Message: Did God Really Say…?
I.
Introduction
a.
During this
coming year we are going to have an interlocking theme for each of the sermons,
each one will be about a question that is asked in the Bible.
b.
Often the Bible
gets looked at as something full of answers (which it does have) but it is
amazing when you read the Bible how many Questions it asks, and not just silly
questions, but deep ones that go to the core of our life.
c.
So each week we
will look at one of those questions and hopefully by the end of the year see
ourselves more rooted in Christ as we grow together.
II.
Body
a.
Background:
Creation, Adam and Eve Created and put in garden of Eden
b.
Read Genesis 3:1-7 – “Now 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’?” The woman said to
the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but 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.’ ” “You will not surely
die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you
eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing
good and evil.” 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. 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.”
a.
First of all the serpent isn’t a real snake…it
is actually Satan, a fallen angel who is the enemy of God, and thus hates
humanity, God’s creation.
b.
This is the first question found in the whole
bible, “Did God really say?”
c.
The question is phrased in a way to be so
obviously wrong Eve must correct it, “not eat from any tree?, no we can eat
from any but one, the one in the middle (the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil), in fact if we eat or touch the fruit we will die”
c.
Read Matthew 4:1-11 – “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be
tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he
was hungry. The tempter came
to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become
bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone, but
on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’’” Then the devil took him to the holy city and
had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,”
he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “ He will command his
angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you
will not strike your foot against a stone.’ 15 ’” Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do
not put the Lord your God to the test.’’” Again, the devil took him to a very
high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you
will bow down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord
your God, and serve him only.’” Then the devil left him, and
angels came and attended him.
a.
Thousands of years have passed, Jesus, the son of God, is
now on earth and the old serpent is back, aka Satan.
b.
This time he asks Jesus to prove himself by doing 2 things,
command stones to turn to bread, or to throw himself off a building and land
unharmed.
c.
Then he finally tries to make a deal with him and have him
worship him in exchange for the physical world.
d.
Jesus says no in each case.
III.
Conclusion
(Things that are true for your life)
a.
Temptation will
come…no matter who you are…even if you are following God’s leading
a.
Jesus is God and
is still tempted
b.
Jesus is led by
the Holy Spirit into this desert in order to be tempted
b.
Temptation often
arrives at our time of weakness, which is often when things are going the best
a.
Jesus is fasting
for 40 days…I have fasted for a day and I’m not in the right mind
b.
Sometimes the
weak point is when things are best they have been, because we aren’t trying as
hard to rely on God. Eve had a great
life at this point…yet that is when she was weakest.
c.
If we fall for
the temptation, we are sinning, and sin leads to death and destruction for us
and those around us
a.
The world falls
apart after Adam and Eve sin, death enters it, and things go from perfect to
horrible in a few generations. It
affected their lives (they are kicked out of the garden, they will suffer and
have to work hard and will die) and the lives of those around them (from their
kids to us).
d.
Temptation is
always asking the question, “Did God really say?”
a.
Temptation is
trying to get us to disobey God, so when we want to look at porn or when we
want to make fun of someone, or when we want to get drunk, or we want to use
drugs, or we want to steal, or we want to overeat, or we want to be lazy, or we
want to cheat, each time we are tempted with that sin we are being asked… “Did
God really say not to do that?” “Is it
really that bad?”
b.
Again, sin
destroys those around us and ourselves...so yeah it is bad.
e.
Temptation is
beaten when we know and use God’s word
a.
Eve and Jesus
both apply God’s word as a way to supply truth to the temptation in order to
defeat it and move on.
b.
Eve says they
aren’t to eat or touch the fruit or they would die…the second part she adds to
God’s word, or maybe Adam told her that was what God had said in order to keep
her way from it. But regardless she adds
to it. And I imagine she touches the
fruit, doesn’t die and thinks, well maybe that wasn’t what God was saying,
maybe he didn’t really mean it…and that is enough to get her to fall for the
temptation.
c.
Jesus on
the other hand quotes God’s word (scripture) during each of the
temptations. Even the one in which Satan
quoted a scripture to him, he quotes another one back to show that Satan is
taking it out of context (twisting the true meaning.
f.
Maybe you are
struggling with a temptation in your life, and you want to find a way out…1st
Corinthians 10:13 – “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.” God has given you a means to get out of
temptation, it is through his word and by his help. So don’t rely on yourself any longer, rely on
him and his word!
a.
Pray
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