Lie: You Only Live Once

Needed Info:

My name is Zach Wells (college resident)

Missing announcements:

ET Informational

Transitions…

Pray

Pray for themselves

Introduction:

Stupid YOLO Story (trying out for HS baseball)

Might as well try even though it’s a dumb idea

The reasoning for this story is this stupid lie that people have bought into light recently and have given it a certain title: You only live once (a ton of us have so many YOLO stories ~ btw does anyone have one they want to share, and a lot of them have serious consequences not my silly consequence from my story)

And the enemy wants you to believe this lie that you only live once

This lie simply leads you to live a life of dumb near-sided decisions

I always found it weird when people are proud of their yolo moments, because really it does just display our sinful minds that are bent on evil and the temporary

We have been walking through this series we are calling “theology of the devil”

The end goal of this series isn’t just to understand our enemy better though - it is to know his tactics so we might understand our God more rightly and the glory He is due

This week we are dismantling the lie: YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE

Main Passage:

Genesis 3:1–7 (CSB)

Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You can’t eat from any tree in the garden’?”

The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit from the trees in the garden. But about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God said, ‘You must not eat it or touch it, or you will die.’ ”

(Genesis 2:16–17 “And the Lord God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree of the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die.”” )

V.4 “No! You will certainly not die,” the serpent said to the woman. “In fact, God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” The woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

The trap here by the enemy is a distraction from the eternal

Obviously before sin entered the cosmos humans and God were in perfect union without the understanding of what death was, but God was very clear in Gen 2, that if you eat from this certain tree that day you will certainly die and in the spiritual sense they sure did (sin and death entered the cosmos)

Explain the distraction (off of death and on to the concept of “life”)

This trap of the enemy is still at play now-

Get your mind off of death, focus on the pleasures of this life that God supplies through common grace

Sin is fundamentally stupid.  Satan tries to get you to make the most of time by wasting it.  And it is really easy to do so.  Because of our actions and choices we are daily choosing little pieces of death.

look at your screen time

The Netflix warning (are you still watching?)

Tik Tok (It is time for you to take a break)

Todays Message is wrapped up in this statement

You either live once and die twice, or you live twice and die once

You Only Live Once is stupid in that is risks implying that you will never die.

That is why bucket lists are funny…for someone trying to get things done before you die, you are doing a lot to try to kill yourself

The thought of YOLO is wrapped up in “no regrets” and so this lie gives into indulgence and is self-centered and self willed

You try to define what living life to the fullest looks like when you live with this YOLO, no regrets mindset

Are you going to trust the Author of life or your drawn up version of life in your futile brain?

Here is what this ultimately leads to: God’s judgement of all your choices and decisions (nothing is hidden from the eyes of God)

Hebrews 9:27 “And just as it is appointed for people to die once—and after this, judgment—”

Ecclesiastes 11:9 “Rejoice, young person, while you are young, and let your heart be glad in the days of your youth. And walk in the ways of your heart and in the desire of your eyes; but know that for all of these things God will bring you to judgment.”

Satan would love for you to spend this life as if that’s all there is. He wants you to not think about death at all. He loves to function in fear, making you think you are missing out (FOMO). “You only live once” and it might as well be forever in disobedience.

FOMO drives your YOLO (you often lean into stupidity when you want to fit into the world or others’ opinions)

Eph 5:15-17 – Be mindful (this is eternal…) Ephesians 5:15–17 “Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk—not as unwise people but as wise—making the most of the time, because the days are evil. So don’t be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.”

And this is why Jesus point aggressively to Judgement in Matt 10:28. He is saying that dying isn’t the worst thing that can happen. The “2nd death” (eternal death) is far worse and Satan is doing everything he can to get you to not think about it.

What do we do with all of this? How can we be mindful of the eternal?

-John 3:3 “Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, unless someone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.””

Romans 6:8 “Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him,”

Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

2 Timothy 2:11–13 “This saying is trustworthy: For if we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he will also deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself.”

Colossians 3:1–4 “So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”

These verses point to getting your mind off of the earth and on to the eternal things but here is the intriguing part about this chapter…

Paul begins to show by the guidance of the Holy Spirit, that your new identity in Christ (v.1-4) pushes you to live differently in this life (to be a declaration of the Gospel to ALL people

V5-11: put off these things because of God’s wrath and judgment as we talked about earlier

V12-17: Talks about what you should be replacing these wordly thoughts, desires, and actions with-

Compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience…

Above ALL, put on love

Let the Word of Christ dwell RICHLY among you…

When you get your mind on the eternal, on the things that matter, the way you live your life and interact with others WILL CHANGE for the glory of God

Even Jesus worked to get the disciples minds off the temporary. The goal isn’t earthly satisfaction. Jesus didn’t die on a cross simply for you to be comfortable with money, the house you’ve always dreamed of, the plan you’ve wrote out for your life because if He did, He would’ve come to overthrow the government and give His people earthly comfort.

(Mark 8:36 “For what does it benefit someone to gain the whole world and yet lose his life?” )

Conclusion: Do you think that living a life of dependence or obedience is living life to the fullest?

Be honest with yourself and if you don’t think so, bring that to the Father…

If you do, this won’t be something you just keep for yourself but something you can’t help but proclaim to all

Are you going to live once and die twice, or you live twice and die once?