Scripture:
Genesis 3:1-7 NKJV
[1] Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” [2] And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat 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 has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” [4] Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. [5] For God knows that in the day 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, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. [7] Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.
Observation:
Over the last few weeks, I have seen a lot of people make choices that take them in a different direction than what GOD has for their lives and to be honest, it’s rather disheartening and hard to watch. But at the same time, I have done the very sane thing. Fallen to the lies of the evil one. The one that is more cunning than all the beasts of the field. I find it funny that after thousands of years, his attack hasn’t really changed. It kind of goes with the old adage, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. So let’s look at how clever this guy is and see how GOD has given us victory over him. By the time we get to Genesis chapter 3, all the players are on the stage, and GOD’S plan is about to unfold right before our very eyes. Now, I only grabbed enough verses to make the point that needs to be made, but I will be referring to other points in this chapter and other parts of the bible. So, I encourage you to read what GOD has to say and commit it to your spirit. The first verse here tells us about our enemy. It says the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field that the LORD GOD had made. There is really no other way to say it other than to say. The enemy is smart and very sneaky. He knows just where to try to get us. He has been watching and waiting for opportunities. As we look at the creation process and analyze it really good we can see that after man was created and the LORD had given him the one rule to follow, ” Don’t eat from the tree that is in the midst of the garden, for on the day you do you shall surely die.” HE then puts man into a deep sleep and takes from him a rib to make a helper for him, that shall be called woman. The one rule was given to man, so now his job is to translate that rule to his wife. We can only assume that he did because the very next thing we see in the bible is the serpent having a conversation with her as she stood next to the very tree the rule was spoken about, and what exactly is his approach. Let’s see how well she understands what has been said. Let’s see if she really believes what has been said. Let’s see how well it has been translated to her. I want us to notice that it’s what has been said that the enemy comes against. It’s not what she believes about GOD, but what she believes about what HE has said. Look at how he phrases his question… did GOD really say? He knows that if he can sneak even a little bit of doubt into her mind about what GOD has said, then it’s on. I know this might seem a little off base, but bear with me for a minute. I believe the Bible interprets the bible. So let’s see what GOD says about what GOD says. In the gospel of John in the very first chapter and the first few verses, GOD’S word is to be seen as a man. That man’s name is Jesus. Scripture says in the beginning was the word. The word was GOD, and the word was with GOD. HE was with GOD in the beginning. So it’s not far-fetched to say that GOD’S word reveals Jesus… right. So right here at the beginning of all of it, GOD reveals HIS plan. As the enemy deceives the woman into doubting what the LORD GOD has, “SAID.” His attack doesn’t just stop there. Because now he wants Eve to not only doubt what GOD has, “SAID,” but to go against it as well. He says to her, “What GOD said is not true?” You will not die, but you will be like HIM, knowing good and evil. This moment changed everything. Before the deception of the enemy and his attack on what GOD has, “SAID” Even had no idea about good and evil. But that’s honestly the key, because how can you choose to live for GOD if you don’t know right from wrong? That’s the day we were given a choice. Do we believe what GOD has “SAID” or do we go with what it looks like as we continue the story. We see that the women went with what it looked like. The bible says, “so she saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave some to her husband with her, and he ate. From this little moment in time, we find ourselves where we are. A few things entered the world that day. Shame, guilt, fear, and death, yes death. Although no human physically died, the spirit that was within us was severed. The plan was revealed. We would need a redeemer.
Application:
The attack is against the word. The question is, do you believe what GOD has, “SAID.” Yes, it’s the same old trick. The enemy is very cunning, and he wants you to see what is right in front of you. He wants you to look at what it looks like. He wants to overwhelm you with the circumstances so that you will doubt what GOD has said. What hill are you willing to die on. If it looks like the blessings are going to stop, will you tuck tail and run? Or will you stand on what GOD has said. I know…. It’s hard. Especially when all the physical evidence points to something other than what GOD has said. I can’t begin to express the amount of pressure that I feel and have felt over the past few months, and honestly, sometimes, it feels like years. Do you believe what GOD has said? Do you believe it when HE says HE will? If you in fact believe what GOD’S word says, you will stand on it. You will not move from it. As we get closer and closer to the return of Christ. The enemy is going to apply more and more pressure. He wants you to doubt what has been said. He wants you to doubt that at just the right time, GOD is going to show HIS word to be true. Can you take the pressure of standing on it. I’m going to let you into my life a little bit. 2 days ago. I had 3 day’s worth of work. Yesterday I was given another week and a half. By all appearances. I should be preparing to close the doors on the company that GOD has built. But where is the faith in that. Yes, the pressure is unreal. Yes, I want to tuck tail. I want to see the storm i want to let fear deter me from what GOD has “SAID.” But faith says step forward, and although it looks like water. It will feel like a rock. Keep your eyes fixed on GOD in these last days. Yes, the enemy does not care about anything but getting you to step off of GOD’S word. He wants to accuse you before the Father. When you have done all that you can. Stand. Stand on what GOD’S word says. Don’t move. HE is not a liar. We established that yesterday. I’m not telling you to do anything that I am not currently doing. Yes standing on faith in something you can’t see is hard. But it’s what brought Moses across a sea on dry land, and Joshua and Caleb into the promised land. They believed what GOD had “SAID,” and they acted on it in faith. Will you do the same? I have no choice. All my eggs are in this basket. Will you stand with me in prayer? I will pray for you and you pray for me. Let’s watch the faith of the saints move the mountains of fear and doubt that are standing in the way of what GOD “SAID” we can have. It’s impossible to please GOD without faith.
Prayer:
Father, we trust that what you say is true. We can see over and over in the bible when men have trusted in what you have said and came out victorious. That’s because you have already given us that victory if indeed we will trust what you say. Yes, we can see the giants in the land. But you said that it is ours. We believe you and we are stepping forward pushing past the fear into what you said we can have. Now it’s not up to us to prove what you have said. It’s up to you. So Father I pray for all those who are reading this and standing on faith that you would show them today that your promises are yes and amen. That what you have said is the only truth we need to know. We know that you can not lie. So as we seek to understand your word. We ask that those who have been willing to trust what you have said over what it looks like see that you are exactly who you say you are. Yes, it is a fight of faith. The battle being do we believe you. I’m sure that as I have been given my daily bread. That you will continue to provide. You said you would give us a land flowing with milk and honey. Here, we are matching around the walls of that land. Bring them to the ground so that we can capture what you “SAID” is ours. It’s in the mighty name of Jesus we pray, amen.