WHERE ARE YOU? -- God
By Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com
Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more subtle than any other beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yes, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
2. And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
3. But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
4. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
5. For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
6. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and it was pleasant to the eyes, and to be desired to make one wise, she took the fruit thereof,
and did eat, and gave her husband with her; and he did eat.
7. And the eyes of them both were opened, and he knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
8. And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God
amongst the trees of the garden.
9. And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, WHERE ART THOU?
10. And Adam said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid; because I was naked; and I hid myself.
11. And God said, Who told you that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?
12. And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.
13. And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
I. TWO TREES? THE TWO TREES OF THE GARDEN ARE TYPES, SYMBOLIC, OR SHADOWS OF THINGS TO COME.
ONE TREE IS THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE OF GOOD AND BAD. THIS TREE IS MAN DOING THINGS HIS WAY.
THE OTHER TREE IS THE TREE OF LIFE. THIS TREE IS SUBMISSION TO THE WORD OF GOD.
WE FIND THAT THESE TWO TREES DEFINE MAN’S SPIRITUAL CLIMATE AND ATTITUDES.
II. OUR ENEMY IS SUBTLE, HE IS NOT HONEST AND UPFRONT!
A. Satan does not stand at your front door wearing a red suit, having horns, and carrying a pitch fork and announce: I have come to steal, kill, and destroy.
B. He is a sneaky snake. He is elusive, cunning, crafty, difficult to see the real motives.
He operates insidiously.
III. TO DEFEAT YOU MUST DIVIDE AND THEN CONQUER! ISOLATION!
A. In the Civil War the North developed the Anaconda plan, the march through the South and divide. Sherman and the men from the North marched through and burned
and divided the Southern nation and then the victory was easily attained.
B. God loved his new creation. God loved spending time with Adam and Eve.
Satan had a plan and to make his plan work, the enemy had to separate and SATAN KNEW NOT TO COME WHEN GOD WAS WALKING WITH ADAM
AND EVE IN THE COOL OF THE EVENING.
C. Satan knew that he could not conquer Adam and Eve while they were together.
The enemy’s successful plan was to catch Eve by herself.
D. DURING THIS SPIRITUAL BATTLE THE ISOLATION AND ALONENESS OF THE WOMAN MADE HER WEAKER AND MORE LIKELY TO SUCCUMB TO THE FALL.
E.Today satan is trying to dividie families and churches, we must bind together.
IV. THE ENEMY LOVES TO DISTORT GOD’S WORD.
THE WORD OF GOD DOES THE WORK OF GOD.
THE ENEMY’S DISTORTION AND NOT RIGHTLY DIVIDING THE WORD BECOMES
A SATANIC TOOL!
A. WHAT SATAN SUGGESTED GOD SAID:
Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more subtle than any other beast of the field which
the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yes, hath God said, Ye shall
not eat of every tree tree of the garden?
B. WHAT GOD SAID:
Genesis 2:16 And the Lord God commanded man, saying, of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17. But of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
C. WHAT EVE SAID GOD SAID:
Gen. 3: 2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
3. But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
V. DOUBT AND ISOLATION BECOME SATANIC BAIT AND SATANIC TOOLS.
Genesis 3:4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
SATAN IS SOWING SEEDS OF DOUBT.
VI. SATAN MAKES THE TREE LOOK LIKE A TREE OF OPPORTUNITY.
BABY YOU ARE GOING TO FIND YOURSELF! YOU WILL BE LIKE GOD?
YOU WILL HAVE OPENED EYES?
THIS IS NOT THE APPEAL OF EAT DELICIOUS FRUIT, THIS APPEAL IS MUCH DEEPER.
Gen. 3: 5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat therof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
VII. SATAN HIDES THE BIGGER PICTURE BY A NARROW FOCUS ON ONE TREE.
THE SMALL PICTURE OF APPETITE NOT TREE VS. THE BIGGER PICTURE OF GOD AND US TOGETHER.
A. Satan develops TUNNEL VISION, where all that the vision can see is what is immediately in front of the eye.
B. Distorted focus looses sight of consequences.
Gen 3: 6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and it was pleasant to the eyes, and to be desired to make one wise, she took the fruit
thereof, and did eat, and gave her husband with her; and he did eat.
C. This tree of knowledge was desirable, you will gain knowledge, power, find yourself, opened eyes, and be like God.
What else could a man or woman desire?
D. MAN STILL CRIES FOR THIS KIND OF POWER TODAY!
E. THREE TYPES OF SIN:
I John 2:16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
1. THE LUST OF THE FLESH
2. THE LUST OF THE EYE
3. THE PRIDE OF LIFE.
VIII. WHERE ARE YOU ADAM? WHERE ARE YOU EVE? WHERE ARE YOU?
Gen 3:9. And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, WHERE ART THOU?
We heard your voice and we were afraid.
Adam and Eve dreaded the Divine Visitation.
They had made a choice to rebel, to disobey, to take God’s word lightly.
IX. SELF WORKS AND SELF REPAIR BYPASSES REAL REPAIR.
THE FIRST COUPLE BECAME SELF RELIANT, BYPASSING THE NEED OF GOD.
Gen. 3: 7. And the eyes of them both were opened, and he knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
X. WHERE IS THE RECORD OF ADAM AND EVE BEING SORRY?
WHERE IS THE RECORD OF THIS COUPLE REPENTING AND CORRECTING
THEIR SIN? LOOK AT THE ISSUES OF BLAME?
A. Adam and Eve could have let this tree of knowledge of good and bad bring them back a proper relationship.
B. God’s whole nature is love and forgiveness.
Their sense of knowledge, well, why did God put the tree there in the first place?
C. As long as we pass blame around there is never real repentance.
XI. MAN HAS THE TENDENCY TO PALLIATE AND PLAY DOWN HIS SIN.
MANIPULATION, CONTROL --- WE HAVE THE MECHANICS TO COME TO GOD, BUT WE WANT TO COME OUR WAY.
A. The tree of knowledge of good and bad becomes man’s escape to bypass the plan of God.
B. We want spiritual things but try to accomplish them through fleshly avenues.
We read good books, we listen to tapes and CD’s, we quote and pray prayers like Bible people prayed, we light candles, we give big offerings, we go dip in the
river, and we try good works.
C. Remember, Acts 19 when the seven sons of one Sceva, did God’s work through the flesh...
Acts 19:15 The evil spirit answered and said, Jesus we know, and Paul we know: but who are ye?
The seven sons got the whipping of their life’s.
D. KNOWING GOD MUST BE PERSONAL!
XII. THERE WAS A SHEDDING OF BLOOD, GOD’S SHADOW OF A PLAN REVEALED.
Genesis 3: 21 Unto Adam and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
XIII. ARE WE COMING TO GOD MAN’S WAY?
THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE COMES:
Doing right things in the wrong way
Motivated in hate, meanness, cruelty
Picks up the sword and cuts ears off
Yields to frustration, anger, bitterness, disappointment.
Does works under obligation, duty
Fears punishment
Manipulation and controlling
XIV. THE TREE OF LIFE MOVES IN A DIFFERENT MEANS:
Love, Joy, Compassion are the pure motivation
Sees suffering has meaning
Personal relationship
Turns the cheek and walks the second mile gladly
Self discipline and accepts correction as growth
Intimate
Yields and submits
XV. TO THIS DAY MAN STILL TRIES TO PLAY GOD IN THE CHURCH.
To know God in a personal relationship is to repent, to change, and yield to the Word of God.
Many churches build religious programs based on the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
Let’s not play God, let’s submit to His Plan for our daily life.
His servant, Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com
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