Who Told You That? (2)
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Genesis 3:11 NKJV
PastorMic Winfrey
Mt. Hebron Missionary Baptist Church
1338 9th Street
Des Moines, IA 50314
Genesis 3:11 “And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?””
When I was around the age 14, I continued to have to use the bathroom. So I went to my mother and told her that I thought I had kidney problems . My mother quickly set up appointment for the doctor, and when I went to the doctor he ran all kinds of tests only to come back and tell me that I had diabetes . The doctor said that my blood sugar was so high that it could not be measured , and he informed me that I needed to rush to the emergency room . However, before going to Mercy Hospital I went home and spoke to mom . Like any good parent , mom tried to tell me what was really going on .
These are the very words that my mother told me, Baby, it’s okay. All they are going to do is cut your stomach open and remove all of the sugar. I was literally more terrified by mom’s explanation, than I was from the doctor’s diagnosis! Yet, 46 years later, I actually wish what mom said had been true.
Here’s a question that I need to ask mom and all of you. “Who Told You That?” Turn with me to Genesis 3:11
11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”
Many Bible readers, believers, and unbelievers have heard the story of Adam and Eve at least once in their lives. But how many o f you believe or have heard that the fall of man happened because Eve ate from an apple? If we’re completely honest and transparent this morning, most of us would have to say yes, but this apple that Hollywood somehow created has formed a place in our minds and hearts that causes us to believe that it’s true.
The Ponce Foundation states that, “Of over 2 billion Christians in the world, less than 30% will ever read through the entire Bible. The fact is over 82% of Christian Americans only read their Bibles on Sundays while in church.” This same study goes on to say these indicting facts:
A little over 20 years ago, Gallup released the results of a major study indicating that 86% of Americans claimed to be Christian, although only 70% of these admitted to being “born again” according to biblical measure.
In recent studies, the Pew research indicates that only 25% of Americans now attend church any given Sunday, significantly down from 47% in 1990.
The study also shows that, in evangelical churches throughout the United-States, statistics show 36% of those who attend church weekly indicate that believing in Jesus Christ is the only true way to Heaven.
A shocking 57% of American Christians believe other religions can lead to eternal life.
One of the main reasons why American Christians don’t read their bibles is, only 22% of them believe the Bible is fully inspired by God Himself, and written by men who were divinely appointed by the Lord almighty.
Over 1 in 4 American Christians believe the bible to be a book written by mere men, not at all the word of God.
With all of these damning statistics, I believe this is why the LORD sent me here this morning to share with you some untruths and truths about the Bible.
I just want to touch on four areas of Biblical Truth that many people don’t know or believe, so please follow along with me in your Bibles.
#1 Who Told You That About God/Jesus?
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.
One of the first mistakes that Eve did, that many of us did, was try to hold a conversation with the author of lies. Satan has been lying for thousands of years, and yet each of us think that we can have discussions with this master deceiver.
God had already told Adam and Eve that they could eat of ant tree in the Garden , accept for the Tree of Good & Evil, but the enemy was able to convince Eve that God was lying to them, keeping something from them, or just denying them of something that was rightfully theirs. But lets not be so quick to accuse and indict Eve, when each of us have or are believing the same things about our lives.
How many times have you questioned something that God said? How many times have you not believed God’s Word to be true? These same questions that we have about God and His Word, are the same things that were questioned in the new testament with Jesus.
In Matthew 16:13-19
13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”
17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
Too many of us have no clue of who Jesus is, and the above text reminds us that the only way we can know anything about God/Jesus is through the Holy Spirit.
#2 Who Told You That About Salvation?
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
Many believers have been mis-taught about Salvation. Many people believe that they can work for it, earn it, or lose it. Yet, Paul told the Ephesians and us, that Salvation comes only though Jesus and that it is a gift from God. Before Jesus was crucified and left earth, He said these words to His disciples: JOHN 14:5-6
5 Thomas said to Him, Lord, we do not know where You are going, so how can we know the way?
6 Jesus said to him, I am the Way and the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except by (through) Me.
#3 Who Told You That About Forgiveness?
It’s truly baffles me how Christians say things like, “I’ll forgive you, but I won’ forget.” I’ll forgive her, but I’ll feed her with a ten foot spoon.” Or, “I just can’t forgive that!” No matter what the statements we have heard or said ourselves, none of them line up with what the Bible has to say about forgiveness.
Let’s take a look at somethings that the Bible teaches about this thing called forgiveness. Micah 7:19
Micah 7:19 (NKJV)
19 He will again have compassion on us,
And will subdue our iniquities.
You will cast all our sins
Into the depths of the sea.
18 “Come now, and let us reason together,”
Says the Lord,
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
They shall be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They shall be as wool.
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far he removes our transgressions from us.
These Old Testaments Scriptures remind us about how God not only feels about forgiveness, but how He applies it to our lives. No, God doesn’t have spiritual amnesia , but He refuses to use our sins against us!Now lets turn to a few New Testament passages:
32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.
25 “And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.
15 But if you do not forgive others their trespasses [their reckless and willful sins, leaving them, letting them go, and giving up resentment], neither will your Father forgive you your trespasses.
21 Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.
And finally, 1 John 1:9 says,
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
There are numerous more passages that deal with forgiveness, but simply put, forgiveness should not be an option for any of us! Forgiveness is like cancer, it hides below the surface, but ultimately it will kill our witness if we don’t deal with it. Who Told You That About God/Jesus? Who Told You That ABout Salvation? Who Told You That About Forgiveness, and finally...
#4 Who Told You That About Love?
One of the most misused words in the English and Biblical language is a little four letter word called LOVE. People make statements like, “I love my Children, I love my car and house, and I love my job.” Men have been telling women that they love them so they can get what they want, and women have been telling men so they can get what they want. However, when we look at what the Bible has to say about love, we’ll find out real quick that we are doing anything but walking in anything but love!
4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.
Let me quickly break these versus down for us:
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
The Apostle Paul tells the Corinthian Church and us, that real love is not only patient and kind, but that it also does not boast and is not proud. So then we must ask ourselves, is the love that we give and get lining up with these traits?
5 It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God’s love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong].
The Amplified version of verse 5 lets us know clearly what love is not. Paul states that this kind of love comes from God, and is in every believer, but the question is, can others see it?
6 rejoiceth not in unrighteousness, but rejoiceth with the truth;
Verse six states that love does not rejoice rejoice in unrighteousness or wrong, but actually rejoices in truth. God’s people should walk in the joy of the truth. When we know the truth and hear it from the pulpit or in the streets, we should get excited about it!
7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Are we bearing with each others shortcomings? Do we believe everything that God says about His love? Are we hopeful in spite of how things look or seem? And finally, are we able to endure, even when things are not going our way?
1 Corinthians 13:8 (NKJV)
8 Love never fails.
From verse four to verse eight, we quickly learn what the Bible says love is and love ain’t. You see, it was love that brought Jesus from heaven to earth. It was love, that caused Him to be beaten, bruised, and battered. It was love that caused Him to take 39 stripes, a crown of thorns on His head, and to be poked in the side. It was love that caused Jesus to take a nail in each hand and in each foot. It was love that caused Him to give up the ghost and to be placed in a borrowed tomb. It was love that caused Him to stay in the grave all night Friday, and all night Saturday. But the grreatest expression of love that all mankind received was early Sunday morning, when Jesus got up from the grave and went to prepare a place for you and I!
