Kerwin Baptist Church Daily Sermon Broadcast

Welcome to the Kerwin Baptist Church broadcast today. Our desire is for the Word of God to be spread throughout the world so that all may know Christ.

Join us now for a portion of one of our services here at Kerwin Baptist Church located in Kernersville, North Carolina. Galatians chapter 5, for in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth anything nor uncircumcision. But faith, which worketh by love.

Ye did run well. Who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth? This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you.

A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. I have confidence in you through the Lord that ye will be none otherwise minded. But he that troubleth you shall bear his judgment whosoever he be. I guess about a year ago now I went through the book of Galatians in a series on Sunday nights and we passed these verses and we of course spoke on these verses. But I would like to just center really on these five short verses here this morning.

And I'd like to speak on this subject. Ye did run well. That word did obviously implies the past. It implies that there was a time that you ran well. But that time has come and gone and things are different now.

And then he makes this statement who did hinder you in verse 7. I'd like to ask you a question this morning. If you are not quite running your race as well as you did at one time.

Or if the temptation to quit, the temptation to kind of slack off and ease up has come. I want to ask you this. Who did hinder you? That's what I'd like to talk about this morning with the grace of God. Lord we love you.

And Lord I pray that you'd help us this morning. We all want to run our race well. We all want to do a good job. We all want to finish. We want to do what you've called us to do.

And Lord I hope that everybody wants that. And Lord we are given a scenario here in Galatians chapter 5 of those that did not. So Lord I pray that you'd help us to learn and glean from your word. In your name we pray. Amen. Verse 7.

Ye did run well. Almost understood there as but. And he asks this question.

Who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth? You know I guess I'm not trying to act like I'm you know some wise expert that's been around for 50 years like brother Joe has seen and just about seen all there is and has the wisdom like a man like brother Joe would have. I don't have that. I understand that. I'm kind of in the middle of my race I guess you would say. I hope I'm in the middle. The Lord knows maybe I'm near the end. I don't know it. I don't know. But I hope I'm in the middle. I hope I'm at the beginning. Yeah. I could be the past year for another 70 years. Okay I just.

Yeah that was a bad thought wasn't it. Oh Lord. But over the years I guess that I have been serving and I have been trying my best to do what the Lord's called me to do. I saw some things here for six years I came out of college worked here for six years and then went to evangelism for 10 years and then came back here. And I've just seen some different things and I know that you'll hear a lot of people say this but I have seen some people some individuals over the years that I got to be honest with you not only were they running their race. But like this passage said they were running it well. They were doing a great job. I mean it would almost be to the point that I as times as a preacher I would preach to people that to be honest with you I would say they're probably running their race better than I am. And I'm preaching to them.

They're doing a great job. I mean they were sacrificial. They just had a burden and a passion to serve the Lord. And I've seen a lot of this over the years that they were running and they weren't just running but they were running well. And by the way the Christian life is running. It's a race.

And the Bible gives that in the book of Hebrews it equates that to that. And you know in a race you got to have stability. You got to be able to stick to things to finish your race. You know the Bible says in the Ecclesiastes the race is not to the swift and the battle is not to the strong. That means this the race is to those that are just faithful and keep going and keep doing what's right. And over the years I've just seen individuals that man they were not only running their race but they were running their race well. And it's almost individuals that you look up to. And I'm not talking about like full time Christian ministry although I've seen plenty of that. Those that were in full time preachers, missionaries, evangelists, whatever the case might be. And you just get the impression boy they were really running their race great and man I wish I could be that kind of Christian.

I wish I could just do all that. And then all of a sudden something happens you don't know what goes on but they just quit. And there are some that what we would call fall into sin and just get involved in a bunch of mess. But that's not always the case.

Many times it's not really that they fell into any sin or that you know any obviously major thing. They just kind of quit. They just kind of stop. And I'm going to be the first to say I've been in this long enough now to say I understand.

You don't think there's been days that man I would just love to pack it in. You don't believe me? Ask my wife. She's my sounding board. Unfortunately sounding boards send the sound back at you. That's the problem with sounding boards and she straightens me out pretty quickly.

There have been times that you know you're just like Julie I just you know apparently my makeup my my personality whatever the case might be. It just hurts me when people say things or do things and they quit things it just hurts. I take it personal. You know somebody will quit singing in the choir. I'll tell you they're mad at me. They must be mad at me as the pastor. Somebody quits you know a different ministry. Others just don't like me. They're mad at me. And I said I don't know with my makeup maybe I'm just not made and my wife says oh I thought you'd preach that greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. I'm like you are a blessing. Get away from me woman.

I'm picking obviously. I'm like come here woman. Everybody thinks Baptist preachers are against everything. I'm against lipstick. My wife's.

It didn't work for my dad either. He tried that joke for years. I'm against her lipstick kissing. OK never mind. I waste a lot of material from this pulpit.

I really really do. You say preacher what happens. Well I find it interesting in this passage and I want you to look at this with an open mind this morning. I find this interesting that Paul did not ask what hindered you. Paul did not say ye did run well what hindered you. Paul did not say he did run well why were you hindered. Paul did not say he did run well how were you hindered. Paul did not say he did or he did run well. When were you hindered. He didn't even say he did run well or were you hindered.

It's amazing that Paul very specifically said he did run well when talking to the Church of Galatia. He said, who did hinder you? You know I have found in my life over the years that usually it's not a sickness that makes you quit and it's really not a bad circumstance because I have found over the years that sickness and bad circumstances and different things, they often make you run to God. You might get mad and hurt at the first but you realize that you know what, God's the one I have to lean on. I can't get through this without the Lord and before long you know you find yourself and you'll get right back to where you need to be and you trust the Lord and all that stuff. But what I have found that normally gets individuals is who?

People. That's normally what hinders. That's normally, and this by the way, this word hindered here means to slow down, to impede progress, to delay. And I have found that over the years of serving the Lord and I have found with myself, there has been through a lot of difficult circumstances and listen to me, I can only use myself because I know I won't get mad if I use myself. But you all know what we've been through with Kayden and different things of that nature. Many of you have been through far worse things. But going through what we went through with Kayden didn't make me doubt God anymore. In fact, it strengthened my faith.

My wife will tell you through the whole thing of being in the hospital, not one time did it seem to get me. I mean it hurt to watch my child suffer and to have a child suffer but not one time that I ever, in fact, it built my faith, it grew my faith and I felt like hey, God will take us through this, God will work a miracle somehow, some way and we have since have seen and even as of his most recent surgery that God just makes a way and you know what, he's in God's hands. If God takes him, that's God's decision.

If God leaves him, that's God's decision and we'll thank God for either one and we'll thank God for the time we've had. That's not what I'm talking about. But that why or that what did not seem to hinder me. But I'm here to tell you, I go through four months sitting in a hospital and that'll do nothing but strengthen my faith. But one person could say something and that'll make me shake.

One person can stab you in the back and that'll do more than months in the hospital. Who did hinder you? I'd like to ask you a question this morning. If you're saved and you know it and you're not serving like you should, who hindered you? You see, I don't know about you but I don't want that to be said of me.

You did run well but who hindered you? Who caused you to go against the truth? What do you mean go against the truth? Well, the Bible gives us truth that we can be victorious and yet when we are defeated by a person, then we give in to that. I don't know about you but I want you to write these things down.

It needs to be on the screen. I want you to write these things down when it comes to who did hinder you. And this isn't the whole message but I just gotta give you three things real quickly that if you are going to prevent yourself from being hindered, there's three things that you need to write down and you need to get through that brain of yours and I've got to get through this brain of mine.

Number one is this. There are some people you must forgive. There are some people you must forgive. Look at verse 10 if you would. I have confidence in you through the Lord, Paul says, that ye will be none otherwise minded.

In other words, I believe that you'll get over this and I believe that you'll get victory over this. Notice this, but he that troubleth you shall bear his judgment whosoever he be. He says this, hey, whoever hindered you, whoever's caused this, whoever's done whatever, listen, he'll answer to God for that. That individual answer to God for that. There are some people you must forgive.

Now just humor me for a few minutes. Let me read you some verses. Hebrews 12, 15 says, looking diligently, lest any man fail of the grace of God.

Why? Lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you and thereby many be defiled. Listen, dear friend, when one individual hurts you and that turns to bitterness and that bitterness springs up, it doesn't just defile you and cause you to fail from grace, it causes others to be defiled. It causes your family to be defiled. It causes those that you could have been helping to be defiled.

It travels. Let me read you another verse, Matthew 6, 14, for if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Verse 37 of Luke chapter six, judge not and ye shall not be judged. Condemn not and ye shall not be condemned. Forgive and ye shall be forgiven. Listen to me, dear friend, there are gonna be some people that are gonna do you wrong. But if you're gonna keep yourself from being hindered, you're just gonna have to forgive them. You know what I find interesting here?

I don't know how much I wanna get into. I think about when Jesus was on the cross, and I know we can't measure up to Jesus, but the Bible says that we're supposed to follow his example. We're not perfect, Jesus was. But the Bible says that we sure can follow his example. But the Bible says that when he was on the cross, Jesus, now let me read you his exact words, Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.

Now, let me tell you something interesting about this. I don't find anywhere where they asked him for forgiveness. I don't even find anywhere where they thought they needed forgiveness.

But he said, Father forgive them. That means this, there are gonna be individuals in your life that are gonna do wrong, and do you wrong, and treat you wrong, and do some things that aren't right, and they're gonna be a bad example, and they might not have handled things correctly. But I'm here to say, even if they don't ask forgiveness, and even if they don't even think they need forgiveness, instead of letting that absolutely drive you bonkers, just go ahead and forgive them, so that they don't hinder you. When somebody does you wrong, it doesn't hinder them. When somebody does you wrong, it hinders you. So forgive them. You say, oh, but preacher, you don't, listen to me, dear friend, you don't want it said that you used to run well, but who hindered you? What somebody did that did you wrong, and they literally impacted you, and ruined you for years. Why give them that?

Why give them that much power, and give God so little power? Just go ahead and forgive. You say, well, preacher, I'm not gonna forget. I didn't say forget, yet.

I said forgive. Listen to me, dear friends, you think I'm an idiot. There are some things you're never gonna, don't answer that.

Some of you, that was a rhetorical question. You were not supposed to answer that out loud. Do you really think I'm an idiot? Listen, there are some things you are never going to forget. To sit there and say to forgive a person means you're just gonna have to absolutely forget it. You will never forget it.

Listen to me, if I walk up while you're sitting in the pew right now, and I walk up to you, and I say, hey, I'm Brother Hotry, and I shake my left hand, and while you're looking at me, I break out a ball peen hammer, and I bam, hit you right in the head. And then when you wake up, I say, hey, would you forgive me? Now, if you do forgive me, are you gonna forget that?

It depends on how hard the hit was. You're not going to forget that. Even if you forgive me, you're not going to forget. Dear friend, listen to me, and for years, I think we've incorrectly preached, well, you're just gonna have to forget it. You can forget it, we're humans. It's in our mind, you're not gonna be able to forget it. But you can, when it comes back up, you can choose again to forgive. Because you don't want them to hinder you. You're not forgiving them just so you can give them satisfaction.

Listen to me, this is what's great. When you forgive them, you're not letting them off the hook. You're putting them on God's hook. And God gets to deal with them. As long as you don't forgive them, you're dealing with them, and God can't. When you forgive them, then God can deal with them. Amen. Oh. I forgive you, brother, God's gonna get you.

I can see it now. We gotta have the right spirit, folks, when we do. Who did hinder you?

Could I ask you this question? Maybe some of you just not into things like you used to be, and not in the Bible like you used to be, and not really maybe into church like you used to be. Who hindered you? Usually it's not because somebody's, well, it's just, it's always usually a person.

And if it's not one individual person, it's just a group of people. Before long, you hear, well, the people of the church just aren't friendly to me. And oftentimes, you look and say that, you know, they haven't even been around, but somehow we haven't been friendly. You gotta be here for us to be friendly to you. Amen.

Right? You're right. Who hindered you? There are some people you must choose to forgive. Forgive them and move on. Number two, there are some people that you need to forget.

Now, I'm not talking about they did you wrong, you're gonna have to, no, listen to me, there are some people that you need to forget. Look at verse eight, if you will, of our passage. This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you.

That means you were running well and somebody hindered you and this did not come from God. Then you can't, listen, God's not gonna bring something to you just to make you get further away from him. God's not gonna bring an individual on your path just to get at you so that you get bent out of shape and backslidden away from God. That didn't come from God. So if it didn't come from God, who'd it come from? It's just something orchestrated by Satan using the weakness of that individual and using the weakness of you and he brought the two together, used both of you, and now both are defeated and both are out of fellowship with God.

And I'm here to say, dear friend, listen, there are some people in your life you're just gonna have to forget. You say, preacher, what do you really mean? Let me give you this. In Genesis chapter 41, you want me to turn there? I'll read you a verse, let me explain. Joseph, now I've preached this here so I'm just gonna give you a quick review. Joseph, who had been done wrong by everybody in his life.

Everybody, his brothers, everybody. And the Bible says in chapter 41 verse 51 that Joseph, obviously God had taken him now, taken him out of the pit, out of the prison, out of Potiphar's house, all the stuff that he went through, put him in a place of prominence, put him in the palace, put him in a position. God just did marvelous work in Joseph's life. Even after all that Joseph went through and all the people that did Joseph wrong, God did amazing things in Joseph's life. But in chapter 41 verse 51, the Bible says, and Joseph called the name of his firstborn son, Manasseh. And here's why, for God said, he hath made me forget all my toil and all my father's house. Joseph's first son, he named him Manasseh.

You know why? Because Manasseh means to forget. And Joseph was saying this, God has allowed me to forget all that my brothers have done to me. In fact, he got to the point that he did good to his brothers, took care of them, gave them land, gave them houses, gave them food after they had tried to kill him.

How could a person do that? Because Joseph named his son Manasseh as a sign to say, God hath allowed me to forget. Let me tell you something, there are some people you need to forget. You need to just move on. You're just gonna have to forget some people. You know in your heart that they are continually impeding your progress for God. There are some people, listen to me folks, that just don't have the same goals you do. There are some people that just don't have the same desires that you do. And every time you're around them, you get a wrong attitude. Every time you're around them, it stirs up something inside, you get mad at this and you get mad at that.

And you know what, they've got other things in their mind, they got other things they wanna do with their children, they got other things they wanna do with their life. Church is not a priority, church is not this. And listen to me, dear friends, we oughta love and try our best to get people in and all that we're trying to do. But when those people start to pull you down, there are some people you must forget, which brings me to my third point. There are some people you must forsake.

In order to not be hindered, there are some people you must forgive, there are some people you must forget, and third, there are some people you must forsake. You say, preacher, where's that in the Bible? Oh, Psalm 1,1, blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit and his seed.

God can go on and on. Listen to me, dear friend, there are just some people in life, you're gonna have to choose whether you're gonna walk with them, sit with them, stand with them, or you're gonna forsake them. Now, at the fear of any of us getting confused, what do you mean forsake, preacher? You mean just be mean to people? No, that's not what I'm saying. I'm not saying that, hey, we just say, we're the Christians, we're gonna forsake them.

Uh-uh, the Bible says we're supposed to go out and reach the world. I'm talking about individuals that constantly pull you down, and you know they're a bad influence on you, and you know they've caused damage to your spiritual life. There are some people you're just gonna have to forsake, because they're hindering you. You just gotta stay away from them. You gotta be nice, hey, brother, how you doing?

And just stay away from them. Listen, there is a preacher that lives not too far from me, pastor's in a general area within a couple hours of here, and it just got to the point, every time I talk with him, I don't care where it was, who it was, what, just, it wasn't meeting particular to me, just see him at things and talk to him. I don't care when I talk to him, it was criticizing some other preacher.

It's criticizing any church that's bigger than his. And it was, you know, such and such, have you ever heard so and so preach? Well, I'll tell you what I've found. I think he's a liar. I think he doesn't, you know, things don't add up.

Have you heard of such and such? And I'm gonna be honest with you, it got to the point, I was trying to be nice, and I'm trying to whatever, but I just avoid him. I stay away. I have just had to forsake him, because I'm not gonna have part in that, because that same man, I guarantee, is talking to somebody else, criticizing me. There are just some people you're gonna have to forsake. There are some people that just have a negative attitude about everything. There are some people that are just gonna complain about everything, and you hang around them 10 minutes, and you're complaining around them.

There are some people that you just end up taking their personality, because if you don't take their personality, then they're gonna get mad that you're not as critical as they are. I'm here to tell you, if you're not gonna be hindered, and you're gonna run your race, and not just run it. You're gonna run it well, you're gonna have to, some people, you're gonna have to forsake them and get away from them. You say well brother, I might be the only friend they have.

Let me tell you something. I don't care if you're the only friend they have. If they pull you down, it's not worth it. You get away from them. Let me tell you something, you get one person with a measles, and one person healthy.

You put them together. Before long, you're gonna have two people with the measles. Let me tell you something, I don't care if you're, well, I'm the only good influence they have. Let me tell you something, you influence them, you write them a letter, You can send them verses, but bless God, you don't fellowship with them and get down and complain with them and criticize with them and get negative with them. That's not helping you, it's hurting you, and it's hurting your family, and it's hurting your progress, and it's hurting your position, and it's hurting your influence on others. You better forsake them. You better not let them make you do wrong and bring you down.

If you're gonna run well, there's just some people you're gonna have to forget, forsake, and forgive. You say, well then preacher, what do I do after that? Well, I'm glad you asked, we're almost done. Look if you would at verse six. He gives us the answer, as the Bible always does, somewhere near. Notice this, for in Jesus Christ, neither circumcision availeth anything nor uncircumcision, but faith which worketh by love. And then he gets the next verse, ye did run well, and he starts with this whole thing. Okay, what is this verse teaching us?

Four things. If you listen to me, watch the screen, this is what he says, number one, you must remember that you are in Christ. Look at the verse, look at verse six, for in Jesus Christ.

Who we talking about here? We're talking about folks that are in Jesus Christ. If you've been saved by the grace of God, he is saying in Jesus Christ is where you stand right now.

And I'm here to tell you, if you're gonna run your race well, you better remember that it's because you are in Christ. Look at the verse before in verse five, for we, through the Spirit, wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. That means it's in Christ, through the Spirit. It's the only way you can live the Christian life. If you let people get you down and you start looking at people and start sizing them up and how they've let you down and how they've dropped the ball and all this stuff and you say well, I might as well just stop this, quit this, do this, get out of here, go to another church, whatever the case might be, you are letting people stop you from doing what God wants you to do. And the whole time you had victory because you are in Christ.

Notice secondly, you must remember that your efforts alone are in vain. Notice what he says, but for in Jesus Christ, neither circumcision availeth anything nor uncircumcision. What we're talking about here, religious rituals. He's saying this, hey, it doesn't matter if you're circumcised, uncircumcised, which was a big deal, by the way, the Church of Galatians.

Because they thought, well, we gotta have this religious tradition and you gotta do this. And listen to me, what he is saying is this, your efforts don't do anything, it's God's power in you. Because you're in Christ.

Does that make sense? Let me tell you something, dear friend, as soon as you start getting your eyes on people, you're gonna think your efforts are what you have to rely on. Let me tell you something, when you rely on your efforts, teaching that Sunday school class is gonna get real boring quick. When you're doing it on your efforts, that choir isn't gonna be much of a blessing to you after a month.

You're gonna get up and sing, I got all these things, and this person said this, and this person said that, and this, eyes on people, eyes on people. Hindering, hindering, hindering. And yet we're supposed to be in Christ. It's not our efforts.

It's him. Notice the third thing he gives here. You must exercise faith. He says, for in Jesus Christ neither circumcision faileth anything nor uncircumcision, but faith, notice this, which worketh. You've got to exercise your faith. You say, well, how do I apply that to this particular situation, preacher? Hey, if somebody has hindered you, somebody has done you wrong, listen, you've gotta have faith in what God's word says. God's word just said in verse 10 that they will be judged for what they have done. God's word also tells you that if you'll be faithful, God will bring rewards into your life. I don't care how you look at it, you've got to exercise faith in God's word. And when everybody's done you wrong and it doesn't look like you're ever gonna get anything for all you've done for God, you've gotta have faith that God will reward you for your faithfulness. You've gotta exercise faith.

You know why a lot of us just quit, we get tired, we don't wanna do this, we don't wanna do that? Because we're not exercising our faith because our faith is in God's word and God's word says it's worth it to keep serving him. Last, you must serve God out of love. Look what he says, but faith which worketh by what?

Love. Dear friend, if you serve for any other reason but because you love God, before long somebody's gonna say something, do something, it's gonna absolutely twist everything in your life and you're gonna wanna get out of everything, everybody, church, everything. But when you serve God because you love him, you're not doing it for that person. And if I let this person, what they've said or done, stop me, then I'm hurting God. And I'm doing this because I love him. That's the key to the whole Christian life.

I don't think there's anything more I can say. If Lord, we love you, we thank you for your goodness. Lord, I pray if some of our folks are being hindered that Lord, they would choose to forgive, choose to forget or choose to forsake. Lord, I pray that we as your children will just determine and realize that we are in you, that our efforts are nothing without you.

Thank you for listening today. We hope you received a blessing from our broadcast. The Kirtland Baptist Church is located at 4520 Old Hollow Road in Kernersville, North Carolina. You may also contact us by phone at 336-993-5192 or via the web at kirwinbaptistchurch.com. Enjoy our services live and all our media on our website and church app. Thank you for listening to the Kerwin broadcast today. God bless you. We'll see you in the next episode of Kirtland Baptist Church.