Pastor Carl D. Hall Ministries - Galatians Sermon Outlines

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Galatians 4:3-9
The Available Power

Paul is describing the freedom Christians have in Christ.
\\#3\\ "were in bondage" - The thought is that, before Christ, we were bondage
  to sin.

\\#7\\ "no more a servant but a son," - a Son of God and so "an heir of God."

Must we (Christians) be dominated by the flesh? Must we be controlled by
sinful habits?

The list of sins are many! Worry, gambling, drunkenness, profanity, temper, envy,
jealousy, hatred, murder, greed, lust, gossip, lying, stealing, tale bearing,
evil speaking, laziness, pride, dissimulation, vulgar, bitterness, carnality,
lust, pornography, drug abuse, over eating, over shopping, and even over
working!

     2. Not only are there many sinful habits many but they are powerful!

Must we be in bondage to them?  The answer is NO!

1 John 4:4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because
greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

1 John 5:4  For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this
is the victory that overcometh the world, [even] our faith.

John 8:36  If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

There us is no magic wand! However, there is something better - spiritual
power. Call it God’s power made available to us. Everyone can have it!
Some scoff at the notion of spiritual power, but it is available. The question
is what is, how does it work, and how do we get it?

    I. What is spiritual power?
        A. I can say that it is the power of God Himself, but let me attempt to
            put it in terms we might all comprehend.
        B. It is a Third-Party Power.
            1. Of course the Third Party is God and I do not mean to blaspheme
                or diminish  God or my respect for Him.
            2. What I mean to emphasize is that this power is an outside force.
                It is not us but an external Presence.
                It is a divine power.
            3. Let me be careful to say that God will not so overpower us as to
                take away our will.
            4. However, God will make it harder for us to do wrong and easier to
                do what is right, especially if that is what we want Him to do.
        C. There are varying degrees of this power.
            1. God can give His power so strongly that we feel it is all His work
                and none of ours.
            2. God can give His power so sparingly that we feel it is all our
                work and very little of His.
            3. Most of the time, this power is somewhere in between.
                a. There are times when we strongly feel His presence and power.
                b. There are times when we do not and do right is a hard struggle.
                c. These two diverse times may come within a few seconds of each
                    other.

   II. What are we asking God to do with this power?
        A. We are basically asking God to either increase somethings or decrease
            somethings.
        B. What things do we want God to increase?
            1. Conviction
            2. Our strength and determination
        C. What things do we want God to decrease or remove?
            1. The temptation
            2. Our desire to surrender to it.
            3. Even the very idea or notion of the temptation.

  III. What are some ways to increase God’s power upon us?
        A. Prayer unleashes spiritual power.

James 4:2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot
obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.

John 14:13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that
the Father may be glorified in the Son.
14  If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.

            1. There are two ways that prayer increases God’s power on our life.
                a. Anything that increases God’s presence in our life.
                    1. Some of these will increase our time in God’s presence.
                    2. Some will increase our awareness of God’s presence.
                    3. Prayer does both of these.
                    4. Do not think little of spending time in God’s presence.
                        It will certainly change your life.
                b. Prayer has the added benefit that it directly moves God to
                    do for us.
                    1. Prayer is God actually doing a visible work to help us.
                    2. God could physically remove a temptation or a tempter
                        because we asked Him to do so.
                    3. God could increase our conviction because we asked Him to
                        do so.
            2.
        B. Preaching unleashes spiritual power.

Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the
power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first,
and also to the Greek.

1 Corinthians 1:18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish
foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

            1. Being under the preached Word of God again allows us to spend
                time in God’s presence.
            2. The preached Word can also increase our knowledge.
                a. Truth is a powerful weapon.

John 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

                b. The accumulated volumes of truth hid in your heart and soul
                    will empower you.

        C. Purity unleashes spiritual power.

Matthew 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

            1. A clean heart discerns filth and is repelled by it.
            2. A dirty heart seeking to be clean will seek to purge the
                wickedness from it.

Psalms 51:2 Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.

Psalms 51:7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall
be whiter than snow.

        D. Faith unleashes spiritual power.

Luke 8:48 And he said unto her, Daughter, be of good comfort: thy faith hath
made thee whole; go in peace.

Luke 17:19 And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee
whole.

James 1:6 But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth
is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.

            1. The time before God spend seeking to increase faith certainly
                helps increase our spiritual power.
            2. Faith is not just a collection of beliefs but a power in itself.
            3. Perhaps because it gets God’s attention and moves God to act on
                our behalf.

        E. Fasting unleashes spiritual power.

Mark 9:29 And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but
by prayer and fasting.

            1. Fasting is usually coupled with prayer, both of which would again
                bring us into God’s presence.
            2. However, choosing to put ourselves last and God first, which has
                to be done to do without, again gets God’s attention.

        F. Obedience unleashes spiritual power.

John 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will
keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and
make our abode with him.

1 John 2:17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that
doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

Hebrews 10:38 Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back,
my soul shall have no pleasure in him.

            1. The struggle to obey again gets God’s attention.

Romans 1:17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to
faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

            2. God reveals His righteousness from faith to faith, step by step.
            3. The more we obey, the more power God gives so that we can obey
                Him again.

The battle to overcome sin is difficult, but God’s power is available to those
who seek it. Will you seek the power of God?