YOU CAN’T UNSCRAMBLE AN EGG
Text: Genesis 2: 15 - 17 and 3: 1 - 6
Genesis 2:15-17 The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it. (16) And the LORD God commanded the man, "You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; (17) but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die."
Genesis 3:1-7 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God say, 'You shall not eat from any tree in the garden'?" (2) The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; (3) but God said, 'You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.'" (4) But the serpent said to the woman, "You will not die; (5) for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." (6) So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. (7) Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.
Many sermons have used Humpty Dumpty references. It makes sense when we think about his “falling” because the “fall” that happened in the Garden of Eden.
Why did Humpty Dumpty fall? Was he pushed? “There are various theories of the origin of Humpty Dumpty. “Humpty Dumpty” referred to King Richard III, 1483-85 the hunchbacked monarch. At the Battle of Bosworth Field, he fell from his steed, a horse he had named “Wall” (as dramatically rendered in Shakespeare’s play “Richard III”: “A horse! A horse! My Kingdom for a Horse!”) Richard was surrounded by enemy troops in the battle, and was butchered right there, his body being hacked to pieces. Hence the final part of the rhyme: “All the King’s Horses and All the King’s men couldn’t put Humpty together again!” https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/humpty-dumpty-s-life-ralph-andrus-sermon-on-christian-liberty-94764
The one thing that is clear from the Humpty Dumpty story is that you cannot unscramble an egg. As it relates to the fall of our spiritual ancestors, you cannot unbite an a forbidden fruit. The characters of both stories start out well until they fall. After they fall, their world is never the same again.
Why did Adam and Eve fall? Was it because they both took a bite of the forbidden fruit? Of course they did. All it took was a bite for them to lose their mostly unrestricted place in the Garden of Eden. The fruit of tree of the knowledge of good and evil was the restricted part of the garden.
Have you ever noticed how people want to condemn Eve for eating of the forbidden fruit? Eve was the first one to bite of it and she then shared it with Adam who also took a bite. They were both guilty of rebelling against God.
Satan was jealous of the role that Adam and Eve had and he decided to tempt them because he had much to gain and they had much to lose. We know how the story ends. They disobey God, realize their nakedness and try to hide from God.
Today we want to talk about the tempter, choices and consequences.
TEMPTER
How would you describe the tempter in this scripture?
The serpent acts like a friend with unsolicited advice. This masked enemy is a subtle, smooth operating, calculating, proportional and packaging pretender. https://ministry127.com/sermon-helps/facing-the-giant-of-temptation The serpent is as smooth as a car salesman and as crafty as a politician with a hidden agenda. He hid has agenda to remove all suspicion as he tempted Adam and Eve with the forbidden fruit.
What is forbidden fruit? Forbidden fruit is are things that are off limits. Cheating, stealing, coveting, conning, misdirecting or any motive or action that seeks to take an unfair advantage. Why did Satan tempt Adam and Eve with the forbidden fruit? Was it because he had a lot to gain in deceiving Adam and Eve?
What does temptation in the Garden of Eden have to do with Jesus’s temptation in the wilderness?
1) Paradise: Paradise was considered the Garden of Eden where Adam and Eve lived before the fall. The serpent stole the opportunity of an unbroken and unhindered relationship that Adam and Eve shared with God he deceived them. Satan’s temptation promised them power.
2) Wilderness: Satan (aka the serpent) also wanted to steal our salvation by conning Jesus. He succeeded in the Garden of Eden and failed to succeed in conning Jesus by tempting Him in the wilderness when he was weak after fasting forty days and nights. Paul said “For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive” (1 Corinthians_15:22 NIV) .
Satan wanted to conquer Jesus in the wilderness by tempting Him to choose raw power rather than God’s will. Satan would keep looking for an opportune time (Luke 4:13). He would try to tempt Jesus to renege before the cross.
3) Power: Henri Nouwen once said, “What makes the temptation of power so seemingly irresistible? Maybe it is that power offers an easy substitute for the hard task of love. It seems easier to be God than to love God, easier to control people than to love people, easier to own life than to love life. Jesus asks, Do you love me? We ask, Can we sit at your right hand and your left hand in your Kingdom? (Mt. 20:21). ... We have been tempted to replace love with power”
https://sermons.com/search/results?term=HENRI%20nOUWEN&verse=1-24&category=sermon&sermon_filters=Illustrations&tab=Illustrations&page=1
Every time we choose power over loving the way God wants us to love, we give the devil a toehold.
CHOICES
Don’t we all have to make choices? Of course we do. Even the decision not to choose is still a decision.
Phillip Yancey once wrote "We think we are wise enough to make our own decisions about morality. To live rightly without the megaphone of pain blaring into our ears. We are wrong. The Garden of Eden story proves that. Man, in a world without suffering, chose against God" (P. Yancey. Where Is God When It Hurts?. New York: Harper Paperbacks, 1977, p. 56) . Did you get that? This decision in the Garden of Eden was made in a sinless world that did not know sin!
Why would God give Adam and Eve free will even if God knew that they would not choose Him?
Obviously, God gave Adam and Eve a choice, because He wanted them to choose Him.
1) Romance versus slavery: As one pastor wisely put it “God wanted romance not slavery”. The Free Will of Manhttps://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/the-freewill-of-man-jerry-depoy-sermon-on-evangelism-how-to-77746 Adam and Eve could not have imagined what this choice would cost them or their descendants throughout history! Choosing other than God made them slaves to sin. God wants us to choose Him because we want to not because he made us choose.
2) Sin equals slavery: Jesus said “I speak eternal truth,” Jesus said. “When you sin you are not free. You’ve become a slave in bondage to your sin. (35) And slaves have no permanent standing in a family, like a son does, for a son is a part of the family forever” (John 8:34 - 35 TPT).
3) Forbidden tree: God told them that they could eat from any in the Garden of Eden except one and they were tempted to choose the forbidden tree. Satan is always involved in what John Wesley called "mixing truth and falsehood together … " (John Wesley. Sermon 57. "On The Fall Of Man”).. Satan mixed the truth with a lie to deceive Adam and Eve.
CONSEQUENCES
What are the consequences of bad choices? Can bad choices cost us? Can we unscramble an egg? Can we unbite an apple of temptation?
How bad can a hunger for success cost us and those who follow us?
How many Elvis fans know that he was taken advantage of by a professional con man? Elvis had a manager with a shady past known as Andreas Cornelis van Kuijk. He was a possible murder suspect who fled his homeland finding work in a vessel heading to the US where he entered the US illegally and joined the US Army. He legally changed his name to Tom Parker. He went AWOL and was dishonorably discharged for desertion. As WWII came of the horizon, he ate to gain weight to make himself unfit for being forced back into military service.
Parker aka the “Colonel” was Elvis’s manager. became a manager in the music business where he became known as the Colonel. He pushed Elvis with a crazy schedule of recording, concerts, and movie roles. Elvis became acquainted with drugs in the military. As we know, his drug use of amphetamines and sleeping pills, poor diet and demanding schedule set by his manager and use were contributing factors to Elvis demise and death. (Bill O’Reilly. Killing the Legends. New York: Saint Mark’s Press, 2022, pp. 1 - 4 & 17 -26). Many believe that Colonel Parker robbed Elvis of countless opportunities. Satan seeks to do the same thing to us by tempting all who will be fooled that sin does not have consequences. Satan wants to rob us of the gift of God’s grace through Jesus Christ and the price he paid for us on the cross.
Were there any pros and cons? Satan always packages temptations to look like an easy path. The pros of the temptations that Satan offers are always hidden and false. The pros he offers are
1) False pros: Satan deceived Eve and said "You will not die; (5) for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil" (Genesis 3:4 - 5 NRSV). Satan baited the hook of temptation with knowledge that they would be like God. He never said anything about the cons. Satan wants people to believe that sin is fun but not deadly!
2) Cons: The cons overlooked by Eve and anyone who is guided by the flesh are brokenness, separation and death. This is why the wages of sin equal death.
What are the consequences of the cross of Christ? The cross does not mean anything to the lost. It is the power of God for the saved!
1) The power of God: “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18 NIV). “For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive” (1 Corinthians_15:22 NIV). Christ conquered sin, death and the fear of death on the cross.
2) The strength of Christ: “Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.” (Hebrews 2:18). “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. “And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it” (1 Corinthians_10:13).
