1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,000 Amen. 2 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:32,000 Amen. 3 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:02,000 Amen. 4 00:01:30,000 --> 00:01:32,000 Thank you. 5 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:02,000 Thank you. 6 00:02:30,000 --> 00:02:32,000 Thank you. 7 00:03:00,000 --> 00:03:02,000 Amen. 8 00:03:30,000 --> 00:03:32,000 Amen. 9 00:04:00,000 --> 00:04:02,000 Amen. 10 00:10:00,000 --> 00:10:28,000 Test, test, test, test, test. Let me turn line up on that. Testing, testing, testing. Yes. Test. Testing, testing, testing. 11 00:10:28,000 --> 00:10:35,000 On the bottom shelf of the coffee thing. Test. 12 00:10:58,000 --> 00:11:05,000 Amen. 13 00:11:28,000 --> 00:11:57,980 Good morning. 14 00:11:58,000 --> 00:12:25,180 We are very glad that you are with us this morning, whether you are joining us here in person or online. We are thankful that you have gathered with us this morning to worship. Just an announcement before we get started. If you didn't get a chance to pick up some communion elements at the entryway, I would encourage you. You're welcome to do that now. We'll be partaking together here in a few moments. 15 00:12:25,180 --> 00:12:46,540 In the 72nd Psalm, it says this, "Blessed the Lord, blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things. Blessed be his glorious name forever. May the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen and amen." Let us pray. 16 00:12:46,540 --> 00:13:03,680 Father, this morning as we gather together, we just ask that you would use this time to take our eyes off of ourselves and to put them on you, that we would see your goodness, that we would see your greatness, that we would see your holiness, that we would see your love. 17 00:13:03,680 --> 00:13:16,080 And as we worship through song, as we gather around the table, as we open your word, that you would encourage our hearts, if they are fearful and afraid, that you would strengthen us. 18 00:13:16,080 --> 00:13:23,540 If we are weak, we just ask that you would guide our time together this morning. It is in Jesus' name that we pray. Amen. 19 00:13:23,540 --> 00:13:29,940 We're going to go ahead and stand for our first Song, "Bless the Lord." 20 00:13:46,080 --> 00:13:58,980 Okay. Let me jump back. 21 00:13:58,980 --> 00:14:03,980 Let me jump back. 22 00:14:03,980 --> 00:14:21,880 Let me jump back. 23 00:14:21,880 --> 00:14:25,880 Let me jump back. 24 00:14:25,880 --> 00:14:47,880 . . . . . 25 00:14:47,880 --> 00:14:53,880 . . . . 26 00:14:53,880 --> 00:15:00,880 . . . . 27 00:15:00,880 --> 00:15:07,880 Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul. 28 00:15:07,880 --> 00:15:13,880 Worship His holy name. 29 00:15:13,880 --> 00:15:21,880 Sing like never before, O my soul. 30 00:15:21,880 --> 00:15:30,880 Worship Your holy name. 31 00:15:30,880 --> 00:15:37,880 The sun comes up, it's a new day dawning. 32 00:15:37,880 --> 00:15:43,880 It's time to sing Your song again. 33 00:15:43,880 --> 00:16:02,880 Whatever may pass, and whatever lies before me, let me be singing when the evening comes. 34 00:16:02,880 --> 00:16:28,880 Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul. Worship His holy name. Sin like never before, O my soul, I'll worship Your holy name. 35 00:16:32,880 --> 00:16:54,880 You're rich in love, and you're slow to end up. Your name is great, and your heart is kind. For all your goodness, I will keep on singing. 36 00:16:54,880 --> 00:17:18,880 Ten thousand reasons for my heart to find. Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul. Worship His holy name. 37 00:17:18,880 --> 00:17:31,880 Sin like never before, O my soul. I'll worship Your holy name. 38 00:17:35,880 --> 00:17:57,880 And on that day, when my strength is failing, the end draws near, and my time has come, still my soul will sing Your praise unending. 39 00:17:57,880 --> 00:18:25,880 Ten thousand years, and then forevermore. Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul. Worship His holy name. Sing like never before. 40 00:18:25,880 --> 00:18:53,880 O my soul, I'll worship His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul. Worship His holy name. Sing like never before. O my soul. 41 00:18:53,880 --> 00:19:14,880 O my soul, I'll worship Your holy name. Yes, I will worship Your holy name. Lord, I'll worship Your holy name. 42 00:19:23,880 --> 00:19:51,880 Praise God, from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him, all creatures here below. Praise Him, above all creatures. 43 00:19:51,880 --> 00:20:01,880 Praise Him, above ye heavenly hosts. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. 44 00:20:21,880 --> 00:20:51,860 Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul. 45 00:20:51,860 --> 00:21:21,840 Worship His holiness. 46 00:21:21,840 --> 00:21:51,820 Let's pray. 47 00:21:51,820 --> 00:22:12,820 And help us understand that in the midst of difficulty, you are with us. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 48 00:22:12,820 --> 00:22:21,800 In 2 Peter, where we have been on Wednesday nights, Peter begins his letter by 49 00:22:21,800 --> 00:22:40,800 explaining to us that God has been so very good to us. He says, "His divine power has granted us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of him who has called us to his own glory and excellence." 50 00:22:40,800 --> 00:22:51,780 And Peter begins this second letter to the church by saying, "God has given you everything that you need. All the things that we think we need, so often 51 00:22:51,780 --> 00:23:21,760 we don't, but God has given us everything we need for now and for eternity." And so then Peter will go on to explain how this wonderful truth calls us to righteousness. He'll say, "For this very reason." And then he will begin to list ways in which you and I can grow in righteousness with your faith, virtue, and with virtue, knowledge, and knowledge, self-control, self-control, steadfastness. 52 00:23:21,760 --> 00:23:51,740 steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. And then he says something that's very interesting. He says, "Whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his sins." And Peter says that if we are struggling, 53 00:23:51,740 --> 00:24:21,720 to grow in grace, that if we are struggling to grow in righteousness, if we are struggling to leave sin behind, part of the problem is that we are focused in exactly the wrong area. When he says that you're so nearsighted you're blind, what he means is that you're focusing on what is right in front of your eyes to the exclusion of everything else. And so many times we do the exact same thing. We only focus on what is directly in front of us to the exclusion of everything else. 54 00:24:21,720 --> 00:24:51,700 It may be our troubles and our fears, and we put them in front of our eyes and we only focus on that. It may be our hurts or our sorrow, and it may be our sinful desires. And so Peter's solution to righteousness is to look to the God who gives you all things that you need pertaining to life and godliness. Peter says, "I'm going to remind you of what God has done." 55 00:24:51,700 --> 00:25:21,680 Paul does in 1 Corinthians 15 where he says this, "I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word that I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with Scriptures, 56 00:25:21,680 --> 00:25:38,680 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and then he appeared to Cephas, and then to the twelve, and then he appeared to more than 500 at one time, most of whom who are still alive, though some have fallen asleep." 57 00:25:38,680 --> 00:25:51,660 And so Paul, writing to a church that is struggling, calls them to remember the good news of the gospel, that Jesus died in their place, he was buried, and that he rose again 58 00:25:51,660 --> 00:26:21,640 on the third day. We can be forgetful people. We can be short-sighted people who look at the wrong things and put our attention in the wrong area and expend our energy on exactly the things that are worse for us. We need to be reminded. And so Jesus, knowing this, at the Last Supper, institutes a meal for us. A meal to remind us 59 00:26:21,640 --> 00:26:51,620 to remind us of our salvation, to remind us of the love of God, to remind us of our forgiveness, to remind us of hope. To take our eyes from all of our struggles and all of our worries and all of our fears and to put them on the one who saves. And it doesn't just remind this meal that we are about to partake of, but it also nourishes. Not a physical nourishment. 60 00:26:51,620 --> 00:27:10,620 You are physically hungry before you eat this little piece of bread and drink this little cup of juice. You'll still be physically hungry afterwards, but the nourishment is a spiritual nourishment of a God who meets all of our needs, who satisfies the longings of our heart in Christ. 61 00:27:10,620 --> 00:27:21,600 And I need to be reminded. I don't want to be short-sighted as Peter writes to the church. I don't want to be forgetful. I don't want to not stand in the 62 00:27:21,600 --> 00:27:35,600 truth and the wonder of the gospel. I need to be reminded. So I'm going to pray, and then I'll read from Matthew, the 26th chapter, and we will gather together and to celebrate the Lord's Supper. 63 00:27:35,600 --> 00:27:51,580 Father, forgive us where we are short-sighted. Forgive us where we are distracted. Forgive us where we turn our eyes away from you. And may this moment of quiet, this moment of reflection, 64 00:27:51,580 --> 00:28:21,560 you remind us of your love, that you so loved us, you sent your Son to die in our place, that you have forgiven us, that you have given us righteousness through him. Help us to remember that there is hope. May this be a moment that nourishes our hearts that so often are hungry for other things. May we hunger for you and may you satisfy the yearnings of our soul. 65 00:28:21,560 --> 00:28:31,560 May you bless this bread. May you bless this cup. May we be a people who proclaim your Son until he comes again. It's in his name we pray. Amen. 66 00:28:31,560 --> 00:28:51,540 So Jesus, after supper, will take the bread, and I encourage you to do that with me. And he will say, "Take, eat. This is my body." Would you eat with me? 67 00:28:51,540 --> 00:29:06,540 And after supper, he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, "Drink of it, all of you, for this is the blood of my covenant which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." 68 00:29:06,540 --> 00:29:21,520 Jesus, as he takes that cup in Passover, it would be the cup of redemption, where you're buying back something that once belonged to you. And he says, "This blood that I am about to shed on the cross is a 69 00:29:21,520 --> 00:29:29,520 cup of redemption." Will you drink with me? 70 00:29:29,520 --> 00:29:51,500 Father in heaven, thank you for this meal. Thank you for how it refocuses us. That we see that it is not us who are in the center, but you. That it is not our strength, but yours. That it's not our hope, but it's in you. It's not our energy, but it's yours. 71 00:29:51,500 --> 00:30:12,500 Be with us this morning as we gather around your word for a brief moment. May you encourage us. May you convict us. May you help us to see the goodness that is found in you. May we turn our backs on sin and run toward righteousness. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 72 00:30:12,500 --> 00:30:38,500 We're going to be in Genesis, the third chapter this morning. We've looked, as we've gone through the book of Genesis, we've looked at the fact that God creates, that everything that is made was made by God, and that it all points to Him, and that He is the ultimate authority, and that He is the one who gets to set the rules for creation. 73 00:30:38,500 --> 00:30:58,500 And then we begin to look through creation a little bit, and one of the things that we find is that God speaks, that God speaks, and His Word has immense and awesome and wonderful power. And He doesn't just speak at creation, but He speaks throughout history, and He speaks to us now. 74 00:30:58,500 --> 00:31:13,500 And then we looked last week at how God creates man and woman in His image, and how He designed this world to work. And in Genesis 3, we begin to see how it all falls apart. 75 00:31:13,500 --> 00:31:23,500 You see, we all know this. There are warning signs when something goes wrong. So in our house, if the kids are too quiet, you know that something is afoot, right? 76 00:31:23,500 --> 00:31:28,500 It's not the middle of the night. You're in the middle of the day, and they've been running around being loud, and all of a sudden it's quiet. 77 00:31:28,500 --> 00:31:38,500 You know that somebody somewhere is doing something that they are not supposed to do. Most likely drawing on the walls, right? 78 00:31:38,500 --> 00:31:48,500 Making some new art in the house. Or with our former dog, Rigby, we always knew that there was a problem when we came home, 79 00:31:48,500 --> 00:31:55,500 and she wasn't at the door wagging her little stub of a tail, but rather she was hiding somewhere, 80 00:31:55,500 --> 00:32:01,500 because it meant that she had gone to her favorite restaurant, which was the trash can, helped herself to it, 81 00:32:01,500 --> 00:32:07,500 and it would be all over the kitchen floor or all over the living room floor. So there are signs that we can see 82 00:32:07,500 --> 00:32:16,500 when something goes wrong. And when we look at this world, what we see is a world that has gone wrong. 83 00:32:16,500 --> 00:32:22,500 And the brokenness that we experience is not the humorous brokenness of our kids riding on the wall, 84 00:32:22,500 --> 00:32:34,500 or your dog eating a bowl of chili out of the trash. The brokenness that we feel in this world is heartbreakingly real. 85 00:32:34,500 --> 00:32:44,500 We see it in our relationships, in our families, in our work. Even in the sickness that we experience, and we see others experience, 86 00:32:44,500 --> 00:32:57,500 we see the brokenness of this world. And it is heartbreaking. And in the midst of all of us, there is this feeling that things are not as they should be, 87 00:32:57,500 --> 00:33:05,500 that things are not right, that something is broken. And the question that we all have is, "What happened?" 88 00:33:05,500 --> 00:33:12,500 And what's remarkable is Genesis, the third chapter, tells us what happened. 89 00:33:12,500 --> 00:33:25,500 And I would say this, that Adam and Eve, in their sin, it's not just a historical side note. It's not just an interesting bit of history. 90 00:33:25,500 --> 00:33:40,500 This is the story of us. This is the story of you and I. Just like Adam and Eve, we have made the same decision, and we suffer the same consequences. 91 00:33:40,500 --> 00:33:49,500 And it can be easy to look back at Genesis chapter 3 and say, "That's a long time ago, and that doesn't impact me in any way." 92 00:33:49,500 --> 00:33:57,500 But the reality is, this is your story. And this is my story. And so I want to look at this third chapter of Genesis in three parts. 93 00:33:57,500 --> 00:34:06,500 I want to start with the temptation itself. Then I want to dive a little deeper and look at the lies that are underneath the temptation. 94 00:34:06,500 --> 00:34:11,500 And then I want us to take a look at our response to sin. 95 00:34:11,500 --> 00:34:18,500 So Genesis chapter 3, beginning in verse 1, going through the first half of verse 6. 96 00:34:18,500 --> 00:34:25,500 "Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. 97 00:34:25,500 --> 00:34:31,500 And he said to the woman, 'Did God actually say, 'You shall not eat of any tree in the garden?' 98 00:34:31,500 --> 00:34:35,500 And the woman said to the serpent, 'We may eat the fruit of the trees in the garden.' 99 00:34:35,500 --> 00:34:40,500 But God said, 'You shall not eat the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden. 100 00:34:40,500 --> 00:34:43,500 Neither shall you touch it, lest you die.' 101 00:34:43,500 --> 00:34:46,500 But the serpent said to the woman, 'You shall not surely die. 102 00:34:46,500 --> 00:34:52,500 For God knows that when you eat of it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.' 103 00:34:52,500 --> 00:34:58,500 So the woman saw the tree was good for food, that it was a delight to the eyes, 104 00:34:58,500 --> 00:35:03,500 and the tree was to be desired to make one wise." 105 00:35:03,500 --> 00:35:08,500 And I want to zoom in on that first half of verse 6. 106 00:35:08,500 --> 00:35:13,500 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was a delight to the eyes, 107 00:35:13,500 --> 00:35:17,500 and the tree was to be desired to make one wise. 108 00:35:17,500 --> 00:35:23,500 So there is a pattern here in the temptation of Eve that goes on to be the temptation of Adam 109 00:35:23,500 --> 00:35:29,500 that spreads not just here in Genesis 3, but moves throughout Scripture. 110 00:35:29,500 --> 00:35:36,500 In fact, the apostle John will sum it up this way in 1 John 2. 111 00:35:36,500 --> 00:35:41,500 He will say, "Do not love the world or the things of the world. 112 00:35:41,500 --> 00:35:44,500 If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 113 00:35:44,500 --> 00:35:50,500 For all that is in the world, the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, 114 00:35:50,500 --> 00:35:54,500 and the pride of life is not from the Father, but is from the world. 115 00:35:54,500 --> 00:35:57,500 And the world is passing away along with its desires, 116 00:35:57,500 --> 00:36:02,500 but whoever does the word, does the will of God, abides forever." 117 00:36:02,500 --> 00:36:05,500 And so what John does is he puts temptation into three categories. 118 00:36:05,500 --> 00:36:08,500 He talks about the desires of the flesh. 119 00:36:08,500 --> 00:36:15,500 And what that means, something that satisfies or we think will satisfy a physical longing or a physical need. 120 00:36:15,500 --> 00:36:20,500 And so if you're outside on a day like today, and it's hot, and you're sweating, 121 00:36:20,500 --> 00:36:23,500 you say, "You know, all I want to do is go into the air conditioning." 122 00:36:23,500 --> 00:36:30,500 You have something in your life that you feel physically would change if you had something else, and that thing is air conditioning. 123 00:36:30,500 --> 00:36:39,500 Now what John says when he says the desires of the flesh, he says there are sinful things in our life that our bodies say that we need. 124 00:36:39,500 --> 00:36:50,500 And it can be one of a million different things. Our flesh says, "I want that, and I need that." It's a physical temptation. 125 00:36:50,500 --> 00:37:01,500 But then look what he says next, "The desire of the eyes." This is something that looks good, and is attractive, and we look at it, and we say, "We want it," right? 126 00:37:01,500 --> 00:37:07,500 You're at the bakery, and they have that pie in the case, and it's like that perfect pie with the perfect amount of whipped cream, 127 00:37:07,500 --> 00:37:13,500 and you look at it and you say, "That's beautiful," right? And so you have the lust of the flesh that says, "I want that," 128 00:37:13,500 --> 00:37:20,500 and you have the lust of the eyes that says, "Good to look at," and then we go home and we eat the pie. 129 00:37:20,500 --> 00:37:30,500 And then we have the pride of life. And this is the desire to lift ourselves up, often at the expense of putting others down. 130 00:37:30,500 --> 00:37:36,500 And look at how the temptation of Eve fits into this pattern that we see in Genesis 3, 131 00:37:36,500 --> 00:37:46,500 and in 1 John 2, she sees that this fruit that the serpent is tempting her with is good for food, right? 132 00:37:46,500 --> 00:37:53,500 It satisfies a physical longing. And notice that the hunger is not a bad longing. 133 00:37:53,500 --> 00:38:05,500 It's satisfying it in the wrong way, in the wrong manner. And then it says that she saw this fruit was a delight to the eyes. 134 00:38:05,500 --> 00:38:16,500 It looks good, just like John says, the desire of the eyes. And then she says it's a desire to make one wise, to lift me up. 135 00:38:16,500 --> 00:38:26,500 It's the pride of life. This pattern of temptation is not unique to Genesis 3. John, in his letter, writes about it. 136 00:38:26,500 --> 00:38:34,500 The lust of the flesh, the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, the boastful pride of life. It's a pattern of temptation. 137 00:38:34,500 --> 00:38:46,500 James summarizes it that way. We see it illustrated in the garden in Genesis 3. But we also see it in the temptation of Jesus. 138 00:38:46,500 --> 00:38:56,500 If you read through when Jesus is tempted in the wilderness, you find three temptations. One is a temptation to turn rock into bread. 139 00:38:56,500 --> 00:39:03,500 Right? The desires of the flesh to get something good, which is bread, but to get it in the wrong way. 140 00:39:03,500 --> 00:39:10,500 Then Satan takes Jesus up, and he has him look over the world and says, "Look at all these kingdoms, and they could be yours." 141 00:39:10,500 --> 00:39:17,500 Look how good all of this looks. And then the pride of life, where he takes him to the top of the temple, 142 00:39:17,500 --> 00:39:23,500 and Satan himself quotes Scripture, says, "Throw yourself down, and descend, and everybody will know you're the Savior." 143 00:39:23,500 --> 00:39:32,500 Lift yourself up. This pride of life. And we see this pattern of temptation. This appeal to our 144 00:39:32,500 --> 00:39:37,500 our physical desires. This appeal to the things that we look at, and we say, "That looks so good." 145 00:39:37,500 --> 00:39:43,500 And this appeal to our pride that says, "If you get this, you'll be better than everybody else." 146 00:39:43,500 --> 00:39:50,500 And Satan has been tempting us in this manner since the beginning, since Genesis chapter 3. 147 00:39:50,500 --> 00:39:56,500 Jesus faces this temptation. John, the apostle, writes about it. 148 00:39:56,500 --> 00:40:01,500 You see, we see this pattern of temptation to sin, and what we find is that temptation 149 00:40:01,500 --> 00:40:12,500 always lies. And it's promised to satisfy our physical desires, or to satisfy the desires of our eyes because it looks good, or to make us proud. 150 00:40:12,500 --> 00:40:24,500 It doesn't. It never satisfies. At the heart, it's dishonest. Have you ever gone and ordered a burger from somewhere? 151 00:40:24,500 --> 00:40:30,500 And on the menu, the picture of the burger, you had this beautiful, plump sesame seed bun, and you had this beautiful 152 00:40:30,500 --> 00:40:39,500 hamburger patty, nice crisp lettuce, and the tomato is nice and red, and the cheese is perfectly aligned, and there's pickles. 153 00:40:39,500 --> 00:40:44,500 And then you order your burger, and you get there, and if you order it from fast food, you open the box, and it looks like 154 00:40:44,500 --> 00:40:51,500 somebody sat on your burger. Instead of being all nice and full, it's flat, the cheese is half on the patty, half sliding off the bun, 155 00:40:51,500 --> 00:40:59,500 the tomato is still green, the lettuce is kind of wilty, and you go, "This isn't what I wanted at all. This is exactly the lie 156 00:40:59,500 --> 00:41:08,500 that sin tells us. It says, look how good this looks." But when we get it, what we find is we are 157 00:41:08,500 --> 00:41:14,500 unsatisfied, and it's nowhere near as good as the picture. So let's take a look at the lie of the 158 00:41:14,500 --> 00:41:25,500 temptation. Notice what Satan says, "Did God actually say?" Verse one, he says to the woman, "Did God actually say you 159 00:41:25,500 --> 00:41:30,500 shall not eat of any tree in the garden?" And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the 160 00:41:30,500 --> 00:41:34,500 trees in the garden, but God said you shall not eat the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, 161 00:41:34,500 --> 00:41:41,500 neither shall you touch it, lest you die." Notice that God didn't say that. Satan comes and said, "Did God 162 00:41:41,500 --> 00:41:49,500 really say you shouldn't eat of any tree?" But look what God says. "The Lord God commanded the man, saying, 163 00:41:49,500 --> 00:41:55,500 you shall surely eat of every tree in the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, 164 00:41:55,500 --> 00:42:01,500 you shall not eat. For that day you eat of it, you shall surely die." Look at how the lie functions. 165 00:42:01,500 --> 00:42:09,500 And this is so important. What it does is, is Satan minimizes the good gifts of God. In Genesis 2, God 166 00:42:09,500 --> 00:42:15,500 says you can eat of every tree in the garden, except for one. And what does Satan do? He comes and says, 167 00:42:15,500 --> 00:42:23,500 "Did God really say you can't have any fruit whatsoever?" And in doing so, he minimizes and causes Eve 168 00:42:23,500 --> 00:42:29,500 to turn her attention away from the good gifts of God, the wonderful things that God has given, to the one 169 00:42:29,500 --> 00:42:41,500 thing that God has prohibited. And Eve makes it even a little stronger. She'll add a prohibition. 170 00:42:41,500 --> 00:42:49,500 She'll say, "God says don't even touch the tree. That's not what God said." We know what God said, and Satan 171 00:42:49,500 --> 00:42:59,500 intentionally misunderstands God. Eve changes a little bit of what God said, and she ends up ignoring the good 172 00:42:59,500 --> 00:43:07,500 gifts of God. And one of the things that the lies of Satan do to us is it causes us to forget all of the 173 00:43:07,500 --> 00:43:16,500 wonderful things that God has done for us, and to turn our eyes away from everything good that he has given us. And the 174 00:43:16,500 --> 00:43:24,500 second thing that the serpent does, that I think is the most horrible thing, is he begins to call into question God's 175 00:43:24,500 --> 00:43:33,500 love for his people. He's really saying, "Does God really care for you?" And the serpent said to the woman, "You shall not 176 00:43:33,500 --> 00:43:40,500 surely die. For God knows when you eat of it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good 177 00:43:40,500 --> 00:43:46,500 and evil." And what he says to her is, "God doesn't want you to have it, because he knows how wonderful it is, and 178 00:43:46,500 --> 00:43:52,500 he's selfish, and he wants to keep it all for himself." Do you know what the serpent is doing in this 179 00:43:52,500 --> 00:44:02,500 point? He's questioning God's love for Adam and Eve. And it's insidious, and it's sneaky, and it's 180 00:44:02,500 --> 00:44:10,500 terrible. You see, God gives us rules for our flourishing, for our joy, for our good, for our 181 00:44:10,500 --> 00:44:19,500 protection, and he does it out of love. I'd illustrate it this way. I don't let my kids play in the road, not 182 00:44:19,500 --> 00:44:22,500 because I don't want them to have the joy of playing in the road, but because I want to keep 183 00:44:22,500 --> 00:44:27,500 them safe, right? The reason that I keep Luke out of the road isn't because the road is so fun, and I 184 00:44:27,500 --> 00:44:34,500 want to save all the fun of the road for myself, it's because he's so little, and the cars go so fast, and I 185 00:44:34,500 --> 00:44:42,500 want to keep him safe, and I want to protect him. Now, imagine what kind of lie it would be if somebody 186 00:44:42,500 --> 00:44:49,500 came to little Luke and says, "Your dad doesn't want you to play in the road because he doesn't love you. You 187 00:44:49,500 --> 00:44:54,500 should go play in the road because it's so much fun, and your dad doesn't want you to play in that road 188 00:44:54,500 --> 00:45:01,500 because he doesn't really love you." And we would look at that person, and we would say of that person that 189 00:45:01,500 --> 00:45:07,500 they are evil, because they are questioning, first of all, the love of the Father, and then they're encouraging 190 00:45:07,500 --> 00:45:15,500 a little one to do something that could cause him to lose his life. This is exactly what Satan is doing 191 00:45:15,500 --> 00:45:22,500 to Eve. He's saying, "Come on. He doesn't really love you. Come do this thing that is dangerous, that will 192 00:45:22,500 --> 00:45:34,500 break all of creation." It's an evil, insidious lie. And at the heart of temptation, in both 193 00:45:34,500 --> 00:45:41,500 of these cases, the temptation is really to turn our eyes onto ourselves. Don't look at what God 194 00:45:41,500 --> 00:45:49,500 has actually said. That's what the serpent is saying. He said, "Did God really say?" and then begins to lie. Don't 195 00:45:49,500 --> 00:45:57,500 look at the fact that God loves you. Turn everything upside down and look at yourself. That is 196 00:45:57,500 --> 00:46:04,500 the heart of these temptations is what's happening. Don't look at the goodness of God. Don't look at the 197 00:46:04,500 --> 00:46:10,500 love of God. Don't look at the Word of God, but rather look at yourself and look at what you desire and 198 00:46:10,500 --> 00:46:17,500 look at what you want and look at what you think will be best for you. Instead of focusing on the 199 00:46:17,500 --> 00:46:26,500 goodness of God, look at yourself. What's interesting is when we see Jesus in the wilderness 200 00:46:26,500 --> 00:46:35,500 facing this same kind of temptation. He counters every temptation with the right focus. He quotes 201 00:46:35,500 --> 00:46:44,500 the Word of God. He points to the goodness of God. While in Genesis 3, Adam and Eve look simply at 202 00:46:44,500 --> 00:46:50,500 themselves. And it's easy for me, and it might be easy for you to look at Adam and Eve and say, "You 203 00:46:50,500 --> 00:46:58,500 know what? They're not that bright. They don't have it all figured out, but I'm different." The reality is 204 00:46:58,500 --> 00:47:05,500 we're not different. Every single one of us have fallen for the lie of Satan. Whether it's the desire 205 00:47:05,500 --> 00:47:10,500 of the flesh or the desire of the eyes or the boastful pride of life, we have doubted what God has said. We 206 00:47:10,500 --> 00:47:18,500 have doubted His goodness. We've turned our focus from Him to ourselves, and creation breaks. Let me 207 00:47:18,500 --> 00:47:24,500 continue reading. Picking up in verse 6, "So when the woman saw the tree was good for food, and it was a 208 00:47:24,500 --> 00:47:31,500 delight to the eyes, and the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she 209 00:47:31,500 --> 00:47:37,500 gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they 210 00:47:37,500 --> 00:47:42,500 knew that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. 211 00:47:42,500 --> 00:47:47,500 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man said to 212 00:47:47,500 --> 00:47:53,500 his wife, the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of God among the trees of the garden. 213 00:47:53,500 --> 00:47:59,500 But the Lord God called to man and said, "Where are you?" And He said, "I heard the sound of you in the garden, 214 00:47:59,500 --> 00:48:05,500 and I was afraid because I was naked, and I hid myself." And He said, "Who told you you were naked? 215 00:48:05,500 --> 00:48:10,500 Have you eaten of the tree which I commanded you not to eat?" And the man said, "The woman you gave to me, 216 00:48:10,500 --> 00:48:15,500 she gave me the fruit of the tree, and I ate." And the Lord God said to the woman, "What have you done?" 217 00:48:15,500 --> 00:48:21,500 And the woman said, "The servant deceived me, and I ate." And immediately upon choosing themselves 218 00:48:21,500 --> 00:48:29,500 over God, which is the choice you and I have all made, you find things beginning to break. 219 00:48:29,500 --> 00:48:38,500 You find a move from joy and fearlessness to shame and regret and blame. 220 00:48:38,500 --> 00:48:43,500 And Adam and Eve, just like their temptation is a pattern for every temptation that we face, 221 00:48:43,500 --> 00:48:50,500 their response to the brokenness of sin is exactly how we respond. And the very first thing they do, 222 00:48:50,500 --> 00:48:54,500 what do they do? They try to fix it. And so they say, "Oh, we're naked!" 223 00:48:54,500 --> 00:48:59,500 They realize that because of their shame, and they go and they get some fig leaves, 224 00:48:59,500 --> 00:49:05,500 and they try to make clothes out of those fig leaves. And it does not go well. 225 00:49:05,500 --> 00:49:12,500 But if you're really trying to sow something, leaves, even as strong as they are, will tear and they will break. 226 00:49:12,500 --> 00:49:21,500 They'll be flimsy, and they'll wear out. And they try to fix it as best they can, and they can't do it. 227 00:49:21,500 --> 00:49:26,500 Just like we do when we break something, our first inclination is to try to put it back together. 228 00:49:26,500 --> 00:49:31,500 Maybe nobody will notice, but it's still broken. 229 00:49:31,500 --> 00:49:40,500 And then what do they do? They try to hide. They run from God, and it's not very effective, right? 230 00:49:40,500 --> 00:49:44,500 It's like a toddler closing his eyes, going, "You can't see me." 231 00:49:44,500 --> 00:49:56,500 Or yesterday, Dodger, who turns out is not a fan of fireworks, on the drive home, instead of sitting in the back with the girls where he normally sits and he can roll around and has lots of room, 232 00:49:56,500 --> 00:50:03,500 he was literally on the passenger footwell, curled up in this tiny ball next to Rachel. 233 00:50:03,500 --> 00:50:11,500 Maybe if I don't see the fireworks, they won't see me, and I won't hear them, right? It doesn't work. We can hide, but it doesn't work. 234 00:50:11,500 --> 00:50:21,500 And then look what they do. They make excuses. And I think Adam's excuses are the worst because ultimately he blames God. 235 00:50:21,500 --> 00:50:29,500 Look at what he says. The man said, "The woman you gave to me to be with me, she gave me the fruit." So look at what he's doing. 236 00:50:29,500 --> 00:50:35,500 He's blaming, first of all, Eve. He's like, "It's her fault." So immediately he starts to point fingers, but he doesn't just point a finger at Eve. 237 00:50:35,500 --> 00:50:40,500 What does he do? He points a finger at God. "You're the one who gave her to me." 238 00:50:40,500 --> 00:50:46,500 And so ultimately it's her fault. If you wouldn't have given me this woman, she wouldn't have tricked me with this fruit. 239 00:50:46,500 --> 00:50:54,500 And it's all God's fault, and it's all Eve's fault, and it's none of Adam's fault." Immediately he begins to point fingers. 240 00:50:54,500 --> 00:51:00,500 God says, "Eve, what do you have to say?" "Well, it's the serpent's fault." You see what happens? 241 00:51:00,500 --> 00:51:07,500 Everybody begins to blame everybody else, and you and I have seen that, and we see it so clearly in our world. 242 00:51:07,500 --> 00:51:12,500 When something goes wrong, what do we do? The first thing we try to do, let's find somebody to blame, 243 00:51:12,500 --> 00:51:16,500 and let's point the finger at them, and when the finger is pointed at them, they point it at somebody else, 244 00:51:16,500 --> 00:51:24,500 who points it at somebody else, and nobody takes responsibility for the wrong that has been done. 245 00:51:24,500 --> 00:51:32,500 So Adam and Eve, they try to fix it, and it doesn't work. They try to hide from it. It doesn't work. 246 00:51:32,500 --> 00:51:41,500 They try to blame each other and God, and it doesn't work. You and I, when we sin, we do the same exact thing. 247 00:51:41,500 --> 00:51:49,500 Sometimes we try to fix it. We try to fix the problems in this world. If we only had more money, if we only had better education, 248 00:51:49,500 --> 00:51:59,500 if only this person was in power, it would fix it. But I'll tell you what, nothing will fix this broken world apart from the one who created it. 249 00:51:59,500 --> 00:52:07,500 And then we try to hide from it. And we have so many distractions. We distract ourselves with entertainment and with hobbies, 250 00:52:07,500 --> 00:52:13,500 hoping that maybe if we don't see the brokenness, that it won't see us. But at the end of the day and in the dark of the night, 251 00:52:13,500 --> 00:52:22,500 we still feel the brokenness of this world. And so we begin to make excuses. It's not my fault. It's because of this or because of that. 252 00:52:22,500 --> 00:52:34,500 Just like Adam and Eve, we choose ourselves over God. And just like Adam and Eve, when we sin, we try to fix it and we find we can't. 253 00:52:34,500 --> 00:52:47,500 We try to hide from it and we find we can't. We try to blame someone else and we find that we can't. And we end up in this broken, dark, fearful place. 254 00:52:47,500 --> 00:53:00,500 You see, this is our world. We believe the lie. Things have gone wrong, we're trying to fix it, we're trying to hide from it, we're trying to make excuses, and nothing works. 255 00:53:00,500 --> 00:53:14,500 But there is good news. In Romans, the fifth chapter, it says this: "For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, 256 00:53:14,500 --> 00:53:28,500 how much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ? 257 00:53:28,500 --> 00:53:41,500 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. 258 00:53:41,500 --> 00:53:50,500 For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by one man's obedience the many will be made righteous. 259 00:53:50,500 --> 00:53:59,500 And Paul says when you look at the brokenness of the world, and in Romans he's unpacked that in chapters 1 and 2 as he points to the unrighteousness 260 00:53:59,500 --> 00:54:08,500 and how we haven't given God thanks and we've traded the wonders of God for all of these other things that we worship generally ourselves. 261 00:54:08,500 --> 00:54:13,500 He says, "Into the brokenness of this world comes Jesus." 262 00:54:13,500 --> 00:54:19,500 And just like brokenness enters through one man, Adam and Eve, 263 00:54:19,500 --> 00:54:24,500 redemption and righteousness enters through another man, Jesus. 264 00:54:24,500 --> 00:54:34,500 You see, just as Adam and Eve in that garden made the choice that glorified themselves, 265 00:54:34,500 --> 00:54:41,500 that they chose their desires over worshiping and following God. 266 00:54:41,500 --> 00:54:45,500 So Jesus, we find Him in another garden. 267 00:54:45,500 --> 00:54:48,500 And it's at night. 268 00:54:48,500 --> 00:54:52,500 And in that garden, He makes a choice. 269 00:54:52,500 --> 00:54:57,500 Not to satisfy His own desires or to seek His own comfort, 270 00:54:57,500 --> 00:55:07,500 but that choice in the garden to give His life for broken, sinful humans. 271 00:55:07,500 --> 00:55:14,500 And we see how that choice plays out, because in that garden, as He prays, Roman soldiers come with torches. 272 00:55:14,500 --> 00:55:21,500 And they drag Him down into Jerusalem, where He is tried six times during the night. 273 00:55:21,500 --> 00:55:28,500 He is beaten, He is mocked, and then He is crucified. 274 00:55:28,500 --> 00:55:35,500 And because death came to Jesus, life can come to you and I. 275 00:55:35,500 --> 00:55:46,500 And the good news about Jesus is that because He did not choose His own desires, because He did not sin, the grave could not hold Him. 276 00:55:46,500 --> 00:56:00,500 And He rose again, and there is hope, and there is peace, and there is forgiveness, and His righteousness is given to us broken, hurting sinners. 277 00:56:00,500 --> 00:56:13,500 But just like we, like Adam and Eve, have chosen ourselves, tried to fix it ourselves, and it doesn't work, Jesus chooses righteousness in the garden. 278 00:56:13,500 --> 00:56:22,500 And He goes to the cross, and He rises again. And because of that, we can be made new. 279 00:56:22,500 --> 00:56:40,500 Romans 6 says that we rose to walk in the newness of life, that through Jesus our life is made new. That is our hope, and that is our future, and it must be our focus. Let's pray. 280 00:56:40,500 --> 00:57:01,500 Father, as we look at the brokenness of this world, as we look at the heartache that surrounds us, whether it's from physical sickness, or from injustice, or from all of the sin that overflows in so many different ways, we look at this world and we are heartbroken. 281 00:57:01,500 --> 00:57:29,500 And we can see that things have gone wrong. So this morning, as we look at what that has been, help us to see that the only redemption is found in You. Help us to stop trying to fix it, stop trying to hide from it, stop making excuses, and may we run to You with all of our sin, knowing that it is through Jesus that our sins are taken away. 282 00:57:29,500 --> 00:57:41,500 Help us to strive for righteousness. Help us to see the schemes of the devil. Help us not to be taken captive by His lies. Give us strength. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 283 00:57:41,500 --> 00:57:55,500 Normally, at this point, we would stand for a closing song, but because I am...are we ready to go? All right, let's see if we can do it. Let's go ahead and stand. 284 00:57:59,500 --> 00:58:27,500 In Christ alone, my hope is found. He is my light, my strength, my song. This cornerstone, this solid ground. Firm through the fiercest drought. 285 00:58:27,500 --> 00:58:55,500 And storm. What heights of love. What depths of peace. When fears are stilled. When strivings cease. My comforter. My all in all. Here in the love of Christ I stand. 286 00:58:55,500 --> 00:59:23,500 In Christ alone. Who took on flesh. The fullness of God in helpless faith. This gift of love. And righteousness. Scorned by the ones He came to save. Till on that cross. As Jesus died. 287 00:59:23,500 --> 00:59:39,500 The wrath of God. Was satisfied. For every sin. On Him was laid. Here in the death of Christ I live. 288 00:59:51,500 --> 01:00:19,500 Where in the ground His body lay. Light of the world by darkness slain. Then bursting forth in glorious day. Up from the grave He rose again. And as He stands in victory. Sin's curse has lost its glory. 289 01:00:19,500 --> 01:00:47,500 Sin's curse has lost its grip on me. For I am His, and He is mine. Brought with the precious blood of Christ. No guilt in life. No fear in death. This is the power of Christ in me. 290 01:00:47,500 --> 01:01:15,500 From life's first cry to final breath. Jesus commends my destiny. No power of hell. No scheme of man. Can ever pluck me from His hand. Till He returns or calls me home. 291 01:01:15,500 --> 01:01:43,500 Here in the power of Christ I'll stand. No power of hell. No scheme of man. Can ever pluck me from His hand. Till He returns or calls me home. Here in the power of Christ I'll stand. 292 01:01:43,500 --> 01:02:05,500 Good morning. Thank you all for being here with us this morning. We will be back on Wednesday night. We are walking through 2 Peter, and we're going to try to finish up chapter 1, where Peter begins to talk about the Word of God and how he is an eyewitness to what God has done. 293 01:02:05,500 --> 01:02:15,500 And it's interesting how these things fit together, where Satan comes to us and says, "Did God really say?" and seeks to cast doubt upon the Word of God. 294 01:02:15,500 --> 01:02:23,500 This Wednesday night, we'll be looking at how Peter points to the goodness and the rightness and the reliability of the Word of God. 295 01:02:23,500 --> 01:02:32,500 So that's Wednesday night at 7 p.m. You can join us here at the church building or online, and we'd invite you to join with us in that. 296 01:02:32,500 --> 01:02:36,500 Let's go ahead and have a word of prayer, and we'll be dismissed. 297 01:02:36,500 --> 01:02:40,500 Father in heaven, thank you for taking care of us. Thank you for loving us. 298 01:02:40,500 --> 01:02:51,500 Thank you for how you are at work in our lives and in our world. Help us not to be distracted by all of our fears and worries and hurts, 299 01:02:51,500 --> 01:03:00,500 but that we would come to you as the one who heals our hurts and the one who saves our souls. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 300 01:03:00,500 --> 01:03:06,500 We have one more song or is it? Okay. We're all set.