024 The Father Teaches and Draws Us to Jesus (2)
Notes
Transcript
Text: John 6:35-40 - 35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. 36 But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
Reading: Numbers 21:4-9 - 4 From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. 5 And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.” 6 Then the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. 7 And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you. Pray to the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. 8 And the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.
Alternate Reading: Genesis 3:1-7 - Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made.
He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when 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, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
Jesus is the bread of life, the very Word of God on which we live.
Jesus is the bread of life, the very Word of God on which we live.
The Father gives Jesus to Whom He wills, but those the Father gives will come to Jesus.
The Father gives Jesus to Whom He wills, but those the Father gives will come to Jesus.
Whoever comes to Jesus, Jesus will NEVER cast out.
Whoever comes to Jesus, Jesus will NEVER cast out.
The will of the Father is that everyone who looks on Jesus and believes in Him should have eternal life.
The will of the Father is that everyone who looks on Jesus and believes in Him should have eternal life.
Jesus will raise those who believe in Jesus on the last day!
Jesus will raise those who believe in Jesus on the last day!
What will you do to improve how you are feeding off Jesus today?
What will you do to improve how you are feeding off Jesus today?
Look at personal note
Music 1 And Can It Be
Music 1 And Can It Be
Music 2 Doxology
Music 2 Doxology
Music 3 Come, Ye Sinners, Poor and Needy
Music 3 Come, Ye Sinners, Poor and Needy
Music 4 I Am Thine O Lord
Music 4 I Am Thine O Lord
Music 5 Come Thou Fount
Music 5 Come Thou Fount
Welcome Screen
Welcome Screen
Call to Worship Psalm 50:1-6
Call to Worship Psalm 50:1-6
Leader: The Mighty One, God the Lord, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.
Leader: The Mighty One, God the Lord, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.
Congregation: Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth. Our God comes; he does not keep silence; before him is a devouring fire, around him a mighty tempest.
Congregation: Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth. Our God comes; he does not keep silence; before him is a devouring fire, around him a mighty tempest.
Leader: He calls to the heavens above and to the earth, that he may judge his people:
Leader: He calls to the heavens above and to the earth, that he may judge his people:
ALL: “Gather to me my faithful ones, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!” The heavens declare his righteousness, for God himself is judge!
ALL: “Gather to me my faithful ones, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!” The heavens declare his righteousness, for God himself is judge!
Music And Can It Be
Music And Can It Be
Music Doxology
Music Doxology
Music
Music
Opening Prayer
Opening Prayer
Worship in Testimony & Requests
Worship in Testimony & Requests
Scripture Reading
Scripture Reading
Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden,
but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
Music 1 Come, Ye Sinners, Poor and Needy
Music 1 Come, Ye Sinners, Poor and Needy
Music 2 I Am Thine O Lord
Music 2 I Am Thine O Lord
Music 3 Come Thou Fount
Music 3 Come Thou Fount
Music 4
Music 4
Prayer
The Father Teaches and Draws Us to Jesus
The Father Teaches and Draws Us to Jesus
Intro
Last week I asked you if you had a favorite food.
I noted, most of us spoke of physical food, yet there is spiritual food we must feed off of.
With regards to our favorite food, some may choose what is more like a dessert, others may choose a type of meat, or a cultural dish.
Regardless, when it comes to physical food - having just our favorite food all the time, two things are likely to happen. Our health will deteriorate and our desire for that food will quickly diminish.
Spiritual food I think has one similar quality. When we speak of reading the Bible, we need to take it all in. Oh, we may have a favorite book or passage, but we need the whole counsel of God. However, we only need Jesus - without Jesus we would have nothing. If we have Jesus, we will want to read His Word. We will want to talk to Him and hear Him speak to us - through His Word, through prayer, through others.
Satan is a deceiver. Our flesh leans toward sin. And Satan and our flesh will lie to us.
As we read this passage, note how Satan uses innuendo, snide remarks about God, to deceive Eve and Adam to think God is selling them short, lying to them, when in reality, Satan is deceiving them into giving up their pure relationship with God with the false promise of getting something better than that. There is nothing better than a pure relationship with God through Jesus. And Satan uses the very fruit God says that Adam and Eve cannot have...
Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden,
We have the serpent,
Who approaches the woman, not the man, who we will see is right there the whole time.
He asks Eve a question that also questions the veracity of God but does not quote God correctly: “Did God actually say, “You shall not eat of any tree in the garden?”
Eve starts well by correctly saying, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden,” but she then says...
but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
So Eve is right about eating the fruit of the trees of the garden, but of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, you shall not of its fruit, that part is correct.
What she adds that God did not say, “neither shall you touch it lest you die.” Now, all through this Adam remains silent. Is it possible that Adam added that last line to ensure they would not disobey God? Or did Eve add that? This is not overly important, but it is important for us to be sure we accurately understand what God says.
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The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
We should note that only Adam is present when God gives this commandment. It is straight forward - “do not eat of it for when you do you will surely die.”
we see that Eve is able to answer so either God said this commandment to her or Adam told her. In telling her, did Adam add something? Or did Eve add it. Regardless, God was straight forward and declared they were not to eat of it.
And we see the serpent lying again to Eve by saying, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
Let’s finish the story...
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
Satan lied - for though they may live hundreds of years, Adam and Eve do die physically eventually.
They do die spiritually - for knowing of good and evil, they realize their nakedness. They also realize their sin of disobeying God, and their relationship with God is broken.
Notice in this story, there is a serpent and a tree.
Sin occurs because the serpent deceives Adam and Eve, yet they are responsible for their sin.
They knew what God had said, and they still ate of the forbidden fruit.
Adam and Eve desired the fruit tree. They decided to do what they wanted and ate the forbidden fruit.Serpent (sin)
The tree could be seen as the Tree of Judgment for it enables the one who eats of its fruit to discern good and evil.
Indeed, Adam and Eve after eating it know they are naked, and we see they are aware of their disobedience for they hide when God comes.
I wonder if Adam and Eve had already tired of the other sources of Food – obviously not satisfied with the available food (missing the extreme value of their direct relationship with God)
Disobedience
Man did not do his job to keep the garden, including Eve.
Eve did not look to her husband, rather did the talking with the serpent. (she wasn’t a help mate)
Neither of them called on God for help, for clarification or direction.
Both Adam and Eve sin against God and
Their Relationship with God broken
Now Man is under the influence of sin (serpent)
Out of Eden into the World.
What does this new world look like?
The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.”
This is the exact phrase God uses in his judgment of Eve:
To the woman he said, “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.”
Sin desires us, not for good, but to consume us.
-----
Let us fast forward through some key events...
New scene – Patriarchs
Israel to Egypt saved by favored son, Joseph
Egypt forgets Joseph
Israel becomes slaves in Egypt (a picture of Man enslaved by sin)
God uses Moses to deliver Israel out of Egypt
Crossing the Red Sea (delivered from Egypt (sin?)
They set out from Elim, and all the congregation of the people of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had departed from the land of Egypt. And the whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, and the people of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”
40 years in desert – various rebellion against Moses, Aaron, God
As the 40 years come to a close, in Numbers we see Miriam die, then Moses strikes the rock for water, dishonoring God and losing his opportunity to go into the Promised Land, and then the death of Aaron. Then we see the following - and remember for 40 years, God continued to feed them manna and do wonders...
Numbers 21:4–9 (ESV)
From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.” Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.
Notice they are impatient and speak against God and Moses.
Notice they lie - they had manna for food. They may have had little water, but God provided that before. They call the food from God’s hand, manna, worthless!
like our Genesis story of the fall, we have serpents (plural) as a judgment on the people’s grumbling - lack of faith or trust in God.
The result of God’s judgment that many people die. SO the survivors beseech Moses saying “We have sinned and spoken against the LORD and against you.”
This is an honest confession - they then ask Moses to pray to the Lord to remove the serpents.
But what does God tell Moses to do? He makes a bronze serpent, puts it on a pole.
What did the people ask Moses to ask God for? Take the serpents away.
Notice what God did:
And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.”
This picture is what Jesus would do
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
But did the people learn this lesson - for their long 40 years - they rebelled against Moses, Aaron, and God. They grumbled and complained. Despite all they saw God do in Egypt and HIs mercy towards them despite all that happened.
So in their sin God gives them an example of how he will ultimately deal with their sin - and our sin as well.
What was the source of their complaining that led to God sending the serpents as a judgment?
From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.”
Let’s turn to our text.
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.
In Jesus we have the spiritual answer that too often we do not even realize we are trying to satisfy.
Like the Israelites, we complain, speak against God, grumble about the lousy food, or act like we have had nothing - but the reality is our relationship with God has been broken since we were born because we want our way, and indeed, without God intervening in our life, we would never get it.
God will use events, situations, God’s Word, other people to help us see the light - but it is always God who gives us a new heart and right spirit to begin to see and hear the spiritual truths we need to know.
Jesus is the bread of life, the very Word of God on which we live.
Jesus is the bread of life, the very Word of God on which we live.
But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe.
Jesus has authoritatively spoken God’s Word and many hung on His words.
Jesus did many miracles that were the evidence that what He said was true, and who He was.
Yet they did not believe.
All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.
Notice that
The Father gives Jesus to Whom He wills, but those the Father gives will come to Jesus.
The Father gives Jesus to Whom He wills, but those the Father gives will come to Jesus.
Jesus also said that only those whom the Father draws will come to Jesus.
In this line we see both God’s work (God calls us, draws us to Jesus)
but those the Father gives will come to Him - we will choose Jesus.
And do you see this beautiful promise:
Whoever comes to Jesus, Jesus will NEVER cast out.
Whoever comes to Jesus, Jesus will NEVER cast out.
What a beautiful promise.
Ask the Father to show you Jesus.
For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
Friend, if you do not know Jesus, ask the Father to begin drawing you to Him, to help you see who Jesus is.
Notice, Jesus came to earth not to do His will, but the will of the Father Who sent him.
This is the will of the Father - that Jesus should lose none of all that the Father has given Him.
Indeed it is the will of the Father is that everyone who looks on Jesus and believes in Him should have eternal life.
let me repeat that,
The will of the Father is that everyone who looks on Jesus and believes in Him should have eternal life.
The will of the Father is that everyone who looks on Jesus and believes in Him should have eternal life.
This is what the Father desires - that everyone who looks on Jesus and believes in Jesus has (present active) eternal life!
The last piece of this hope we have in Jesus is this:
Jesus will raise those who believe in Jesus on the last day!
Jesus will raise those who believe in Jesus on the last day!
Jesus will (future active)
What will you do to improve how you are feeding off Jesus today?
What will you do to improve how you are feeding off Jesus today?
Worship through Communion
Worship through Communion
In Christ’s Remembrance
Christ’s Condescension
As we remember what Christ has done for us, one thing to consider before we share in this communion, is to consider the extremes of Who Jesus Is and for whom He died for.
Our Savior was with God and Is God from the Beginning. He humbled Himself to live as we do yet never sinned.
He Who is Life died for the dead that they may gain life.
Jesus, sinless died for the sinner;
The Just for the unjust, the Creator for His created;
The Light for the dark that they may come into His Light,
Truth for the liar, the deceitful and the hypocrite that they may receive and know the Truth.
The Eternal died that the mortal may gain eternity;
The Loving Father crushes His Only Beloved Son to reconcile with rebellious sinful man.
The love of the Father and Son reached from eternity down into mortality
To defeat sin, death and the devil that you and I may share in the unity and love of the Godhead for eternity.
We were dead, lost and already condemned.
We could do nothing to get reconciled with our Loving Creator.
The Father devised the plan. The Son carried it out through the Holy Spirit– being both the means of salvation and the example for us to follow.
The Father, Son, and Spirit Who only knew eternal communion of perfect love experienced the break as the Son became sin and was crushed by the Father to pay your debt and mine.
Take a moment to remember the eternal distance that our Triune God went
to reconcile us to Himself
as you prepare your hearts for communion.
Music When I Survey The Wondrous Cross (O Waly Waly)
Music When I Survey The Wondrous Cross (O Waly Waly)
Closing Hymn All I have is Christ
Closing Hymn All I have is Christ
Blessing
Blessing
Romans 15:13 May the God of Hope Fill You
May sing “Ru-ach” before reading this verse:
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.
NOTES
John 6:35-40 35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. 36 But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
Observation: Here is another “I am” statement from Jesus. Here, Jesus declares He is the bread of life. Those who “feed” off Jesus will never die. Notice that only the people the Father gives Jesus will come to Jesus and Jesus will never cast them out. Jesus came only to do the Father’s will. The Father’s will is that Jesus would lose none of those the Father gave them, and to raise them up at the last day. For the will of the Father is that all who look on the Son and believes Him, will have eternal life. However, Jesus notes earlier that these people do not believe in Him.
Application: We see this process of salvation begins with the Father bring those He chooses to the Son. Those the Son receives will not fall away. Indeed, these the Father gives will believe in Jesus unto eternal life. Those the Father gives Jesus are secure in the hands of Jesus and Jesus will lift them up on the last day. What a promise. For those the Father gives Jesus believe in the Son and are secure in their faith in Jesus. This is good news on two fronts. Our salvation is totally determined by God, and we need to be obedient and believe in Jesus. Then salvation will come to us through Jesus. If you do not know Jesus as your Lord and Leader of Your life, ask the Father to show You this. The Father loves you and desires that You would know Him through Jesus.
Prayer: Thank You Heavenly Father, Who caused me to be born again (1 Peter 1:3) to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Jesus, You are the Bread of Life. Holy Spirit, reveal to me the truth of God’s Word as I read it. Give me a heart that feels as the heart of the Father. What brings joy to the Father, let that bring me joy. What breaks the heart of the Father, let that break my heart. Help me grow into greater conformity into the image of Jesus for the glory of my Steadfast Loving Triune God, amen. 20200119
Numbers 21:4-9 - 4 From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. 5 And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.” 6 Then the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. 7 And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you. Pray to the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. 8 And the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.
Observation: Again, the Israelites grumble against God and Moses because they became impatient (or short). Their complaint? Again, there is no food except for the manna, which they consider worthless. God sends poisonous snakes into their midst, which were deadly. People are bitten and begin to die. The people repent, turning to Moses to intercede for them; which Moses does. The people prayed that God would remove the snakes. But God does not remove the snakes. Rather, God has Moses create a bronze snake and put it on a post for all to see. So if anyone was bit by a snake, they could look onto the bronze image and live.
Application: When we are faced with trials or suffering, we ask God to remove the source of the trial or suffering. But God did not remove the serpents as the people requested. No, God made a bronze image of the snakes that were biting people. Why would God not remove the serpents? It was to be a reminder to the people the easiness with which they would speak against God. It was reminding them of their sin nature, and when the temptation would come to speak against God, the presence of the serpents would remind them of the impending judgment. This is a picture of sin in our life. God did not remove the sin, but provided a substitute sacrifice: His Son, Jesus Christ. There is nothing we can do to save ourselves but to look onto the cross to the One Who became sin to save us from God’s wrath. All we can do is to look at Jesus on the cross and believe that God forgives us from our sins through Christ’s work. But our faith includes following Jesus knowing what Jesus has done for us. This bronze serpent story can also help explain why God may not remove the trials we face, or the suffering we must endure. God may be using our trials and suffering to help us conform into the image of Jesus, help us learn our total dependence on God, and also to help us learn that His grace is sufficient for us. God may be preparing us to help others who suffer similar trials. Regardless whether God removes the trial or not, God loves us and enables us to stand with Him, as long as we keep our eyes, our faith on Him.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for the gift of Jesus Who willingly suffered and died for my sin. Holy Spirit, give me a heart that follows and endures for the sake of Christ. Remind me that the suffering You allow in my life, O Lord, is not because You hate me, but rather You love me and have a plan for my life. Enable me to always seek Your face and have Your eternal perspective in mind. Thank You for loving me enough to discipline me, amen. 20190120
Genesis 3:1-6 - Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made.
He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when 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, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
Observation: The Serpent was more crafty – this is Satan in the flesh. Notice how he works. He forces Eve and Adam (who is there – verse six) to question what God did say. Eve replies, though in error. Her error was adding to God’s directive, “ and not touch it.” Adam does not correct her, and of course the serpent would not either. The serpent responds with a lie – “You surely will not die.” Now, they do not die physically, but spiritually. Their relationship with God dies with eating, so the serpent is telling a partial truth. Adam and Eve were created in God’s image, yet Satan says they will be like God if they eat of this fruit. This desire to be like God is the very sin that Satan had (see Isaiah 14:13-14) and yet is his downfall. Yet this appears to be the bait and hook that deceives Eve. Finally notice, that it appears that Adam was right there with Eve through this encounter. Adam fails in protecting Eve, himself, the garden and even God’s honor by allowing the serpent to lie, deceive and tempt them. As wrong as the serpent is, he is acting according to his nature – Adam willingly goes along leading the way to disobedience.
Application: We live in a fallen world. And in truth, if we are born-again, we are to be dead to ourselves through Christ (Galatians 2:20). Yet we still live with our flesh and in this fallen world. Temptations will come. The temptation is not the sin. Where we ere too easily, we are not quick to shut down the temptation – whether we counter the temptation with God’s Word (Matthew 4:1-11); run from it (Genesis 39:7-12; 1 Corinthians 10:14); or call on the LORD for a way out (1 Corinthians 10:13; Romans 10:13). Beware of partial truths, lies about the Lord and His ways. Just as Satan used his own desire to trap Adam and Eve, so too, the world will want you to accept their sinful ways. Do not buy into it. We are to love the sinner and hate sin. The challenge for us is to be in the world and not of it. As a believer, greater is He Who is in us than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4). So stand firm in the faith for the Spirit of God will enable the one who stands firm (or runs from temptation) in the faith.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, by Your Holy Spirit, and the strength of Your Word, enable me to know when to use Your Word against temptation and when to run. Father, I am weak, and without the empowerment of Your Spirit, I will fail in the faith. O Father God, I want to conform increasingly into the image of Jesus. Help me to do so, and when temptation comes, help me see Your way out, that You will find me faithful, my witness untarnished, and to be a clean instrument to be used for Your purposes and Your glory alone, amen. 20200723
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Ge 3:1–7). (2016). Crossway Bibles.
PASSAGES
Genesis 3:1-2
Genesis 3:3-5
Genesis 2:15-17
Genesis 3:6-7
Genesis 4:6-7
Genesis 3:16
Exodus 16:1-3
Numbers 21:4-9
Numbers 21:8
John 3:14-15
Deuteronomy 8:3
Numbers 21:4-5
John 6:35
SLIDE: Jesus is the bread of life, the very Word of God on which we live.
John 6:36
John 6:37
Slide: The Father gives Jesus to Whom He wills, but those the Father gives will come to Jesus.
Slide: Whoever comes to Jesus, Jesus will NEVER cast out.
John 6:38-40
Slide: The will of the Father is that everyone who looks on Jesus and believes in Him should have eternal life.
Slide: Jesus will raise those who believe in Jesus on the last day!
Slide: What will you do to improve how you are feeding off Jesus today?