham's faith, but in Abraham's seed, all the nations. This was the gospel beforehand.

All the nations. We see that reflected here today. There are many here today who put your faith in Jesus Christ. You are a fulfillment to the promise that God made to Abraham and to Abraham's seed, that is Christ. You are. Part of that, if you are in Christ.

But God was at work bringing about blessing to the world through Isaac, even to the Ishmaelites. God was at work bringing his gospel to all the nations. And how did he do that? In verse 6, chapter 4, because you are sons of God, he has sent forth his spirit of his son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father.

What happens the moment you believe? God puts his spirit of his son in you, and that is that supernatural work. Where once you didn't love the things of God, now all of a sudden you're awakened to them. It's a work of God. And friend, you can't go anywhere.

You cannot go to heaven unless there is a work of God that takes place in your life. But which of the two do you think brought joy to Abraham and to Sarah? Ishmael or Isaac? That's not hard. And that's what Paul is saying. Look, guys, listen, are you listening to what it says?

Let me tell you who brought joy. It's Isaac. Which one would you rather be? Would you rather be an Ishmael or an Isaac? Would you rather be a product of your own making or product of some other man-made concoction or solution? Or would you rather be a Supernatural work of God born out of faith in Jesus Christ by believing God's promise.

And so become part of that beautiful covenant that involved Abraham, Christ, and all the nations who would be blessed. Don't you want to step into that blessed relationship? That is the way and the only way you come into a right relationship with God. Well, Ishmael was a work of the flesh.

No joy in heaven there. Isaac was the fulfillment of a promise, and so are everyone else. So is everyone else who puts their faith and trust in Jesus Christ. And that is why there is rejoicing in heaven when a person turns. Well, Ishmael's and Isaac's, there's a big difference.

Now, suppose Nancy and I didn't believe each other when we took our wedding vows. How do you think our life would have been? Well, I don't really believe you pledged that stuff. And she didn't believe that I can tell you there would be doubt, there would be mistrust, there'd be anxiety, there'd be depression, there would be battles for control, there would be suspicion, there would be anger.

All of that would plague our marriage. You see, trust is necessary for a relationship. To thrive. That's where a marriage, if you want a marriage to thrive, it begins with making vows that really are real and then trusting that your spouse is going to, and then you're ready to get on with the happily ever after and not just fighting to keep your head above water or to coexist.

There's so much God has. But that's just a picture of relationship of what it's like with God. You have to trust Him if you're going to be able to have a relationship with Him. If you're going to distrust Him and not believe Him and think, oh, yeah, I know what it is, you just want me to be your slave.

Faith is necessary. But unlike a wedding vow, God's promise is unilateral. There's one promise. God made the promise. All those who put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ will come into the blessed category, the forever blessed category, God's Son. So Paul goes back to these addressing these fools.

They're saying Paul is foolish, and Paul is addressing them as fools. Listen, he is, you are no fool who believes the promises of the gospel. You see, just take a moment before we close out. I want to, I don't know where you are in your. Walk with God.

If you were to die tonight, would you go to heaven? God asked you, why should I let you in? What is the reason? Why should God let you into heaven? Two things have to happen for you to be able to go to heaven. Number one, you have to be made right.

The word is justification. That's what the book of Galatians is about, a justification. But two things, you have a problem. Before you go to heaven, your past sins have to be dealt with. Your past sins. Now that's a problem because we can't go back in time and undo sin, can we?

So for God to give you a spotless and holy place, your guilt has to be removed. So we have a problem. We have to get rid of our guilt, our sin, how we have offended God. We have to deal with our guilt. Well, the gospel deals with our guilt.

See, God has to be just in not condemning me because I'm a sinner. And the good news of the gospel is that God put our sin on Jesus Christ and condemned him. And so Christ paid the penalty. So my guilt, and not just for my past sins, but for all my sins, the whole enchilada, he took me into account.

So there, my sin is dealt with. But we still have another problem. For you to go to heaven, God has to be justified in letting you go on living. Now, that's a problem. You say, yes, I have the problem of dealing with my sin, and God deals with that at the cross.

But there's another problem. If God put me back in paradise, guess what would happen? I would just foul it up again. Something else is necessary. God has to be justified in letting me go on living. And how does he do that? He puts his spirit in us, he gives us a new nature.

So he deals with the guilt of our sin, but he also deals with the corruption, our disposition to sin. And when you believe in the gospel, what happens is your sin is put away, the guilt is removed, and a new disposition, a new nature is put in to you, one that wants Christ and wants the things of Christ.

He's not going to put himself on you if you don't want him. And so he puts that spirit and makes us willing, makes us wanting him. God puts his spirit in us to transform us into Christ's likeness. So for you to go to heaven, you have to deal with your past sins.

The good news of the gospel is Christ has done that. You also have a problem with your current disposition, but the good news is of the gospel is that when you come to Christ, he Puts that spirit of sonship in you so that you want him. And in that way, you can grow in God's ways and in his blessings.

And that's his plan to bless all the nations of the earth. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we bow our hearts before you today, thanking you for the glorious gospel. Forgive us, Lord, of our sins. Forgive our unbelief. Forgive us for all the Ishmaels that we have in our own strength created.

Forgive us, Father, even if forgive the Ishmaels among us who are continuing to go their own way. Father, we look with favor upon your Son. Our hearts are warmed by the gospel of good news, the prospect of blessing forevermore held out in your Son. Father, help us to really understand what the Bible is saying on these things and not let others tell us.

Let your word shape how we think about you and how we think about ourselves. In Christ's name, amen.