AVOIDING THE DECEIT OF TEMPATION

Genesis 3:1–7 NASB95

Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’ ” The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! “For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. 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 loin coverings.

A child had too many cookies one day. The mother told her kid no more that day. She put the jar on a high shelf and went off to some other activity. After some time, she realized that the house had gone silent. Now any parent knows that when kids go stealth, that’s when the real trouble begins to brew. She went to the kitchen to find her industrious child had pushed a chair to the wall, put a box on top of the chair and was reaching for the cookies. She said, Sweetheart, what are you doing. The child being churched responded, “I’m resisting temptation ma!”

I. REBELLING AGAINST GOD BREAKS YOUR CONNECTION TO THE ONE WHO DESIRES THE BEST FOR YOU.

A. Every heart struggles with rebellion.

Jeremiah 9:23 NASB95

Thus says the Lord, “Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches;

Jeremiah 9:27

Jeremiah 17:9 NASB95

“The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?

Jer 9:27

B. Although Rebellion gets aroused over many things, it really comes down to CONTROL.

II. REBELLION AGAINST GOD BRINGS A MYRIAD OF PROBLEMS.

A. A LOSS OF LOVING GUIDANCE.

B. A BREAKDOWN OF RELATIONSHIPS. (Finger pointing and blaming).

C. INNOCENCE DEFILED.

D. GUILTY CONSCIENCE.

E. SPREADING THE INFECTION. ()

There is a story of a man who restored a Model T Ford some years ago. He loved to take it to car shows. He knew quite a bit about the vehicle and could show people each part and how he restored it. But one day it broke down on the side of a road.  Now this man carried tools, so he went to work.  He tried different things and each time he went back to try and crank the engine, it still wouldn't start.  Now, like a lot of guys, he was a little stubborn, so rather than call for help, he continued to work.  He tried different things and still nothing.  The car just wouldn't start. 

A few minutes later a large limousine pulled up beside him.  Out stepped an old man who just stood and watched him for a few minutes.  Finally the old man looked at him and told the younger guy to adjust a specific part on the engine. 

The guy figured he tried most other things so he might as well give this a shot even though there was no way this old guy could know more about this car than him.  So he adjusted the part, got in the car and sure enough, the engine cranked to life.  He was surprised and asked the old man, "How did you know what to do?"  The old man said, "My name is Henry Ford and I invented this car."

III. TRUSTING GOD BRINGS WONDERFUL RESULTS.

A. A GRATEFUL OUTLOOK ON LIFE. (COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS).

B. FREEDOM FROM A CONDEMNING CONSCIOUS.

C. RELEASE FROM THE CONTROL OF SIN. You can choose.

D. RESTORED RELATIONSHIPS.

1. The boy who led his father to church

“They used to call me ‘king’ in our community since I was the king of bad news,” explains 34-year-old Joey from the Philippines. “If someone needed drugs, to hurt someone or protection, they came to me.”

10 years ago, Joey was involved in the murder of a local security guard. Although he was convicted, Joey was released on long-term bail and it was then that he met his wife Ritchelle.

When Ritchelle gave birth to their first son Hurley, Joey was determined to change his ways. “I tried to change little by little,” he remembers, “but I quickly found myself in the streets again, getting drunk and into trouble.”

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In the midst of this instability, Hurley was registered at the local Compassion project and sponsored by a lady in the UK called Madeleine. Initially Hurley loved the project activities, but one day he just stopped coming.

His project worker Caroline visited the family home to check Hurley was safe. She discovered that Ritchelle had fled her abusive husband, leaving 8-year-old Hurley to take care of his siblings. Every day he would carry his one-year-old brother outside into the yard and wait for their mum to return. Some days they’d still be waiting as the light faded. She never came.

In Hurley’s world, there was only one place where he felt safe. So one morning, Hurley walked up to Joey and boldly told him they needed to go to church. Joey was sceptical, but Hurley was determined his dad needed help. He took him by the hand and led him all the way to the church building.

“He cried so hard and told us he wanted to change,” Caroline recalls. “He said he doesn’t want his children to be like him when they grow up. We led him to the Lord and he received Jesus in his heart.”

Four months later, Ritchelle returned to the family home. “I came home to a changed man,” she explains. “My husband was a different person completely. Our son led us to the Lord.”

2. The dad who came home just in time

Nicolas was terrified. He’d lost his job as a hairdresser. His attempts to start a motorbike taxi business had failed. He’d borrowed money from loan sharks across his community and now they wanted it back. Leaving behind his pregnant wife and two young children, Nicolas decided to run.

“I didn’t know wha