Sleeper Cell
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
In the 1940’s, there was a man named William Fisher who immigrated to the US illegally
He was a British-born communist who moved to the Soviet Union as a child
He joined the Red Army and later the KGB
Worked as an artist in US, managing Russian secret agents in Brooklyn
Reino Hayhanen was his assistant, and kept getting into trouble
He spent a hollowed out nickel, and a paperboy opened it to find micro-photos inside
As the US tried to track things down, Fisher sent Hayhanen back to Russia
Afraid of punishment, he defected to the US embassy in France
He then ratted out Fisher who went by Rudolph Abel (likely a signal he’d been caught)
They found many spy gadgets in his apartment
Sentenced to 45 years in prison
5 years later, he was exchanged for an American U-2 pilot and a student
He was decorated by the KGB and then forced to retire in 1971
He died a year later from lung cancer
The US then began showing public service videos across the country
They warned that other Soviet “sleeper cells” may be in the US
Russian spies working hard to get American defense secrets to our enemies
Looking like everyday Americans, but ready to pounce on a moments notice
Sleeper cells work like a virus - getting into our society and attacking undetected from the inside
But ready for the moment they can come out and strike while already inside
Satan works in a similar way - we’ll see how he did from the beginning
Last week we learned about the fall of Satan
God created universe - all things were good
One creature in particular chose evil - to put himself above God
Ultimately, he fell and lives a mission to destroy anything good
YouVersion: Sleeper Cell
We’re in Genesis 3:1-24 (Whole chapter)
We’re in the Garden of Eden
Creation is finished but still good
Adam and Eve are living and a creature comes along
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.
He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”
We mentioned last week that the devil has lot’s of names
They all tell us important things
He doesn’t really have a “name” that we know of
His names are actually more like titles
Lucifer - means the “day star” or “morning star”
The Devil - means the “slanderer”
Even Satan (actually the Satan) - means the adversary
He’s called the adversary because it’s a word that means “opponent” or “rival”
Satan is not actually for anything
Rather, he’s simply against everything
Like the preschooler who loves kicking down other kid’s block towers
Not there to accomplish anything, just to destroy everything for everyone else
To do that, sin becomes a factor
But Sin is not about doing things we shouldn’t do
As much as it is about failing to do what we should do
I mentioned in the past the word for sin is Khata
Means to fail or to “miss the mark”
In Judges there is an elite group of troops
16 Among all these were 700 chosen men who were left-handed; every one could sling a stone at a hair and not miss.
They would not “khata” or miss the target
1. Sin is not achieving evil; it is missing good
1. Sin is not achieving evil; it is missing good
The target for mankind is simple - love God, and also love him by loving people (who are created in His image)
When we do anything that isn’t that, we are missing the mark
Tim Mackie: “(Sin is) rooted in our desires and selfish urges that compel us to act for our own benefit at the expense of others.”
So let’s look at this “serpent,” how is this name significant?
It’s important we don’t only think “snake” like we would now
Let me explain - turn to Isaiah 6
1 In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said:
“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory!”
Here is a picture of God’s throne room
Beautiful picture of heavenly worship
Notice the creatures: seraphim or “burning ones”
They are the beings responsible for worshipping God here
That word “seraph” actually means - serpent or snake
Gen 3 and Isa 6 use different Hebrew words, but they both mean serpent
Remember Isaiah 6, we’ll come back to it in a bit
Basically, we see seraphim (angelic serpents) worshipping God
And another serpent now moving on the earth (as in NOT in heaven anymore)
Who do you think this very crafty angelic serpent being no longer in heaven might be? The Satan
Notice Satan’s first move - did God really say you can’t eat the fruit?
2. Satan loves to question God’s instructions
2. Satan loves to question God’s instructions
Church, you should recognize that tactic because he still uses it today
Let me ask you this: did God make it clear what the rules were?
16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 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.”
Seems unquestionable to me - I’d say that’s clear
But did Eve fully understand it?
2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ”
Yes, she understood God very clearly
This reveals the pattern of how sin often enters our lives
Think about it: oftentimes things are pretty clear in Scripture or even in our own consciences
But then we ask this very question - did God really say that?
There are issues in Scripture like:
The fact that Jesus is the only way to salvation
God’s stance on divorce
The differences between men and women
Whether or not pornography is sexually immoral
In general, God is very clear about those things
But we can’t help diving into the details to make those topics fit what we want
Illustration: OJ case
According to the Washington Post, most people believe OJ was guilty
On the day the verdict was read, Eugene Kane (Milwaukee journalist) believed he was innocent
When he heard “not guilty” he cheered - today he regrets that
He believes the famous Bronco chase, the later book “If I Did It” and Fox interview make it clear he was guilty
He said this:
Eugene Kane: “(I was) infected with a relentless groupthink victim mentality that allowed us to get swept up in an emotional tsunami against our better, more reasonable judgments... So many years later, I know now that having the courage of your convictions is a moral test of character that should hold true even in the midst of a swirling storm... I failed that test when I rooted for Simpson’s acquittal. I suspect many of you did, too. May God forgive us and have mercy on our souls.”
To Eugene, the facts didn’t matter because he wasn’t thinking about them
Instead, he was thinking about what he wanted and the truth was secondary
This is exactly what Satan uses, watch:
4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
God says here is the rule, here is the consequence
Satan says, “No! That’s not true! Here’s what’s actually happening...”
Notice the serpent let’s the rule stand - it’s the outcome he argues with
What do we know about Satan?
He’s a spiritual rebel who didn’t want to live under God’s authority
Rather, he wanted to be God
What’s interesting, is he used that same appeal to deceive Eve
3. Satan appeals to our pride
3. Satan appeals to our pride
When it comes to the rule, Eve could go ask God! Is this true? Is this what You said?
When it comes to the outcome though, she can’t ask God because Satan accuses Him of lying to Eve!
Interesting that we have cut and dry truth, but Satan weaves a tangled web of lies
Which pulls Eve away from seeking God for help, and makes her believe she is can do it herself
Does that sound familiar at all?
It’s funny how often I have conversations with people who doubt God, and it goes like this:
I’m not sure I believe in God anymore
Why?
I’ve just been thinking about it
Okay, what are you thinking?
Just that there’s evil in the world and God doesn’t stop it
So evil means there’s no God?
No, but just that there’s injustice, the Bible was written by man, how do we know it’s right?
So what things in the Bible are wrong?
I don’t know.
What makes you think the Bible is wrong?
Come on, it’s just hard to believe - miracles and stuff
Have you looked into God’s word, talked to a pastor or studied the questions you have?
Nope! Just been thinking about it...
Ah yes… the human mind - always a reliable source!
The very thing that came up with a flat earth, mercury for teething babies and the milk crate challenge
Yeah, our minds don’t have a great track record!
Satan knows that, and he manipulates it
We need to know something here
4. Ultimately, we are responsible for our sin
4. Ultimately, we are responsible for our sin
We’ll examine this more next week in the book of Job
It’s easy to blame Satan for our sin
And he certainly plays a role in his spiritual manipulation
HOWEVER, we have responsibility
When Cain became jealous of Abel (enough to murder him) God warned him this way:
Genesis 4:7b (ESV)
7 “...If you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.”
Sin is often depicted as a violent, hungry beast trying to devour mankind
And we have a responsibility ourselves to rule over it, or as Scripture often says, flee from it
Satan will tempt us, but only we can make the decision to give into his efforts
That doesn’t mean we’re alone though!
14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
Don’t FEED that beast, put on Jesus as your protector!
1 Cor says God always gives us a way out, the problem is we don’t always choose it
Back to Adam and Eve
6 So 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 to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.
She gave into sin, why?
I’m hungry, it looks good, I want wisdom… Mmm… delicious!
Here honey! Okay!
It’s funny, we may want to excuse Adam here: it was Eve’s fault!
Actually, Satan tempted Eve but she was responsible
Likewise, Eve then tempted Adam but he was responsible
Adam knew exactly what he was doing when he ate the fruit
He was directly rebelling against God period.
AND it was HIS sin that was the fall of man - watch:
7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.
Their eyes weren’t opened until Adam ate the fruit
Suddenly, things looked different to them
Was it that they saw each other differently?
Was it the world around them that looked different?
Was it the absence of light that looked different?
We don’t know, but they didn’t see the same way anymore
Now, was it good that they saw their nakedness and felt terrible about it?
Actually yes. Feeling shame when doing wrong is not a bad thing!
However, itchy fig leaves as underwear may not be so good...
Back to that in a minute...
8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”
God comes walking through in the cool breeze of the afternoon - perhaps this is the person of Jesus
He calls out to Adam and Eve - who come bursting out of the bushes onto the runway to show off their new fashion
Actually, they stay hidden - ashamed of themselves
10 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” 11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
This looks a lot like a parent child conversation doesn’t it?
God tries to get the info out of Adam
Adam leaves out the important information
Then he blames Eve for it!
The woman YOU gave me did it! She gave it to me - and I ate...
Notice God does all the talking with Adam first - he was set as the responsible party
But that doesn’t mean Eve doesn’t share in some of the responsibility
And so God asks her what she’s done, and she blames the serpent
5. We often only see consequences when it’s too late
5. We often only see consequences when it’s too late
A minute ago, Eve wanted to be like God
I want wisdom, I want to be in control, I don’t want to be inferior
The serpent is my friend! He’s helping me get what I deserve!
Now that it’s all done, look at what she says, “The serpent deceived me”
Adam and Eve had no idea what “the knowledge of good and evil” would look like
Seemed like a good choice, something they wanted
However, when they got it, it wasn’t so great
Sin still does that same thing today!
It would be great to have that woman over there
It would be great to rob that bank and spend all that money
It would be great to divorce that jerk and be free
Then you get what you’re asking for
An STD, a 10 year sentence and missing half your stuff
There are consequences to sin, make sure you consider them before jumping in
Or let me save you some time and heartache - Don’t jump in!
14 The Lord God said to the serpent,
“Because you have done this,
cursed are you above all livestock
and above all beasts of the field;
on your belly you shall go,
and dust you shall eat
all the days of your life.
Used to seem weird to me - is this saying snakes used to have feet?
Remember I said we’d come back to Isaiah 6?
2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.
When a seraph is in heaven, he has feet
On earth, I think this seraph has feet too - until he faced God’s judgement
There’s something else interesting
For Adam, God questioned him
For Eve, God questioned her
For the serpent, God went right to judgment
There was no conversation to be had - there was nothing for the serpent to learn
Satan already knows exactly what he’s doing, and so does God
And then God mentions that there will be tension between mankind and Satan
David Guzik: “If we are born naturally rebellious against God, we are also born cautious and afraid of Satan. One must be hardened to willingly and knowingly serve Satan. Instinctively, we don’t serve God or Satan; we serve ourselves (which is fine with Satan).”
Then we come to a very important prophecy about involving God, mankind and Satan:
15 I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring;
he shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel.”
Notice something, this is about HER offspring and not Adam’s
Her offspring shall be a man “he shall, his heel”
This is a prophecy about Jesus
Jesus has an earthly mother, but not father
Hence, it is HER offspring
To the serpent, he will bruise Jesus’ heel
However, this isn’t a permanent or deadly repercussion
Hence, Satan is crucified but lives
And Jesus will bruise the serpents head - which is a fatal wound
He does have to get low to accomplish it, that’s why Jesus came to earth
But He will be victorious against the sting of the devil
Genesis 3:16–19 (ESV)
16 To the woman he said,
“I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing;
in pain you shall bring forth children.
Your desire shall be contrary to your husband,
but he shall rule over you.”
17 And to Adam he said,
“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife
and have eaten of the tree
of which I commanded you,
‘You shall not eat of it,’
cursed is the ground because of you;
in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;
18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;
and you shall eat the plants of the field.
19 By the sweat of your face
you shall eat bread...
Let’s stop there for a second
6. Sin has long term effects
6. Sin has long term effects
Do any farmers out there get mad around harvesting time because Adam makes them shuck corn?
Did any ladies out there get mad at Eve when you’re in labor?
Like it or not, we deal with the results of Adam and Eve everyday
That’s actually why we don’t have female pastors!
12 I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. 13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve; 14 and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.
Doesn’t say it’s because women don’t have the ability, it’s a repercussion of Eve
Just like child birth or working the ground
May not seem fair to our western sense of fairness, but it’s God’s verdict
It’s the same when a baby is born with defects because their mother was on drugs
Or someone loses their leg because they were hit by a drunk driver
Or you lose your TV because someone else broke into your house
Sometimes things are unfair, or at least seem unfair
Kinda like the way that our perfect Savior had to be murdered to save us sinners
God’s ways are higher than our ways
Perhaps it’s unknown logic, perhaps poetry or symbolism, perhaps something else
But there’s actually a much heavier cost than all of those things:
Let’s finish v. 19
19 By the sweat of your face
you shall eat bread,
till you return to the ground,
for out of it you were taken;
for you are dust,
and to dust you shall return.”
That return to dust is something we know of as dying
There’s no way around it - sin blackens God’s creation
Working for West Elm doing installs
We has painting listed as a service - I hate painting!
I asked my boss how often we paint and he said, “We don’t do that anymore.”
Why? A client had a $20,000 Persian rug on the floor
A West Elm installer spilled an entire bucket of paint all over it
Can you say ruined?
Our sin did the same for God’s creation
The blackened ink of our selfish actions has been soaking into God’s beautiful tapestry ever since that first bite of fruit
It has drained life from that original vibrant
All there is left is death
That’s the cost of sin - but it’s not the whole story
20 The man called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. 21 And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.
This is great news for Adam and Eve!
Even though they messed up, God is still compassionate
Adam brought sin into the world, but God is still working
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
We’ll talk more about that mercy in a moment...
Let’s finish up with the cost first
22 Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” 23 therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. 24 He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.
God removes Adam and Eve, and prevents reentry by placing a guardian cherub there
Death is the result of sin, and so God cannot allow access to the tree of life (at least not yet)
This cherub is an important piece of imagery by the way
The Ark of the Covenant was later built under Moses according to God’s instructions
There was a part called the Mercy Seat where the blood of atonement was sprinkled
This was the only place in the world where sin could be atoned for
It foreshadowed the ultimate sacrifice for sin, when Jesus died on a cross
This represented how man could return to God for relationship, for instruction, for life
On top were two golden figures - cherubim who covered the Ark with their wings
In Eden, mankind was forced out of community with God
But the covenant we have with Jesus restores that community
Essentially bringing us back to the original intent for mankind - relationship with God
7. It’s better to be with God than to try and be God
7. It’s better to be with God than to try and be God
There’s irony in this story - Adam and Eve chose to “be like God”
But to achieve it, the chose to sin, which is not like God!
Ultimately, they discovered that it is so much better to just be with God
In the end, they felt guilt and shame
And to cover that shame, they used little thin, itchy fig leaves
It’s getting to be an Illinois winter here pretty soon - anyone going out in fig leaves this coming February?!
Probably not - it’s pathetically insufficient...
But God took pity on Adam and Eve, even in the wake of their sin
And He took care of covering up their shame for them
If that doesn’t paint a picture of us I don’t know what does
As we live and fail, losing to sin over and over
Telling ourselves we’ll turn and do it right, only to fail again
We see our own efforts to cover our shame are pathetically insufficient
But God takes pity on us, even in the wake of our sin
And He takes care of covering up our shame for us
10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord;
my soul shall exult in my God,
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation;
he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
Prayer
Prayer