The Warrior Series

Then came the snake ~ 1Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?"

2The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die'" (Genesis 3:1-3).

The Bible identifies this snake as satan, popularly known as the devil. All Adam and Eve had to do was simply say one single word, and they, and we, would have lived happily ever after. That word was NO! But they made the mistake of having a discussion with the devil. Let me warn you: never discuss anything with the devil. Today, there are so many of us who are struggling with deep sin issues because we’re willing to dialogue with the devil.

That’s what happened to Eve ~ When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it (Genesis 3:6).

You might think – that was Adam and Eve. That wasn’t me. Just because they gave in to the devil doesn’t mean I will. But think about it this way: If they couldn’t defeat the devil in a perfect world, what chance do you have in the world we live in right now? You don’t have a chance apart from God.

We’re all caught up in sin. For some, it’s pretty deep stuff that we’re stuck in. Maybe you feel like you’re a slave to your sin. You might be trying to quit sinning, but you can’t. Your facing an opponent you cannot defeat on your own.

God gave Adam and Eve a choice. He provided a way of life filled with peace and power; joy and happiness, but they rejected that way. He gave them a word to obey, but they chose to disobey. He gave them the will to follow his plan, but they didn’t. From that moment until now, our number one enemy is the same snake in the grass. You need to understand the devil is alive, and he’s busy. He’s alive and in your home, in your family, in your marriage, in your school, in your thoughts, and in your work life.

On your own, he cannot be defeated. We fight a war we cannot win.

The moment sin entered our world, God declared war against satan. satan, on the other hand, declared war against both God and us. If you can remember back to May of this year, when I told you this verse from Revelation 12 – 17 Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring—those who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus. Do you see that? The dragon is the devil, and he seeks to make war against who? Against those who obey God’s commandment and hold to the testimony of Jesus. That’s you and I.

After eating the fruit, Adam and Eve immediately knew everything had changed: 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 (Genesis 3:7). For the first time, Adam and Eve experienced the siSLIDEckness of shame. For the first time, they experienced fear. For the first time, they were haunted by guilt. Do you know why? The were at war.