Story Wars 4

Beautiful & Broken

Getting The Full Picture of Humanity

Text: Genesis 3:1-13

Introduction

We have already discovered the truth behind the origin of the mind battle. Our minds are constantly being attacked to live with a different worldview than what is revealed in holy scripture. However, we are understanding how God’s revelation is the only account of reality that fits the world we observe and experience today.

Last week’s sermon was introducing you to the main player in the Biblical narrative; God. Today, I am wanting to further introduce the second valuable player; man.

There are two opposing stories about how man originated and what he/she is heading toward. Some say we began broken and deformed and are heading to a meaningless utopia, while God’s revelation tells the complete opposite. Once again, you be the judge of what fits best in the reality around us. Don’t accepts what you want to sound right, but open your heart to accept what is right.

1) Humanity Began & Continues With Beauty

Remember these two things about man: 1) We are must like everything else that has been created; yet 2) We are unlike anything in the created world.

On the one hand we are dependent on other things for our existence, survival, and well-being.

One the other, we are the most wonder creatures in the world next to God.

Let’s clear something up that is sadly found is some Christian circles:

You are not and will never be a “little god.”

You and I did not begin as or ever will become supernatural beings.

You and I are creatures from the very beginning.

We are not all power nor all wise.

God is the one who made us and sustains us.

You and I are more than just physical bodies!

Notice Genesis 2:7 “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”

The soul is the very part of us that gives our minds and bodies direction in this life.

To deny this fact leads to “nihilism” or “nothing-ism.”

What exactly makes the beauty of humans elevate far above anything else created?

Q — Have you ever said, “She is such a beautiful person?”

Typically, what is that based on?

Could be what is seen on the outside.

Could be speaking about how caring they are (inside).

The beautify that is superficial is not what is focused on here.

The beauty that comes from a certain disposition is not to be focused here either

Our nation’s founding father’s made sure our nation acknowledged the beauty God gave humanity.

Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”

Our founding fathers did not invent this truth, THEY OBSERVED IT!

To remove the REASON (God) for these rights, you remove our RIGHTS!

There is a built-in beauty that no man or power can strip from all humanity.

Illustration: I tell our boys, “Stop acting like animals.”

You and I may have animal-like appetites, but we are restrained by a higher law.

I we follow the “matter-ism” or “mind-ism,” all of your human rights die and all that is left is power…CHAOS WILL ENSUE!

“…the pursuit of Happiness” = (Gregory Koukl) “God have us everthing we needed to be happy—that is, fulfilled, satisfied, living out all of God’s good purpose. But the most important thing God gave was Himself, that we we continually filled with joy in His presence and find sweet contentment in his provision.”

2) Humanity Became Broken

Read — Gen. 3:16-19

A. Attempts to fix our broken reality

Education

We need better schools.

Utopian society requires an improvement in our education system.

If we give proper instruction, people would be a lot nicer and do fewer stupid things.

Psychology

If everyone learned the laws of logic, people would practice better reasoning.

Poverty

Spread more wealth to everyone and people would stop stealing and stop finding evil ways to become wealthy.

There are many who are wealthy and educated who remain evil and crude.

B. Attempts to explain away our broken reality.

Right and wrong are standards civilization has developed.

Problem — Rules change from culture to culture.

What is bad for yours may be good for mine.

A terrorist in one culture may be a freedom fighter in another.

Problem — Sometimes majorities are right and sometimes they are wrong.

Abraham Lincoln, MLK, Mahatma Gandhi, Nazi and the Third Reich.

Some have attempted to pursue whatever that might take away “the feeling of guilt.”

What we need is not the feeling or guilt removed, we need the guilt itself removed!!!

Here are some popular statements:

“Nobody’s perfect”

“We’ve all messed up in some way”

“Well, I’m no Hitler”

Due to the evidence of our existence coming from a divine Creator, our standard is not man, but God.

C. God accurately explains the origin of our brokenness

There was a very real place on this earth were real rebellion broke out and plummeted humanity into darkness.

This story seems to fanciful to some: Garden, tree, idyllic orchard, forbidden fruit, talking snake, etc.

Illustration: If you told someone 500 years ago they is something called a smart phone, facebook, instagram, etc, they would think you would crazy also.

a. God made everything from and to His standard of goodness and perfection.

Q — Have you ever wanted why many of us desire for things to be as perfect as we can get them? That is the longing for the way things used to be. You have a hunger for the world to be that way again.

God put eternity in our hearts and we long for it!

God created this garden, put man and human in it and told them to conquer and explore it.

b. God gave them freedom, but with ONE restriction

God entrusted man to rule His creation with responsibility

What was it like?

No conflict, no toil, no pain, no suffering, never dissatisfied, no barriers between Adam and Eve, no barriers between them and God, they were naked and without shame.

c. An Intruder entered the garden

Satan enticed Eve with a rebellion that would allegedly bring them freedom. Instead it brought them brokenness!

It wasn’t simply that Adam and Eve disobeyed, but rather they failed to keep their deepest trust in God!!!

The Devil is the Dark Lord of this world!

He invaded God’s kingdom of light and made it into a kingdom of darkness.

Satan — Operates in secrecy, lies, accuses, entices, to ignore Him will lead to your destruction.

The earth fights back against man and man fights against man.

Women now struggle with birth pains, work became toil, anguish, pain, and death.

3) Humanity Enters Hopelessness

A. You were in the garden with Adam

Q — What is the big deal about one man’s sin in the garden? How could it affect me? I didn’t eat the fruit! Why should I suffer for what some else did?

Observation — Does everyone have a nature to lie, cheat, selfish, etc?

YOU WERE IN THE GARDEN! WE ALL WERE IN THE GARDEN!

Illustration: The ancient people understood how communities and families functioned. They lived as one unit. If they prospered or perished, they experienced it together.

Quote: (John Donne) “Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankind; And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee. No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent.”

Examples: Parents, school principals, Congress, President…

Romans 5:12 “12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:”

Romans 3:11–18 “11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. 12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. 13 Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: 14 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: 15 Their feet are swift to shed blood: 16 Destruction and misery are in their ways: 17 And the way of peace have they not known: 18 There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

We all have what is called a “depraved nature.” A nature that is full of strong tendencies to live a life of rebellion toward God. Naturally, we soon act upon that nature and enter a life of guilt of which justice must be paid!

Read Genesis 3:14–15 “14 And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: 15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.”

B. God became the only character in this narrative who could bring hope to every one of you hopeless souls! AND HE DID!!!

Galatians 4:4 “4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,”

1 John 3:8 “8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.”

John 3:16–18 “16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

Conclusion

Jesus is a name of GOOD NEWS! Humanity became hopeless, however, Jesus came bringing hope back to humanity. This hope can only be received through a complete trusting faith placed upon Jesus as the one and only Savior and surrendering your life to Him.