Galatians 1. Down through history people who professed to know Christ have, over time, become confused and bewildered, and have turned their backs on God, abandoned their profession of Christianity, and made shipwreck of their faith. Paul had a friend who served along with him in the gospel, but something happened to this man. Paul writes in 2 Timothy 4: “¹⁰ for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me.” Demas loved this world, the deceitfulness of riches, or the pleasure and allurements of the world, and so he was a turncoat and a deserter.  

And our study of the Book of Galatians today, would tell us that there is only one thing that will keep us from deserting God, abandoning our faith in times of persecution, or wandering away from the truth into false teaching. That one thing is a heart-felt love of, and an all-consuming passion for the gospel of Jesus Christ. For if we do not love the gospel we are open to false teaching. If we do not love the truth we are open to deception and confusion.

Paul is writing to Christians in Galatia. And these Galatians had become confused by false teaching, and they were deserting God. And so Paul in vs. 4 makes a bee-line for the cross and reminds them that Jesus gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from this present evil age. And 12 times in chapter 1 Paul references the gospel. It’s almost as if Paul is a one-note Joe. Paul, don’t you know any other songs? Don’t you have any other verses? Apparently Paul thought that Christians who were exposed to false teaching, and were confused, who had deserted God, needed the gospel, the whole gospel, and nothing but the gospel.

During our introduction last time to the Book of Galatians we mentioned how susceptible we are to the damning doctrines of legalism. Here a whole group of churches in Galatia turned from the Lord to the Law. When we read Galatians, we have to wonder if there is any legalism in us.

The Bible says the whole world is a prisoner of sin and the law. Let’s look again at chapter 3 vs. 22-23: ²² But the Scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe. ²³ Before this faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. The condition of all people by nature and by birth is that we are in prison. And there are double bars. Did you notice? We are in prison to sin and locked up under the law. And even as believers there can be strong impulses to go back to the Law, back to rules and regulations, just like the Galatians did. We as a people are prone to legalism.

So our purpose in studying the Book of Galatians together is for each one of us to seek the Lord to make sure we are fully released from bondage to the law. That we are free indeed. That grace is reigning in righteousness. That we are cultivating the presence of God’s Spirit, for where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. Let’s pray.

Well last time we looked at the three divisions of chapter 1. In vss. 1-5 we saw the preeminence of the gospel. This means that Paul puts the gospel as the most important teaching. In vs. 1 he says that Jesus was raised from the dead (law can’t raise anybody from the dead), in vs. 4 He says that Jesus gave Himself for our sins (the law requires death for disobedience, Jesus died instead of us). Paul won’t be deceived because he loves, loves, loves Jesus and His gospel.

And then in vss. 6-10 we see the perversion of the gospel. That’s our subject for today.

And in vss. 11-24 we see the power of the gospel. Saul used to be a persecutor of the church and now Paul is a preacher of the gospel. What made this dramatic change in Paul? According to vs. 11, it was the gospel. The gospel is the power of God.

So that’s chapter 1, the preeminence of the gospel, the perversion of the gospel and the power of the gospel.

Today let’s look at the perversion of the gospel. In vs. 6 Paul says “⁶ I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—which is really no gospel at all.” Paul was simply flabbergasted, dumbfounded that anyone would turn away from the best news this world has ever heard, to something else. He was astonished. The word means “shocked with fear.”

You remember from vs. 4 that salvation is a rescue operation. That Jesus gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from this present evil age. You remember we looked at David, a shepherd from Bethlehem who rescued a sheep who had been caught in the jaws of a bear. Well Paul thinks the Galatians would be like that sheep who would say to David, “no thanks David, I’ve got it. I’m going to pry open the jaws of this bear myself, and I’m going to jump out while he’s yawning, and I’m going to run really fast and get away….I’m going to pry, I’m going to jump, I’m going to run.” And Paul is just bamboozled that anyone would turn from being rescued to law-works.

And we need to notice how intimately connected God is with His gospel. Look at vs. 6 again: “⁶ I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel” as if to say you turn from the gospel you turn from God Himself.

And this is a theme throughout all the Bible. Look with me at the Book of Jeremiah chapter 2. Here we see that God’s people were doing the same exact thing the Galatians were doing. They were deserting God. Look at Jeremiah chapter 2 vs. 13: “¹³ “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.” Then look at vs. 19: ¹⁹ Your wickedness will punish you; your backsliding will rebuke you. Consider then and realize how evil and bitter it is for you when you forsake the LORD your God and have no awe of me,” declares the Lord, the LORD Almighty.” Now you’re real close to Ezekiel, just two books to the right. And look at Ezekiel 18: ²⁴ “But if a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits sin and does the same detestable things the wicked man does, will he live? None of the righteous things he has done will be remembered. Because of the unfaithfulness he is guilty of and because of the sins he has committed, he will die. Ezekiel 18:24 ²⁶ If a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits sin, he will die for it; because of the sin he has committed he will die. In turning from the gospel, people turn from their righteousness and they will die in their sins. That’s exactly what the Galatians were doing when they turned from the gospel; they turned from God, to the Law. May God enable us to embrace Christ and cling to the cross.

But looking back into Galatians 1, let’s discover whey the Galatians were turning from God. Paul tells us in Galatians 1. Some people came along and confused them. He says in vs. 7 “Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ—which is really no gospel at all.” We’ll find out that they were telling the Galatians to keep the feast days of the Old Covenant, to keep the Sabbath, to be circumcised, to put themselves under the Old Covenant Law. And this is no gospel at all because “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

They were adding the Law to the gospel and were confusing the Galatians. Now last time we noticed that this word for “confusion” means to “blur the eyes”. When I take my glasses off you are all blurry. Paul had come along and preached the gospel to them, they had believed and they had seen the truth clearly. I’m trapped in sin, under the condemnation of the Law, Jesus gave Himself to rescue me, to open the prison door. And I’m free! Free from the curse of the Law. Free from the condemnation of the Law. But then these other people came along and added the law to the gospel and they became confused. And Paul is writing to blurry-eyed believers.

And Paul said, these people were trying to pervert the gospel. That word is an amazing word. It is the word “Metastrepho” where we get our English word “metastasize” like what happens when someone gets cancer and it spreads. These Judaizers had spread a spiritual cancer throughout the Galatian body and it was metastasizing; the gospel was becoming perverted by these people.

And we need to take a second and apply this to ourselves today: because if we turn away from the gospel and turn to the works of the law we have become spiritually cancerous. Perverted. If a family turns away from grace, and the gospel of forgiveness, and focuses on perfection, and “you must measure up and meet the standard” and jump over the bar that I have set for you; that family has a cancerous tumor. And if a church body turns from the good news of Jesus to the works of the law it has become diseased and sickly, and the cancer will spread and the body will die. I know of churches whose pastors wanted to control everything, and those churches died.

This is the very reason why Paul is so forceful in his next statement in vs. 8: “⁸ But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!”

Paul said the gospel is more important than the Apostle, himself. Paul says your allegiance should not be to me, but to the gospel. And Paul says “if I ever come and preach another message than “Jesus Christ and Him crucified” for you, let me suffer the eternal torment of the condemned in hell where there is nothing but weeping and gnashing of teeth. That’s how important the gospel is. It is more important than the apostle, or the preacher, or the teacher.

And notice that it’s also more important than an angel from heaven. Now if an angel came to most people today they’d be like “Wow, I am going to listen to every word he says.” And Paul says “you better listen to every word he says, and if he preaches a different gospel, let that angel be thrown into the lake of fire and be eternally condemned.” And we think, an angel wouldn’t do that. An angel from heaven? I want to read you something.

“And we declare with words of soberness, that an angel of God came down from heaven, and he brought and laid before our eyes…the plates, and the engravings thereon; and…we beheld and bear record that these things are true.”—Book of Mormon, Testimony of Three Witnesses.

OK so an angel came down from heaven, his name was Moroni, and what did he preach? He spoke about Jesus. Here is what the angel said, “[13] Behold, they will crucify him; and after he is laid in a sepulchre for the space of three days he shall rise from the dead, with healing in his wings; and all those who shall believe on his name shall be saved in the kingdom of God.”

And here is what the angel told Joseph Smith the prophet to say, “ [23] For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children, and also our brethren, to believe in Christ, and to be reconciled to God; for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.—2 Nephi 32:23 Time out: We do all we can do to be saved, and the grace of God makes up the difference? We strive and we work and we witness and we obey and then God gives some grace? Oh no. Mr. Angel, you got it all wrong. I wonder if you’re from heaven or from hell. We’re not saved by all we do, we’re saved by all Jesus did. You got it wrong. And he got a lot of other things wrong.

So here is an example of an angel supposedly from heaven preaching a different gospel, a damning gospel. And no wonder, for 2 Corinthians 11:14 says “¹⁴ Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.”

Now listen, if you guys liked what the angel Moroni said, and I liked most of it, you have to remember that rat poison is 99% nutritious and delicious. Why do you think the rat eats it? It’s good stuff. But it’s just that 1% that will kill you.

Paul says the gospel is more important than the apostle, and the gospel is more important than an angel. And then he says it’s more important than any man. Look at vs. 9: “⁹ As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!” In other words, if somebody comes to you with some other message than the cross, than the blood of Jesus, let them be sent to hell. That’s pretty strong language. But the reality is that the gospel is more important than the Apostle. The gospel is more important than an angel. The gospel is more important than any man.

I wonder this morning, if Paul listened in on our conversations we have with our spouses, or in our families, would he rejoice that the cross occupies our conversations and our lives? That we are boasting in the cross? That we are rejoicing in Calvary? If Paul came to church today, would he hear all about the cross of Jesus and go home rejoicing in the Lord? Or would he say chapter 4 vs. 11: ¹¹ I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you.” Or vs. 15, “What has happened to all your joy?” Legalism robs a man, woman or child of all their joy. Maybe he would be compelled to write to us chapter 5:1: “¹ It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”  

So let’s summarize this morning. Paul is writing to believers who have become confused and are deserting God because of false teaching. Because of law teaching. And Paul is going to bring them back to the good news, remind them of the rescue that Jesus did, when they were caught in the jaws of the Law, with all its condemnation and death, Jesus gave Himself for their sins to rescue them. Paul is going to give out the gospel to the Galatians, over and over. Because he is just simple enough to believe that when there are problems in a church, the gospel and the Spirit of God is the Solution.

And I want to close this morning by asking you to turn with me to the Book of 2 Kings chapter 4. I want to illustrate this point this morning. As you’re turning I want us to consider what we are supposed to do if there are problems in the home, or problems in the church, or problems in the nation. Are we supposed to focus on those problems and try to take away the problems? Let’s see what Elisha did when there were problems in the stew: “

³⁸ Elisha returned to Gilgal and there was a famine in that region. While the company of the prophets was meeting with him, he said to his servant, “Put on the large pot and cook some stew for these men.” ³⁹ One of them went out into the fields to gather herbs and found a wild vine. He gathered some of its gourds and filled the fold of his cloak. When he returned, he cut them up into the pot of stew, though no one knew what they were. ⁴⁰ The stew was poured out for the men, but as they began to eat it, they cried out, “O man of God, there is death in the pot!” And they could not eat it. ⁴¹ Elisha said, “Get some flour.” He put it into the pot and said, “Serve it to the people to eat.” And there was nothing harmful in the pot. Notice Elisha did not say “now get in there and take the poison out”. No, he said put the flour in. Put substance in. It’s just like when you cook soup, if you put too much salt in, I hear that instead of trying to take the salt out, you can put a potato in and it neutralizes the salt.

Well here they put flour or substance in. And somehow that substance took all of the poison, all of the death into itself and left nothing but a healthy meal for those who were hungry. And it should not surprise us that in Colossians 2:17 Jesus is called the “Substance” the reality. He’s the flour. And so God looked down on the “stew” of humanity, and saw that all people were prisoners of sin and death. There was death in the pot. And so He sent His Son, the Substance, and on the cross Jesus absorbed all of your sin and all of my sin. Just took the sin and the death right into Himself, that we might live.

And Paul looked at the Galatians who had received a spiritual cancer, the body of Christ was becoming perverted, and He said, “I’m just going to give them Jesus, and refocus them on the cross.” And that will absorb all their poison, all their cancer, all the death and give them life.

You know what a man needs who is spiritually ill? Whose turned his back on God? You know what a family that is filled with strife and contention needs? They need Jesus. They need to focus on the cross and the forgiveness and healing that flows from Calvary’s tree. Those who were perverted by the poison of the law, needed the substance of the gospel.

The Gospel for a Church in Recovery

Wilderness Wanderers

We people face many problems in life. Sometimes, like Job experienced, hardships and troubles come in numerous ways, seemingly all at the same time. When difficulties come and we face trials of many kinds, it has been the habit of many people throughout history to turn to other people for the solution. It seems far easier to trust in man for solutions rather than to seek the Lord and call upon Him. And yet turning to man and trusting in man demeans the living God and puts a curse on man. As Jeremiah 17:5 says: “⁵ This is what the LORD says: ‘Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the LORD.’” If we want God’s blessing instead of cursing we must learn to turn to Him, ask for His help, seek His face, and trust in Him.

Oh how true this is especially in the area of “addiction”, or rather dealing with our sin problem. Numerous groups and programs abound encouraging us to “work the program” or “follow the steps”. And all the while, God alone has the solution, and is Himself the answer to our sin problem.

We are beginning a study now in Psalm chapter 107. There are four word-pictures given to us in this chapter. These word-pictures show us that God is the answer in each and every situation. It is my hope that these studies will help to wean us off of our fatal dependence on man and turn us to the living God.

Let’s look at the first word-picture in Psalm 107 together. Please read the following passage and provide your answers/thoughts below:

⁴ Some wandered in desert wastelands, finding no way to a city where they could settle. ⁵ They were hungry and thirsty, and their lives ebbed away. ⁶ Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. ⁷ He led them by a straight way to a city where they could settle. ⁸ Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men, ⁹ for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things. Psalm 107:4-9

Question 1. Please list all the conditions of the people in this passage. What problems were they having? What difficulties did they face?

The first word-picture we see in Psalm 107 could be titled “Wilderness Wanderers”. God’s people, the Israelites, are pictured here as those who “wandered in desert wastelands.” They are clearly lost as they were “finding no way to a city where they could settle.” And in their wandering in the wilderness they experienced intense hunger and thirst, as their lives ebbed away.

This is a recap of Israel as they journeyed from Egypt through the “Wilderness of Sin” along the way to the Promised Land. These journeys are recorded in the Books of Exodus and Numbers in the Old Testament. They are recorded for our warning and instruction: “¹¹ These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings (instructions) for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come.” 1 Corinthians 10:11

So we are supposed to learn from and be warned by these stories of the children of Israel, which means we must apply the Scriptures to our own lives, through the enabling of the Holy Spirit. We can start by asking ourselves some questions such as these:

What similarities do we see between the Israelites wandering in the wilderness and our experience today? What can we learn from their condition in the wilderness? What things did they do, and what things did they not do to find a solution? What was the answer to their problems, and how does that answer apply to us today?

What similarities do we see between the Israelites wandering in the wilderness and our experience today? For me this passage is a clear reminder of my many years living in habitual sin. This time in my life was indeed a “wandering in the wilderness”, moving aimlessly throughout my life, not knowing where I was going. I wandered into one part of the desert called gluttony, then I wandered into another part called pornography, and as I kept wandering through the desert I would become involved in drunkenness and drugs, as well as gambling and sexual impurity. This was a true “desert” experience for me, and I found no oasis of satisfaction.

Later I would discover that the Bible connects this “wilderness wandering” with the thoughts of rebellion against God and grieving Him by sin. Psalm 78:40 says: “⁴⁰ How often they rebelled against him in the desert and grieved him in the wasteland!”

Question 2. What thoughts come to mind as you consider the words “wandering in the wilderness” rebelling against God/grieving Him? How do they apply to your life, either in the past or present?

Another characteristic of desert wandering is “hunger and thirst.” Psalm 107:5 says, ⁵ They were hungry and thirsty, and their lives ebbed away.

Question 3. How does this description of “hunger and thirst” apply to our lives in sin? What similarities can you think of and what conditions does this bring to mind?

The reality is that sin has nothing that satisfies the desires of our hearts and souls. I went for years being “hungry and thirsty”, or rather starving and parched, while I was seeking satisfaction in sin. I thought if I could just find the perfect image on the computer, or have the perfect huge dinner with that delicious desert, etc. that I would be satisfied. But my hunger was never satisfied and my thirst never quenched in this life of sin.

The final condition I see in this passage is that these Israelites were nearly dead. “⁵ …and their lives ebbed away.” Psalm 107:5 The devil comes to “kill, steal and destroy” (John 10:10) and those who live in the wilderness of sin, starving and parched, eventually experience this death and destruction that God promises in His Word.

Question 4. How does having no food and no water, while wandering in the wilderness, threaten to destroy life? Have you personally ever experienced the truth of this? If so please share it here:

So let’s summarize this first word picture in Psalm 107. In this passage we see people wandering in the wilderness; they are hungry and thirsty, their lives are ebbing away. We might add that this situation would most certainly produce hopelessness and despair. With each passing day the hunger and thirst gets more intense, the feeling of being lost becomes overwhelming, and the hope of ever getting out fades away.

Question 5. Have you experienced despair like this? Have you wandered and thirsted and hungered only to find that you are getting nowhere and therefore have lost hope? Please explain:

And it would do us well to realize that these people did not turn to man for help. There probably were no 12-step courses, no psychologists who could “understand their pain” and prescribe a pill, no support groups for wilderness wanderers. In essence, these people were in a situation that no human being could fix. David experienced this same situation, and he knew to turn to the Lord: “¹ O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water” (Psalm 63:1—emphasis mine).

And let’s not miss the application for us today; that sin places us in situations that no man can fix. Sin is against God, it is spiritual in nature, and it takes us to the brink of death and destruction where no man can rescue us. We are brought here so that we might thirst for the living God, that we might cry out for Him, that we might see Him as our only hope and begin to earnestly seek Him.

Question 6. So what exactly did these people, in this extremely difficult situation, do? Psalm 107 verse 6 gives us the answer. Please write out the answer here:

This seems almost too simple, doesn’t it? Five short words: they “…cried out to the LORD” and they were rescued, the problem was solved. For a generation of people who are taught “once an addict, always an addict”, who are used to years and years of therapy and a lifetime of “recovery”, this seems almost unbelievably simple. And yet, “is anything too hard for the Lord?” (Genesis 18:14). As Jesus said in Matthew 19:26 “²⁶ “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Truly the Lord is indeed the answer. He alone can forgive our sin. He alone can rescue us when we are lost. He alone can quench our thirst and satisfy our hunger. He alone can save us from death when our lives are ebbing away in sin. This passage presents the Lord as the answer.

There was a time, in years gone by, when people would point others to the Lord. If someone was in bondage to sexual impurity a Christian would witness to him/her about Jesus. If someone was struggling with gluttony or drunkenness, they would speak the gospel, pointing to the cross where the one enslaved could find forgiveness and new life. They would witness about the power of Bible reading. They would invite them to church. And there the person enslaved to sin and in the prison of guilt would hear the gospel. God would give faith to repent and believe the gospel. And the person would turn to the Lord and find forgiveness and freedom. This has always been God’s plan to set captives free.

But something happened within this past century. People developed 12-step groups and support groups. Psychology, as a competing religion to the gospel, came along and many many people have been duped by these imposters. Now, instead of witnessing to someone wandering in the wilderness about the power of the Lord to rescue them, people speak about their “steps” and invite the one in bondage to his “group”, or point him to a “professional” who will merely listen to his problems and then prescribe an anti-depressant. There, in the group he will learn to “work the program”, which usually includes some Bible verses, and “follow the steps” which appear to be the path out of the wilderness, but often is a loop back into the group.

Slowly, the gospel is being replaced by behavior modification, professional “counsel” and step groups. And the result is that instead of people being saved and satisfied in Jesus, they are learning that they will be an addict all their lives and will live in a state of perpetual “recovery.”

I preached at a large church recently. My message was “the Power of the Gospel to Set Captives Free.” Afterward numerous people came up to me and said, “Hi, my name is John, and I’ve been in recovery for 19 years” and “Hi, I’m Laura and I’m in recovery too.” Oh how sad to see people deceived in this way. Can you imagine someone being involved in a car accident and then living in the recovery room for 19 years? Just laying flat on a bed, hooked up to IV’s and living “in recovery”? That’s not God’s plan for His people.

The reality is that Jesus Christ is mighty to save. ¹⁷ The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.” ¹⁸ “The sorrows for the appointed feasts I will remove from you; they are a burden and a reproach to you. ¹⁹ At that time I will deal with all who oppressed you; I will rescue the lame and gather those who have been scattered. I will give them praise and honor in every land where they were put to shame. Zephaniah 3:17-19

Question 7. From Zephaniah 3:17-19 above, please list everything the Lord does for those who call to Him:

Here is the passage from Psalm 107 again, please read and answer the following questions:

⁴ Some wandered in desert wastelands, finding no way to a city where they could settle. ⁵ They were hungry and thirsty, and their lives ebbed away. ⁶ Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress. ⁷ He led them by a straight way to a city where they could settle. ⁸ Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men, ⁹ for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things. Psalm 107:4-9

Question 7. According to verses 6-7, and 9 what exactly did the Lord do for these people?

The Lord “delivered them from their distress”, He “led them to a city where they could settle” and He “satisfied the thirst and filled the hungry.”  

Question 8. Have you turned to the Lord and experienced His deliverance and His leading? If so, please describe how you are becoming “settled” and “satisfied” in Him. What does the Lord mean to you now that you have turned to Him and how is He delivering and satisfying you?

The one truth that is clear from this passage of Scripture is that the Lord is the answer to our problem of sin. Psalm 78:15 shows that God can provide miraculously when we call to Him: “¹⁵ He split the rocks in the desert and gave them water as abundant as the seas.” The Lord can work miracles on behalf of people, and He loves to do just that.

What this teaching does not mean. To turn to the Lord does not mean we cannot go to a pastor, an elder, or a Christian brother or sister for help. Indeed, we are told to “bear one another’s burdens” (Galatians 6:2) and the strong in the Lord are to “³ Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way” (Isaiah 35:3). The reality is that God has given pastors/teachers/counselors in the body of Christ to help people through the trials and struggles of life. So we are not “turning to man” when we turn to the Lord and get counsel from a fellow believer in Christ, as long as that counselor or brother or sister points us to Christ and His gospel, to the Word and the church for help. If they point us to psychological principles and tips, to steps and groups rather than Scripture and the church, we are on shaky ground.

Question 9. In conclusion, according to Psalm 107 verse 8, what should be our response to what the Lord has done for us?

One of the missing ingredients to all step-group devotees and perpetual “addicts in recovery” is overwhelming thankfulness for the Lord’s unfailing love and His powerful works among them. They are in perpetual recovery, or living on anti-depressants, and are not giving thanks to God for His love and His work.

To summarize: people were wandering in the wilderness, starving and thirsty, and nearly dying. Then they turned to the Lord and called upon His Name, and He delivered them and led them to a city where they could settle.

May the church turn away from the programs, plans, steps, and counsel of man, and return to His Word, His Son, His Spirit and His body (the church). If this happens thankfulness and joy will replace therapy and drugs. May it be so by God’s grace!

Question 10. Please provide your thoughts on the lesson today.