Fearing the Worst

Sunday Sermon
October 25th 2009
Rhema Community Church

Sermonic Skeleton

Sermonic Pericope: ESV Galatians 4:8-11 Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. 9 But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more? 10 You observe days and months and seasons and years! 11 I am afraid I may have labored over you in vain.

Sermonic Theme: Saved & Set Free (The Doctrine of Justification)

Sermonic Subject: Back Sliding or Sliding Back (Choosing that which is inferior over and against that which is superior.)

Sermonic Tension: Have I labored in vain. (Your Pastor’s greatest fear!)

Sermonic Sentence: You can't fix it if you want face it! (Spiritual emancipation is hard work)

Sermonic Help: IDOLATRY/IDOLS: In the OT the word “idol” means “vanity” (Jer. 14.22; 18.15); idols were made of wood, stone and precious metal (Isaiah 40/Jer.10). While such idols continued into NT times, especially in Greek culture, the NT also recognizes that anything treasured more than God is an idol. In Romans 1.22-25; idolatry is a sin against God and idolater is a slave to whatever has taken the place of God. (Acts 17.16/ Corinthians 5.11; 10.7, 14/ Galatians 5.20/ Philippians 3.18-19; Colossians 2.18; 3.5; Titus 3.3.)

IGNORANCE: A state of lack of knowledge or comprehension. In the Bible, ignorance is never honored by God and can even be the basis of sin. (Acts 3.17; 1 Peter 2.15; Heb 9.7; I Co 14.16, 23-24.)

IGNORANCE, ARGUMENT FROM: In Latin, Argumentum ad ignorantiam. An example: there must be ghosts because no one has ever shown that they do not exist. The fallacy of Argument from Ignorance is committed whenever a person asserts that a proposition is true simply because it has not been proven false, or that it is false merely because it has not been proven true. This mistaken logic often occurs is arguments where there is no clear cut evidence either for or against an issue.

Sermonic Title: “FEARING THE WORST”

Sermonic Structure:

I. THEIR FORMER LIFE HAS PAUL FEARING THE WORST (V.8)

A. They were ignorant
B. They were idolatrous

II. THEIR FEET HAS PAUL FEARING THE WORST (V.9)

A. They're turning back to that which is weak
B. They're turning back to that which is worthless
C. They're turning back to that which is worldly

III. THEIR FOCUS HAS PAUL FEARING THE WORST (V.10-11)

A. They're focusing on days
B. They're focusing on months
C. They're focusing on seasons
D. They're focusing on years