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’?” Genesis 3:1 NIV
Pastor Emeritus Rurel Ausley put the finishing touches on the sermon series, “Parenting Through Proverbs,” at Cross Point Church in Niceville, FL. It was a great message.
Here is the last message from this blog on this sermon series:
My kids were already out of the house before I felt that I truly submitted my heart to the Lord; I chose to let the messages speak for themselves. Please visit the link here for these messages:
Pastor Rurel hit on one point that has been rolling through my head for several years that I believe has plagued humanity since the garden. He was talking about the unintended consequences of some parenting styles, and the unintended consequence to the child was the thought: “I just never was good enough.”
The thought that I have been wrestling with is this, “It’s just not good enough.”
Keeping in mind that Adam and Eve were created to live in paradise. A perfect world would have produced what it was supposed to year in and year out. It would have been sustainable to supply everything that was needed to survive.
‘The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.” ‘ Genesis 2:15-17
He gave us the dignity of choice at this point. He left the tree in the middle of the garden and allowed it to stay where He planted it. He didn’t force His will on Adam and Eve. He wanted us to worship His glory and obey His command.
Satan comes onto the scene and says to Eve, “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 certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” ‘ Genesis 3:2-5
Notice the nuance in Satan’s question to Eve, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from ANY tree in the garden?”
God said, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil…”
Satan does to all of us; he twists the Word of God in a manner that can make us doubt the validity of what we believe it to say.
With Eve, Satan tells her that she would be just like God by eating the fruit. At that point, perfection was no longer an option for Eve; she desired to be like God and ate the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
At that point, the world God created for them was no longer perfect, and they felt shame for their nakedness.
This pattern continues to this day. We look out at the world around us, the world in our perfect God’s hands, and we can find fault everywhere we look, in people and our circumstances.
It shows up in our thinking like this:
- If only they would do it this way.
- I wish our government weren’t doing {this}.
- Why did God allow this to happen?
- If only {my wife, my husband, my kids} would stop doing this, then…”
‘For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ‘ Ephesians 6:12
Our struggle isn’t with the people around us; it is with the thoughts that we have about the people in the world around us. Our battlefield is 6 inches between our ears.
We often tie our emotions to what someone else does or does not do. By allowing our emotions to get tied up in the affairs of others, we give them power over us.
As a believer in Jesus, I believe everything outside of what we say, think, or do is in God’s perfect care. I care deeply for those around me, but I know that they will be influenced by my hearts submitted to the Lord more than the words that come out of my mouth.
‘And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.’ 2 Timothy 2:24-26
As we walk with the Lord through this world, there will be two types of people that we associate with:
- Unbelievers
- Believers
‘Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. ‘ Galatians 6:9-10
We live in a harsh world that seems to be getting tougher with every passing day. We, as believers, must look to the Bible for our identity. We have a media whose sole purpose is to redefine what God has already defined.
We must make it a daily discipline to be grounded in the Word of God. We let His Word define what we think, say, and do.
Heavenly Father, please continue to give me the desire to seek You out daily. Please motivate me to see others as you do, with love and compassion.
Let Your Spirit guide my thoughts, words, and actions. And let these actions reveal You centered in my heart.
I pray this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen!! 🙏❤️
