God’s idea of paradise
Gen. 1:28-30 God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground." 29 Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground - everything that has the breath of life in it--I give every green plant for food." And it was so.
What did that look like?
Jesus authority over nature - calmed the wind and waves
Jesus authority over sickness and death - healed broken bodies
Jesus authority over evil - crucified sin in his own body
The Essence of sin
Not that we do terrible things but that we replace God - with lessor things
Revelation on our trip out West - sin of idols or making myself God (breaking the first two commands)
Trust in God or ourselves - we fall for it all the time
Telemarketer calls, magazine ads entice, commercials convince - God is not enough
You are incomplete you need more we fill the God shaped hole with something other than God.
Missing the mark - bullseye
Detours in life - Wait a minute thorn bush
Failure to be responsible - The blame game
Adam was walking past the garden of Eden with his two sons, Cain and Abel. A tall fence blocked their view. Adam said, "Come here boys, I want to show you something." He lifted each of them up. And they said, "Wow, Dad, it’s beautiful, its like a perfect paradise. Dad, what is it?" And Adam said, "Boys, that’s where we could be livin’ if your mom hadn’t eaten us out of house and home."
Consequences of sin
Hand over the keys Out of the pool - Bill Cosby
Shame Gen. 3:7-10 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. 8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?" 10 He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid."
Lost authority no longer allowed to rule
Living under Curse now not with authority - why - how would man rule if he can’t obey?
Anatomy of Temptation
Satan’s temptation - what is your pleasure - what is your apple - bring another apple
Lure snare trap
Gen. 3:1 Really? - question God’s word - twist it at the same time LIES
Joe Wright before the Kansas Senate:
"Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask Your forgiveness and to seek Your direction and guidance. We know Your word says, ’Woe on those who call evil good’, but that’s exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We confess that: We have ridiculed the absolute truth of Your Word and called it pluralism. We have worshiped other gods and called it multi-culturalism. We have endorsed perversion and called it an alternate lifestyle. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have neglected the needy and called it self-preservation. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. We have killed our unborn children and called it a choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable. We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem. We have abused power and called it political savvy. We have coveted our neighbor’s possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment."
3:3 or even touch it (who said that?) Because eve didn’t know God’s word first hand (Adam was supposed to teach it) she was ready to fall
3:6 woman was convinced (over time?) Kept looking at that tree (sin in the mind and heart long before the hands. Wall socket story revisited
The fruit looked so good (sin does that) until it’s over - notice Adam was with her
3:7 shame always causes us to hide and conceal
Was the tree bad? No - all of God’s creation was good
My sins are not as bad as yours so I don’t need to repent or to be as careful as you do - LIE
Time for the church to rise up and be the church
Time for the church to be tough - to live in the victory that Jesus paid for with His life
1 Cor. 15:22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive
Matt. 16:19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." (Jesus to Peter)
Identify your apple
We often define Christians as believers but the problem with that is that often believers are all too often not doers, often no difference in the moral behavior of Christians and non Christians.
Regain Authority
Rom. 6:6 For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin
At the garden authority was stripped away, you will work hard for a living - endure suffering in childbirth. But Kingdom living is one of prosperity because God is 1st every day and every way
People think "Woe is me, Adam screwed up" the 2nd Adam has come
In Jesus the church can take back authority over nature
In Jesus the church can take back authority over sickness and death
In Jesus the church can take back authority over evil
Len Sweet talks about the wussification of the church, wusses not overcomers, victors, no dominion over ourselves or our world.
Churches now found in the obituary section or the leisure and entertainment section of newspapers.
Crosses have become something glittery and pretty that we wear on our necks and ears, not something that we take up on our shoulders as we march off to our death.
The cross is something we only pierce our ears with rather than our hands feet and side - what do those things symbolize the piercing of them
Vs. 22 - why didn’t they eat the tree of life first?
Adam sent to till the soil - from which he came.
