2 Corinthians 12:7-10
7 Therefore, so that I would not exalt myself, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to torment me so I would not exalt myself. 8 Concerning this, I pleaded with the Lord three times to take it away from me. 9 But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me. 10 So I take pleasure in weaknesses, insults, catastrophes, persecutions, and in pressures, because of Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.[1]

• Judaizers were Jewish Christians who believed, among other things, that a number of the ceremonial practices of the OT were still binding on the NT church.
• Following Paul’s successful campaign in Galatia, they insisted that Gentile converts to Christianity abide by certain OT rites, especially circumcision.
• They may have been motivated by a desire to avoid persecution from Jews who objected to their fraternizing with Gentiles.
• The Judaizers argued that Paul was not an authentic apostle and that out of a desire to make the message more appealing to Gentiles he had removed from the gospel certain legal requirements.
• Paul responded by clearly establishing his apostolic authority and thereby substantiating the gospel he preached.
• By introducing additional requirements for justification (e.g., works of the law) his adversaries had perverted the gospel of grace and, unless prevented, would bring Paul’s converts into the bondage of legalism.
• It is by grace through faith alone that people are saved, and it is by faith alone that they are to live out their new life in the freedom of the Spirit.

Paul’s First Missionary Journey
47 AD – 50 AD
Acts 13:4-14 - 4 Being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they came down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. 5 Arriving in Salamis, they proclaimed God’s message in the Jewish synagogues. (to the Jews first) They also had John (John-Mark) as their assistant.

6 When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they came across a sorcerer, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus. 7 He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. This man summoned Barnabas and Saul and desired to hear God’s message. 8 But Elymas the sorcerer (this is the meaning of his name) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul away from the faith.
9 Then Saul—also called Paul—filled with the Holy Spirit, stared straight at the sorcerer 10 and said, “You son of the Devil, full of all deceit and all fraud, enemy of all righteousness! Won’t you ever stop perverting the straight paths of the Lord? 11 Now, look! The Lord’s hand is against you. You are going to be blind, and will not see the sun for a time.” Suddenly a mist and darkness fell on him, and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand.
12 Then the proconsul, seeing what happened, believed and was astonished at the teaching about the Lord. (The Governor is Barnabas & Paul’s first recorded Gentile Conversion.)
13 Paul Saul (Jewish name) is now referred to as Paul (Greek name) and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. John, however, left them and went back to Jerusalem. 14 They continued their journey from Perga and reached Antioch in Pisidia. On the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down.[2]

Paul takes the lead from Barnabas (according to Luke’s writing).
Galatia - A large Roman province in Asia Minor, extending almost from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean through the mountains and plains of modern central Turkey. Galatia included the Phrygian town of Pisidian Antioch; not to be confused with Syrian Antioch
They dealt with a shipwreck (possibly), robbers and rivers in the mountains.
Paul was going to be more aggressive with his message to the Gentiles.
There John-Mark left them and turned back to Jerusalem, but they continued their journey through Perga to the Antioch in Pisidia (Turkey).
- They went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day and took their seats.

Galatians 4:13-14
13 you know that previously I preached the gospel to you because of a physical illness. 14 You did not despise or reject me though my physical condition was a trial for you. On the contrary, you received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus Himself.[3]

- Paul is “revolting” sick (Galatians 4:13-15) but still preached & they listened.
- On this occasion the Gospel of Jesus is well received. (Same message as Stephen’s)
- A week later it is rejected and Jews discounted his message due to his illness
- Paul and Barnabas are beaten and expelled from the district after a few months of ministering to the Gentiles.
47-48 AD
Paul & Barnabas went on to Iconium [7]. And the disciples continued to be full of joy and the Holy Spirit. Much the same thing happened at Iconium. But when a hostile movement arose from both Gentiles and Jews in collaboration with the authorities to insult and stone them, they got to know about it, fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra [8] and Derbe [9], and the surrounding countryside - and from there they continued to proclaim the Gospel.
(In Lystra, they heal a crippled man and are nearly worshipped as gods)
Then some Jews arrived from Antioch and Iconium and after turning the minds of the people against Paul they stoned him and dragged him out of the city thinking he was dead.
But while the disciples were gathered in a circle round him (including Timothy), Paul got up and walked back to the city (to get his belongings).
And the very next day he went out with Barnabas to Derbe, and when they had preached the Gospel to that city and made many disciples, they turned back to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch. They then crossed Pisidia and arrived in Pamphylia. They proclaimed their message in Perga and then went down to Attalia. From there they sailed back to Antioch (in Syria). When they arrived there they called the Church together and reported to them how greatly God had worked with them and how he had opened the door of faith for the Gentiles. And here at Antioch they spent a considerable time with the disciples.
Imagine taking away all your Bibles so you never had it to rely on and all you had was what we have taught for the last 18 months.


49 AD
Galatians 2:11-21
11 But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face because he stood condemned. 12 For he regularly ate with the Gentiles before certain men came from James. However, when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, because he feared those from the circumcision party. 13 Then the rest of the Jews joined his hypocrisy, so that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy. 14 But when I saw that they were deviating from the truth of the gospel, I told Cephas in front of everyone, “If you, who are a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel Gentiles to live like Jews?”
15 We who are Jews by birth and not “Gentile sinners” 16 know that no one is justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ. And we have believed in Christ Jesus so that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no human being will be justified. 17 But if we ourselves are also found to be “sinners” while seeking to be justified by Christ, is Christ then a promoter tof sin? Absolutely not! 18 If I rebuild the system I tore down, I show myself to be a lawbreaker. 19 For through the law I have died to the law, so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ 20 and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing. [4]

Peter comes to Antioch and his hanging out with Jews and Gentiles.
Jerusalem hears about it and the Judaizers come to Antioch to confront Peter.
Peter stops hanging around the Gentiles. Then so does Barnabas. Confusion reigns.
Paul comes back and bust Peter’s chops.
Peter returns to Jerusalem and tells the Apostles of the incident and about the churches that have been established in Galatia with the Gentiles.
A group of Judaizers go to the four churches in Galatia:
         - Jerusalem & the Apostles are the true authority (Paul is neither)
         - Paul changed the Gospel given by the Apostles and adapted it for Gentiles
         - Paul omits circumcision and the Law of Moses. His law free Gospel pleases man
         - Peter is the leader and Paul publicly rebuked him
         - Paul preaches circumcision to the Jews but not the Gentiles
The Church in Galatia writes Paul in Antioch and asks them why he didn’t tell them the whole Gospel.
Paul pens Galatians: Justification & Sanctification are by grace through faith and not through works of the Law.
[1] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (2 Co 12:7–10). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
[2] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (Ac 13:4–14). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
[3] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (Ga 4:13–15). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
[4] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (Ga 2:11–21). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.

​Jeremy White - "Those who proclaim grace will always be accused of being 'soft on sin'. We are in good company because Paul had the same accusations made against him."

Paul White - "The cancer of the grace message is not trusting the Spirit to do what He says He will do and then infiltrating bits of law to control the church & keep the machine running."

"The church today is multi-million dollar business that focuses on sin management. If the believers ever become victorious the church would lose money."

"Accountability was established because there is a lack of trust that Jesus is enough."

"Satan used the 1 rule in the garden against Adam because that was the only law. Satan uses the law against us. Satan pulls the Law off the cross and uses it against us."

Jeremy White - "The 10 Commandments is a constant reminder of how we have blown it."

Lucas Miles - "We are not always going to talk about grace. We will talk about Jesus."

Lynn Hyles - "I didn't come to just to get you out of trouble. I came that you might have life."
"I'm gonna get to heaven and God is going to say to me, 'I had a heck of a time living my life through you. I loved eating with you. I loved loved going to ballgames with you. I loved teaching with you.'"

Ralph Harris - "Do you have a sin problem? NO! But we have been induced to believe that we need to work on our sin issue. Why? When it has already been dealt with?"

Steve Eden - "Ministry with intimacy is a beautiful thing. Ministry without intimacy is idolatry."

Lynn Hiles - "Addiction is pleasure without satisfaction. And you are only going to be satisfied in Jesus."

"Jesus was dealing with the pressure of doing great things/miracles for the approval of men around Him." (Power of sin working on Jesus)

"Live under the inward approval of God rather than the outward approval of man."

Steve Eden - "Nothing works outside of God's fashions, attitudes and principals."

"The priest never examined the one who brought the sacrifice... the priest always examined the sacrifice to make sure it was perfect."

Paul White - "Righteousness is right standing with God. 'Be righteous' has nothing to do with doing things. It is a state of being based upon what Jesus did for us."

Numbers 26:59 - 59 The name of Amram’s wife was Jochebed, a descendant of Levi, born to Levi in Egypt. She bore to Amram: Aaron, Moses, and their sister Miriam.[1]
 
Exodus 6:20 - 20 Amram married his father’s sister Jochebed, and she bore him Aaron and Moses.[2]
 
Exodus 1:8-10 - 8 A new king, who had not known Joseph, came to power in Egypt. 9 He said to his people, “Look, the Israelite people are more numerous and powerful than we are. 10 Let us deal shrewdly with them; otherwise they will multiply further, and if war breaks out, they may join our enemies, fight against us, and leave the country.”[3]
Exodus 1:22 - 22 Pharaoh then commanded all his people: “You must throw every son born to the Hebrews into the Nile, but let every daughter live.”[4]
Exodus 2:1-10 - 1 Now a man (Amram) from the family of Levi married a Levite woman (Jochebed).
 Jochebed’s Credentials:
 - Jews – God’s chosen people.
 - Levites – Priests who carried out the duties of the temple/tabernacle. Very religious people.
 - They were willing to defy orders of the Pharaoh.
 - Jochebed – She had a relationship with the Lord. This is essential for parents.
2 The woman became pregnant and gave birth to a son; when she saw that he was beautiful, she hid him for three months.
Jochebed’s Courage:
 - Jochebed refused to give into a godless system that would have cost her the life of her son.
 - Hebrews 11:23-29 - 23 By faith, after Moses was born, he was hidden by his parents for three months, because they saw that the child was beautiful, and they didn’t fear the king’s edict.
 - God… make us parents who aren’t afraid to take a stand in our faith through these sinful days.
24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter 25 and chose to suffer with the people of God rather than to enjoy the short-lived pleasure of sin.[5]
 - Jochebed instilled her faith in her child so that one day he would have his own faith and pursue it.
Exodus 2:3-10 - 3 But when she could no longer hide him, she got a papyrus basket for him and coated it with asphalt and pitch. She placed the child in it and set it among the reeds by the bank of the Nile. 4 Then his sister stood at a distance in order to see what would happen to him.
Jochebed’s Confidence (faith):
 - It took faith to place the child in the river.
 - This was the same instrument which was being used to destroy the other babies.
 - It took faith for this mother to take her hands off the life of this child and leave him to the will of God.
 - It takes faith for us to let our children go.
 - It takes faith to just leave them in the hand of God, but the child who has a praying mother, a past filled with the Bible and training in the way of the Lord has the advantage and will do well.
5 Pharaoh’s daughter went down to bathe at the Nile while her servant girls walked along the riverbank. Seeing the basket among the reeds, she sent her slave girl to get it. 6 When she opened it, she saw the child—a little boy, crying. She felt sorry for him and said, “This is one of the Hebrew boys.”
7 Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Should I go and call a woman from the Hebrews to nurse the boy for you?”
8 “Go,” Pharaoh’s daughter told her. So the girl went and called the boy’s mother. 9 Then Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Take this child and nurse him for me, and I will pay your wages.” So the woman took the boy and nursed him. 10 When the child grew older, she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. She named him Moses, “Because,” she said, “I drew him out of the water.”[6]
Jochebed’s Giving Away her Son:
 - Jochebed refused to let her child be trained in the ways of the world.
 - Faith is taught at home.
 - Don’t trust the system to teach your child about faith.
 - I left what I was doing because I didn’t want anyone else to teach my kids what I had come to understand.
 - Jochebed taught Moses God’s ways rather than the world system.
 - She trained Moses then gave Moses away for God’s service.

• This is no different than what God for us with His only Son… Jesus.

[1] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (Nu 26:59). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
[2] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (Ex 6:20). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
[3] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (Ex 1:8–10). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
[4] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (Ex 1:22). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
[5] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (Heb 11:23–29). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
[6] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (Ex 2:1–11). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.

Malachi (The New Living)
Chapter 1
1 This is the message that the Lord gave to Israel through the prophet Malachi.

The Lord’s Love for Israel
2 “I have always loved you,” says the Lord.
But you retort, “Really? How have you loved us?”
And the Lord replies, “This is how I showed my love for you: I loved your ancestor Jacob, 3 but I rejected his brother, Esau, and devastated his hill country. I turned Esau’s inheritance into a desert for jackals.”
4 Esau’s descendants in Edom may say, “We have been shattered, but we will rebuild the ruins.”
But the Lord of Heaven’s Armies replies, “They may try to rebuild, but I will demolish them again. Their country will be known as ‘The Land of Wickedness,’ and their people will be called ‘The People with Whom the Lord Is Forever Angry.’ 5 When you see the destruction for yourselves, you will say, ‘Truly, the Lord’s greatness reaches far beyond Israel’s borders!’”

Unworthy Sacrifices
6 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies says to the priests: “A son honors his father, and a servant respects his master. If I am your father and master, where are the honor and respect I deserve? You have shown contempt for my name!
“But you ask, ‘How have we ever shown contempt for your name?’
7 “You have shown contempt by offering defiled sacrifices on my altar.
“Then you ask, ‘How have we defiled the sacrifices?’
“You defile them by saying the altar of the Lord deserves no respect. 8 When you give blind animals as sacrifices, isn’t that wrong? And isn’t it wrong to offer animals that are crippled and diseased? Try giving gifts like that to your governor, and see how pleased he is!” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
9 “Go ahead, beg God to be merciful to you! But when you bring that kind of offering, why should he show you any favor at all?” asks the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
10 “How I wish one of you would shut the Temple doors so that these worthless sacrifices could not be offered! I am not pleased with you,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “and I will not accept your offerings. 11 But my name is honored by people of other nations from morning till night. All around the world they offer sweet incense and pure offerings in honor of my name. For my name is great among the nations,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
12 “But you dishonor my name with your actions. By bringing contemptible food, you are saying it’s all right to defile the Lord’s table. 13 You say, ‘It’s too hard to serve the Lord,’ and you turn up your noses at my commands,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “Think of it! Animals that are stolen and crippled and sick are being presented as offerings! Should I accept from you such offerings as these?” asks the Lord.
14 “Cursed is the cheat who promises to give a fine ram from his flock but then sacrifices a defective one to the Lord. For I am a great king,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “and my name is feared among the nations!
 
Chapter 2
 “Listen, you priests—this command is for you! 2 Listen to me and make up your minds to honor my name,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “or I will bring a terrible curse against you. I will curse even the blessings you receive. Indeed, I have already cursed them, because you have not taken my warning to heart. 3 I will punish your descendants and splatter your faces with the manure from your festival sacrifices, and I will throw you on the manure pile. 4 Then at last you will know it was I who sent you this warning so that my covenant with the Levites can continue,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
5 “The purpose of my covenant with the Levites was to bring life and peace, and that is what I gave them. This required reverence from them, and they greatly revered me and stood in awe of my name. 6 They passed on to the people the truth of the instructions they received from me. They did not lie or cheat; they walked with me, living good and righteous lives, and they turned many from lives of sin.
7 “The words of a priest’s lips should preserve knowledge of God, and people should go to him for instruction, for the priest is the messenger of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. 8 But you priests have left God’s paths. Your instructions have caused many to stumble into sin. You have corrupted the covenant I made with the Levites,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. 9 “So I have made you despised and humiliated in the eyes of all the people. For you have not obeyed me but have shown favoritism in the way you carry out my instructions.”

A Call to Faithfulness
10 Are we not all children of the same Father? Are we not all created by the same God? Then why do we betray each other, violating the covenant of our ancestors?
11 Judah has been unfaithful, and a detestable thing has been done in Israel and in Jerusalem. The men of Judah have defiled the Lord’s beloved sanctuary by marrying women who worship idols. 12 May the Lord cut off from the nation of Israel every last man who has done this and yet brings an offering to the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
13 Here is another thing you do. You cover the Lord’s altar with tears, weeping and groaning because he pays no attention to your offerings and doesn’t accept them with pleasure. 14 You cry out, “Why doesn’t the Lord accept my worship?” I’ll tell you why! Because the Lord witnessed the vows you and your wife made when you were young. But you have been unfaithful to her, though she remained your faithful partner, the wife of your marriage vows.
15 Didn’t the Lord make you one with your wife? In body and spirit, you are his. And what does he want? Godly children from your union. So guard your heart; remain loyal to the wife of your youth. 16 “For I hate divorce!” says the Lord, the God of Israel. “To divorce your wife is to overwhelm her with cruelty,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “So guard your heart; do not be unfaithful to your wife.”
17 You have wearied the Lord with your words.
“How have we wearied him?” you ask.
You have wearied him by saying that all who do evil are good in the Lord’s sight, and he is pleased with them. You have wearied him by asking, “Where is the God of justice?”
 
Chapter 3
 “Look! I am sending my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. Then the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to his Temple. The messenger of the covenant, whom you look for so eagerly, is surely coming,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
2 “But who will be able to endure it when he comes? Who will be able to stand and face him when he appears? For he will be like a blazing fire that refines metal, or like a strong soap that bleaches clothes. 3 He will sit like a refiner of silver, burning away the dross. He will purify the Levites, refining them like gold and silver, so that they may once again offer acceptable sacrifices to the Lord. 4 Then once more the Lord will accept the offerings brought to him by the people of Judah and Jerusalem, as he did in the past.
5 “At that time I will put you on trial. I am eager to witness against all sorcerers and adulterers and liars. I will speak against those who cheat employees of their wages, who oppress widows and orphans, or who deprive the foreigners living among you of justice, for these people do not fear me,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.

A Call to Repentance
6 “I am the Lord, and I do not change. That is why you descendants of Jacob are not already destroyed. 7 Ever since the days of your ancestors, you have scorned my decrees and failed to obey them. Now return to me, and I will return to you,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
“But you ask, ‘How can we return when we have never gone away?’
8 “Should people cheat God? Yet you have cheated me!
“But you ask, ‘What do you mean? When did we ever cheat you?’
“You have cheated me of the tithes and offerings due to me. 9 You are under a curse, for your whole nation has been cheating me. 10 Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test! 11 Your crops will be abundant, for I will guard them from insects and disease. Your grapes will not fall from the vine before they are ripe,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. 12 “Then all nations will call you blessed, for your land will be such a delight,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
13 “You have said terrible things about me,” says the Lord.
“But you say, ‘What do you mean? What have we said against you?’
14 “You have said, ‘What’s the use of serving God? What have we gained by obeying his commands or by trying to show the Lord of Heaven’s Armies that we are sorry for our sins? 15 From now on we will call the arrogant blessed. For those who do evil get rich, and those who dare God to punish them suffer no harm.’”

The Lord’s Promise of Mercy
16 Then those who feared the Lord spoke with each other, and the Lord listened to what they said. In his presence, a scroll of remembrance was written to record the names of those who feared him and always thought about the honor of his name.
17 “They will be my people,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “On the day when I act in judgment, they will be my own special treasure. I will spare them as a father spares an obedient child. 18 Then you will again see the difference between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.”

Chapter 4
1 The Lord of Heaven’s Armies says, “The day of judgment is coming, burning like a furnace. On that day the arrogant and the wicked will be burned up like straw. They will be consumed—roots, branches, and all.
2 “But for you who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings. And you will go free, leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture. 3 On the day when I act, you will tread upon the wicked as if they were dust under your feet,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
4 “Remember to obey the Law of Moses, my servant—all the decrees and regulations that I gave him on Mount Sinai for all Israel.
5 “Look, I am sending you the prophet Elijah before the great and dreadful day of the Lord arrives. 6 His preaching will turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the hearts of children to their fathers. Otherwise I will come and strike the land with a curse.” [1]

• At the end of the OT, the Jews could see the shining rewards of faithfulness and the punishments associated with judgment, even to the point of being uprooted from their land.
• They still strayed from the Lord’s will
• They needed God’s intervention.
• They needed to be saved from themselves.
  
• They needed Jesus.

[1] Tyndale House Publishers. (2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Mal 1–4:6). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.