Christian Maturity Part 3
Notes
Transcript
15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.
16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat;
17 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.”
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.
7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.
Don’t Be Deceived
Don’t Be Deceived
Don’t be Deceived “Maturity Starts with Obedience”
Don’t be Deceived “Maturity Starts with Obedience”
What does the term cunning mean?
What does the term cunning mean?
To be cunning can be positive
To be cunning can be positive
The positive Hebrew word ḥākhām
++Wise
++Discreet
3 But Amnon had a friend whose name was Jonadab the son of Shimeah, David’s brother. Now Jonadab was a very crafty man.
The Hebrew word is ‛ormāh
++Prudent
++Careful
4 To give prudence to the simple, To the young man knowledge and discretion—
To be cunning can also be negative
To be cunning can also be negative
Negative Hebrew words include
++‛ārūm- to be crafty (Genesis 3:1)
++mirmāh, nākhal- to deceit or fraud (Genesis 27:35,Ps 105:25)
++nāçar -to be watchful or guarded (Prov 7:10)
++‘oḳebhāh-deceit or treachery (2 K 10:19)
The Serpent is a perfect description of Satan’s deceitful character.
The Serpent is a perfect description of Satan’s deceitful character.
When Satan Speaks
++Often sounds good
++Often makes sense
++It is always a lie
14 And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.
44 You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.
Don’t be deceived “Know our enemy”
Don’t be deceived “Know our enemy”
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
Our enemy
++Is not a lion
++Walks like one
++Just pretending
He is unprepared to handle
++The sober minded
++The vigilant
Our enemy is not to be feared
Our enemy is not to be feared
4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
Though
++Little children
++Without power
++Without influence
3 and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.
You are of God
++Belong to Him
++You are chosen by God
28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.
29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand.
You are of God
++Belong to Him
++You are chosen by God
++The greater one is on the inside
Our enemy is not to be fought
Our enemy is not to be fought
47 Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands.”
This doesn’t mean
++There will be no trouble
++There will be no pain
++There will be no disappointment
This too shall pass
This too shall pass
17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory,
Our light affliction
++Is just for a moment
++Is working for us
++Reveals a greater glory
Our enemy is to be fired
Our enemy is to be fired
16 Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?
We fire him by choosing Christ
We fire him by choosing Christ
20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
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.
When Eve
++Saw the tree was good
++Saw it was pleasant to the eye
++Saw a means to make her wise
++They took of it an ate it.
It was an inside job
++To distract them
++To remove them
++To undermine their identity and purpose
Be careful little eyes what you see
Everything that glitters in not gold
16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.
We fire him by trusting God
We fire him by trusting God
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;
6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.
They trusted the lie
They trusted the lie
7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.
Now they saw differently
Now they saw differently
They lost their connection
++To the world
++To one another
++To God
But God
But God
4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
God
++Is rich in mercy to us
++Is great in love for us
++Has given us new life through Christ
13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.
13 for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.
Don’t be deceived “Fight the right fight”
Don’t be deceived “Fight the right fight”
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Obedience is the Key element of Spiritual Maturity.
++It says I am responsible to God for my actions.
++I have a choice.
++I can choose to do what is right.
8 though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.
We must submit our will to God before His will can be done in our life.
We must submit our will to God before His will can be done in our life.
Christian Maturity is developed one obedient action at a time.
Christian Maturity is developed one obedient action at a time.