Gen #4

Northside Church

Gen #4

Jamey Mills

10/12/23

Good MORNING Northside… My name is Jamey Mills, I’m the lead pastor here at Northside. It’s always good to be with you guys.

We are in our 4th week of our series on Genesis… Bringing order from chaos…

And we’ve talked about

How starting with God matters…

How understanding Genesis well will impact the way we interpret the rest of the bible… relationships, morality,

God gives us foundational truth in Genesis… that he will unpack throughout the rest of the Bible.

We’ve talked about how the trinity was there at creation

How Genesis repeatedly points to Jesus

How God created all there is… in 6 days

We talked about God’s intentional design for humanity…

Gender, sex marriage

And Sabbath rest… beginning part of ch 2…

Summary of Gen 2…

God formed man from the ground, breathed the breath of life into him.

Similar language… when Jesus sends out the disciples… and breathes the holy spirit into them… Jn 20:22

God planted a garden in the East… called Eden… that world has to do with paradise, gladness, and favorable circumstances… and the idea you get is that this is a special place that God would dwell with humanity… it was beautiful… a place of privilege… and a place where they’d enjoy God’s presence… this special relationship with Him.

It talks about how a river flowed out of Eden and then broke into 4…

Pishon, Gihon, Tigris, and Euphrates…

Several authors talk about this symbolizing life and value that flow out of Eden, this place where God dwells with humanity…

Eden was special… a place where humanity would live in God’s favor and presence.

It says that God put all kinds of trees in Eden… that were beautiful and had what sounds like the best fruit imaginable… and right there in the middle of the garden… God put two trees…

Tree of life

Tree of the knowledge of good and evil

God told Adam… they’re all for you. Look around… all of these trees you can eat from but this one… which was the knowledge of good and evil…

And for the first time in creation God says something is not good…

That it’s not good for man to be alone… and so God took a rib from Adam and made Eve… another picture of God’s design that male and female go side by side…

Adam was super excited… Finally… bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh…

It goes on to say that's why a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife and the two are united into ONE…

Into ONE… that is so important… more on that later…

But God introduces marriage… Adam and Eve are married… and God tells them what it will look like moving forward…

Genesis 3:1–5 NLT

The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?” “Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’ ” “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”

The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the LORD God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?” 2 “Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. 3 “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’ ” 4 “You won’t die!” (God’s lying to you, holding you back) the serpent replied to the woman. 5 “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”

This passage is more important than we might think…

Man and Women…recently married… enjoying paradise… the favor and fellowship of God in the garden when the serpent shows up…

And we know that’s Satan… there is all kinds of bad and dangerous theology out there that would suggest that Satan and hell are not real… Satan would love for you to think that.

2 things I’d say to that would be…

That’s not what the Bible teaches…the other is… The Bible teaches that there is a very real and deadly serious advisory to God, His people, His truth and God’s design.

How could anyone look at the state of the world we are in… and suggest there is not an enemy to what is good and right and true.

The Bible tells us that Satan was an angel that rebelled against God… he was proud, not humble… didn't not want to be under God and so he was cast out of heaven and has been recruiting, lying and destroying ever since. The bible is clear and it’s obvious… that Satan is effective… has incredible influence in the world.

The Bible calls him the evil one, the serpent, the dragon, a ravenous lion seeking to kill you, a thief, the father of all lies, the enemy of God…

And we can be sure that if we are walking in relationship with God he is an enemy of yours too.

God says he’s crafty… cunning, shrewd and subtil in a bad sense…

Satan and his demons seek to destroy you, God’s design, and what God cherishes most… which I believe is humanity… He wants to destroy God’s image that was created in you… which is your identity.

That’s what we see happening in Genesis 3.

One author said it like this…

“Satan’s attacks always start with our identity”

… when we know who we are, we often have a better feel for what to do and the moment you forget… all bets are off”.

Not at all surprised… that in this fallen world… you hear it everywhere… people trying to find “identity” in careers, in sex, in desires, in themselves… Forgetting who God created us to be… based on the design and declaration of creator God…

Satan caused her to question

Who God is?

what God actually said?

Who she really is to Him.

… in incredibly deceptive ways…

If God loved you… why is He withholding from you… keeping you from what you want?

If you do this, your eyes will be open… you will have a higher level of consciousness… you will be like God… you will decide what is right and wrong… you won’t need God…

And that should sound familiar… this “open eyes” that Satan is talking about sounds a lot like “woke” in our day. That we should be the judge… that we know better than God. Having our eyes opened… a twisted view of justice and truth.

God has designed an unjust world… and you are a victim.

Eve found herself questioning God, what God said, and who she is and it reminds me of \

5 traps we fall into with God’s Word…

1. Remove from it.

2. Add to it…

3. Reject it completely.

4. Revise it/reading our agenda into it.

5. Not making the effort to understand it

One way this is lived out is assuming that just because it's mentioned in the bible… It must mean God is good with it.

Genesis 3:6–13 NLT

The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves. When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees. Then the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” He replied, “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.” “Who told you that you were naked?” the Lord God asked. “Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?” The man replied, “It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.” Then the Lord God asked the woman, “What have you done?” “The serpent deceived me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.”

6 The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. 7 At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves. 8 When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the LORD God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the LORD God among the trees. 9 Then the LORD God called to the man, “Where are you?” 10 He replied, “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.” 11 “Who told you that you were naked?” the LORD God asked. “Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man replied, “It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.” 13 Then the LORD God asked the woman, “What have you done?” “The serpent deceived me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.”

So interesting…

Those two trees represent life and death…

And literally… we didn't even get two pages in and humanity has messed it up. Could have had anything… literally anything else… and they chose death.

And so sin enters the world… and it's big. We deal with it to this day. It’s referred to as the fall… and it’s important to get this… right away…

Sin is more than just something we do. Sin is relational.

It’s a breach or brokenness in relationship… that impacts our relationship to God, others, and ourselves… All three.

It says she was convinced…

After listening to Satan… and her own temptation… it looked good, it was desirable, and she wanted what she thought it would deliver…

So Eve ate it and gave it to Adam…

And you can almost hear their surprise when it didn't

Sin did not deliver what they thought that it would, instead of freedom they found shame and captivity.

My personal belief is that shame is not necessarily bad…It can move us in a few different ways…

shame can move us in three ways…

To initiate. To run to God.

To isolate. To run/hide from God.

To disassociate. Disconnect/reject. Justify and rebel.

It initiates- it can cause us to run to God

Isolates - to hide… avoid

Disassociates - disconnect from someone… completely. Hard heart.

And while there are consequences for sin either way, the outcome… our experience is drastically impacted by whatever path we chose.

The interesting thing is…

The longer we choose isolation the more defensive we become.

… the harder it gets for us to acknowledge sin and find restoration in Him. The harder our heart becomes.. The more we disassociate.

They ended up covering up and hiding from God… replacing intimacy with Him for fig leaves… wanting to be unknown… it hindered their relationship with God… even though it was their breach… it caused them to question God… and who they were in Him. Would God still love me… the image of God in them was blurred by sin…

And we do that even today… medicate with drugs, money, sex, lying, trying to change our identity… and even my remaining on the fringe with God’s church… staying… unknown.

Sin is relational.

And so if you are carrying things… if you are bound by sin, guilt, and shame… you need to know there is a freedom from it… that comes with being known by God…

DO NOT wait… after service… I and others will be in the back…

We see something else interesting in God’s design here.

Who ate from the tree? Eve

Who did God confront? Adam

God confronted Adam… and Adam threw the red flag… lets review… I didn't do it… I didnt even pick her… you put her here, I am a victim.

Then God asked Eve… and her response was literally the devil made me do it…

In Genesis… God reveals His creation and design and then expounds on it throughout scripture… and one thing we see here and in other places is this…

Whether we like it or not…

God seems to give some sort of leadership role to men… and in our culture, it's gotten a bad rap… maybe… at least sometimes for good reason.

Some of it comes from a really bad understanding of what scripture says…

Leadership is not about being a bully or a boss… It’s not about demanding your own way. In fact in Gen 2… when God says the two become one… is one of the most powerful statements in scripture about God’s design here…

Biblically speaking…

The leadership that God calls husbands to is best exemplified in Jesus’ leadership.

It involves a lot of things but it starts with this idea of servant leadership…

I think that's what it means in

Ephesians 5:23 (NLT)

Ephesians 5:23 NLT

For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of his body, the church.

23 For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of his body, the church.

Ephesians 5:25 (NLT)

Ephesians 5:25 NLT

For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her

25 For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her

God created male and female in HIS image… together, they bear a fuller picture of His image… they are equal… but distinct. Men and women are obviously different…

Today we hear about toxic masculinity…

And at times it feels like there is an outright rejection when it comes to the way that God designed women… Who? who has snuck in and told you that the role or the value of a woman within the design of creation is secondary? Who has told you that it's less and why would anyone believe it? The leadership that God has designed for men to carry was never intended to be a thorn in your side, but an honor and a blessing.

Men, we also see something incredibly important…

One author said it like this…

There are sins of omission and commission.

and we see them both here.

Eve’s was commission… she did it.

Adam’s was omission… leaving something undone…

Did you notice where Adam was when Satan tempted eve? Right by her side.

Adam's sin involved not leading the way that Jesus would. He could have put his arm around Eve and said honey, we're out, he could have stepped in between the serpent and Eve and got involved… But he became a spectator.

Three examples we see when it comes to men leading today…

Lion

Lamb

Lion\lamb

I cannot tell you how important I think this is… where are you at in it.

Personally… I’ve not met a woman who would not love to have that in a man.

Men, we are broken and won’t always get it right… sometimes I feel like I do exactly the opposite… and it breaks my heart… I am tough when I could be tender and I am tender when I should be tough… but I want to own that… and ask my wife and kids to pray for me…

You will see through the rest of Genesis… why this matters so much…

And possibly even why women struggle with it at times…

And we need to understand that sin comes with real consequences… it did then and it does now… consequences that impact and effect far more than just Eve and Adam… and we need to get this… your sin… will never just impact you. Often in the midst of sin, we are duped into believe it doesnt impact others… but I guarantee you it does.

For women… Vs 16

For women it seems to center around marriage and motherhood…

extreme pain in child bearing… and

The desire to control your husband… through emotions, ultimatums, withholding sex,

Sin broke and complicated the marriage relationship… any time that one seeks to dominate the other… both will lose.

For men

Seems to center around marriage and work.

Toil… the ground would produce weeds… work longer and harder to scratch a living… which… I think challenges our need for sabbath rest.

Their consequences… impacted each other… and… they faced some together.

Both were kicked out of Eden… this place that God designed for them… to enjoy God’s presence and favor… and that relationship between God and humanity was breached in ways that impact us still today. I believe the bible teaches that physical and spiritual death became a thing that day.

Sin… is huge.

This brokenness in us… that literally impacts every relationship we have…

With God… our view of Him and how we relate to Him

With others… in the way we see/treat them and relate to them. They way the see that brokenness being lived out in us.

And with ourselves… It is an attack on our very identity as people who are made in the image of God…sin blurs the image of God in us… which blurs of Him, His truth, His design, and of who we are.

We are broken people, with broken lives living in a broken world… with a broken view of truth and morality… of God and of His design.

Sin is relational… which means… repentance is too.

BEFORE we were sinners… we were image bearers…

It is your design… and it's in your DNA.

14 Then the LORD God said to the serpent,

“Because you have done this, you are cursed

more than all animals, domestic and wild.

You will crawl on your belly,

groveling in the dust as long as you live.

15 And I will cause hostility between you and the woman,

and between your offspring and her offspring.

He will strike your head,

and you will strike his heel.”

“Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree

whose fruit I commanded you not to eat,

the ground is cursed because of you.

All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it.

18 It will grow thorns and thistles for you,

though you will eat of its grains.

19 By the sweat of your brow

will you have food to eat

until you return to the ground

from which you were made.

For you were made from dust,

and to dust you will return.”

Paradise Lost: God’s Judgment

20 Then the man—Adam—named his wife Eve, because she would be the mother of all who live. 21 And the LORD God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife.

22 Then the LORD God said, “Look, the human beings have become like us, knowing both good and evil. What if they reach out, take fruit from the tree of life, and eat it? Then they will live forever!” 23 So the LORD God banished them from the Garden of Eden, and he sent Adam out to cultivate the ground from which he had been made. 24 After sending them out, the LORD God stationed mighty cherubim to the east of the Garden of Eden. And he placed a flaming sword that flashed back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

Vs 15… promise of Jesus…

Conc.

Before we were sinners, we were image bearers…

What now

ENDING…

Survey… your chance

JIM…