This I Believe Week 3 Sermon - The Story of Scripture

Intro/Welcome

Intro

Let me give you two pictures of reality:

We are just a random conglomeration of particles experiencing a random series of unconnected events hurling through the universe towards no particular end?

There is a story being written, with meaning, purpose and direction?

The question is: Which one is reality?

Which one is the Story of the Universe? Is there even story?

Series

We’ve been in a series entitled “This I believe” where we have been examined the foundational truths upon which Christianity is built.

But in reality, the foundations upon which we can build our lives.

We’ve looked at:

WEEK 1: What is the Bible?

God’s word written down to us and for us

WEEK 2 - Who is God?

God was a Trinitarian God who is both like us and unlike us, and desires a personal relationships with us.

Today

We look at another fundamental — foundational belief

The Story of Scripture

What we are really talking about his the idea of Worldview:

Defining Worldview:

and a worldview is just that

How one views the world.

The lens one looks through to make sense of their life and the world around them.

And Worldviews are like noses — everyone has one.

Your Worldview answers this fundamental question:

Is there any meaning, purpose or direction in life?

And it is through our nose that we pick up on the aromas of reality.

The Story of Scripture

The Bible has an answer to this questions:

We’ll call it the Story of Scripture

It is...

The story of the universe

The story of God

The story of Humanity

Four Chapters

We can break up the Story of Scripture into Four Broad chapters

Creation | Fall | Redemption | Restoration

Today we are going to cover the first two

and over the remainder of the series we will cover the last two.

We are going to look at what the Bible says and then what are the implications and applications for everyday life.

Welcome

My name is Justin, one of Pastors

Welcome online

This info is not just for you, but for those around you

We’ll be primarily in Gen 1-3 today

go there in your Bibles.

Let’s Pray

Pray

Isaiah 61:1–3 (LES)

1 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

on account of which he has anointed me;

he has sent me to bring good news to the poor,

to heal those who are crushed in heart,

to announce release to the captives

and recovery of sight to the blind,

2 to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord and the day of repayment,

to comfort all who mourn,

3 to give to those who mourn in Zion

glory instead of ashes,

the anointing of joy to those who mourn,

a garment of glory instead of a spirit of weariness.

And they will be called generations of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for glory.

Creation

God Creates

Note: you may have lots of questions about creation and the Bible and I would direct you to a series we did a few years ago called: Origins, where we spent 8 weeks on Gen 1-3.

The bible opens up with one of the most basic and important aspects of a Biblical Worldview

Genesis 1:1 (CSB)

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

Two Fundamental Truths

There is a God

God created everything.

Implications:

It means there is order, design and purpose in the universe

Contra: Naturalistic Evolution, the rise of the Atheist movement

When you sort through all the philosophical jargon it really comes down to this question:

Either there is order, direction and purpose in the universe

or there is not.

I don’t say this b/c you need to hear it, but b/c this is what so many in this world are building their life on.

They need to think through what they are saying.

b/c if it naturalistic evolution is true then in the end “nothing really matters”

and if people really believe that — it doesn’t lead to a moral, ordered society

it leads to chaos, amoral — and much suffering

history bears this out.

Good Creation

3. God created everything good.

But it’s not just that God created everything

but he created everything “GOOD”

Tov: good, delightful, beautiful, pleasing

Six times while God is creating it says:

“And God saw that it was good”

The only time he didn’t was after day 2, which was Monday

indicating that there has never been anything good about Monday.

Twice onTuesday

b/c it is doubly good that Monday is over.

After God is done creating we read:

Genesis 1:31 (CSB)

31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good indeed. Evening came and then morning: the sixth day.

Hebrew: Good - Good

This means that all of Creation is/was Good.

Implications

All of creation is good and for our stewardship and enjoyment

Human Beings

What about human beings?

are they good?

Yes they were not just created good like the rest of creation, but as something special

Imago Dei

Humans were made in the image of God

Genesis 1:26–27 (CSB)

26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness. They will rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, the livestock, the whole earth, and the creatures that crawl on the earth.”

27 So God created man in his own image; he created him in the image of God; he created them male and female.

Implications of the Imago Dei

We are both Like and Unlike God

As we saw last week

We Bear God’s Image

We represent Him

Created for Relationship

We can have a special kind of relationship with God unlike everything else in all creation.

Genesis 3:8 (CSB)

8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

Before Depravity was Dignity

underneath depravity is dignity

God’s Image.

This means that:

at the deepest level of human existence

Human beings are good in that they bear the image of a good God

This means that before depravity there is dignity.

Dignity before Depravity

Created with Design

Genesis 1:27 (CSB)

27 So God created man in his own image; he created him in the image of God; he created them male and female.

We image God as both male and female

We were made with the capacity to think, to reason, to work with our hands.

Created with Purpose

Genesis 1:28 (CSB)

28 God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls on the earth.”

The Whole Earth and all of Creation is ours to steward

5 Purposes

Be Fruitful — bring life, good things

Multiply — reproduce,

Fill the earth — spread out

Subdue — cultivate, make it yours, shape it

Rule — lead, have authority

There are ways that we are to be like God

as ‘little gods’ — image bearers

we are to create, rule, shape, multiply just as he did.

Implications of Good Creation

We have dignity, design and purpose.

build, create, shape, multiply, bear fruit, have families, fill the earth, rule over all creation

Something is Wrong

It means that something has gone wrong and it wasn’t God.

Our world is not totally good, there is much that is wrong and broken.

Nostalgic Imprints

There is a kind of nostalgic imprint on our souls

It means we are all trying to back to Eden / Back to the Good Creation

We live with a longing for when things were better

We long to ‘walk with God in the cool of the day’

Transition

Every belief system has to answer this question:

What is wrong with the World?

Some deny it

Some ignore it

All try to escape it

But we can’t escape ourselves which is where the problem lies.

Chapter Two of the Story of Scripture is the Bible’s Answer to this question:

It is known as “the Fall”

The Fall

The Origin of Evil: Satan and Fallen Angels

The Fall is when Evil enters the world.

Genesis 3:1 (CSB)

1 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’?”

Where did evil originate?

right here with the serpent.

Who is this serpent being?

Revelation 12:7–9 (CSB)

7 Then war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels also fought, 8 but he could not prevail, and there was no place for them in heaven any longer.

9 So the great dragon was thrown out—the ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the one who deceives the whole world. He was thrown to earth, and his angels with him.

The serpent is Satan,

a.ka. - the Devil, The Accuser, Prince of the Power of the World, the Ruler of this world, Beealzabul

Evil originated with Satan.

Angels & Demons

God created supernatural beings known as Angels.

They are the ‘heavenly host’

We don’t know when exactly this was done.

But one of these supernatural beings — tried to usurp the throne.

Isa 14 and Eze 28 give us some insight into what happened:

Isaiah 14:12–15 (CSB)

12 Shining morning star, how you have fallen from the heavens! You destroyer of nations, you have been cut down to the ground.

13 You said to yourself, “I will ascend to the heavens; I will set up my throne above the stars of God. I will sit on the mount of the gods’ assembly, in the remotest parts of the North.

14 I will ascend above the highest clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.”

15 But you will be brought down to Sheol into the deepest regions of the Pit.

Ezekiel 28:2 (CSB)

2 “Son of man, say to the ruler of Tyre,

‘This is what the Lord God says: Your heart is proud, and you have said, “I am a god; I sit in the seat of gods in the heart of the sea.”

Yet you are a man and not a god, though you have regarded your heart as that of a god.

These texts are both speaking of earthly kings, but also of powers and principalities

Ephesians 6:12 (CSB)

12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens.

Many scholars agree that these verse are at least in part referring to the fall of Satan.

And what was his fall?

Pride

Pride God satan kicked out of heaven.

Pride that desires self-autonomy apart from God

This is exactly what satan infected the human race with in Genesis 3.

And Satan’s influence is still seen all over the world today.

Implications:

Angels and Demons are Real and Active

There are angels and demons that exist today and are active all around us, influencing the world, carrying out God’s plan or trying to thwart it.

Book: Supernatural by Michael Heiser

Renown OT scholar

Great book on this very subject.

Two free copies.

There is more than just the material world.

Greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't’ exist.

If you don’t believe you have an enemy, you won’t fight against him.

It’s like: Polluting Water

what if someone was putting a chemical/chlorine into your water upstream

rather than in-front of your face.

We have a powerful enemy

You have a powerful enemy that is bent on 1st keeping you from God and 2nd keeping you from serving God

Three enemies of humanity:

The World

the Flesh

the Devil.

The Fall of Humanity

Thus Satan shows up in the garden in the form of a serpent.

He tempts Adam and Eve to distrust God and thereby disobey him

Why would God allow the serpent into Eden?

The only answer is free-will.

Human beings had to have the choice to follow God or not.

Crafty

Genesis 3:1 (CSB)

1 Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made.

Genesis 3:1 says he was ‘crafty/cunning’ - shrewd, clever, subtle

Satan is very wise, intelligent being

this word is used in proverbs to talk about ‘prudence’

Satan takes what is meant for good and turns it for evil

The Serpent’s Aim:

He deceives them.

He lures them

He entices them.

Satans Tactics have changed very little as we’ll see.

but it really comes down to this:

Are we going to trust God? Or are we going to trust Satan?

Satan’s Tactics

DISARMS

He you disarms you — gets you to lower your defenses

DIRECT ATTACK

Then the direct attack

He uses reason against revelation

DESTROY

Once you Sin

He then accuses you and condemns you

He wants to destroy you.

In Genesis 3

DISARM: He indirectly questions the Word of God.

Genesis 3:1 (CSB)

1 ... He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You can’t eat from any tree in the garden’?”

He misquotes God’s Word

a tactic still being done today.

he substitutes the word ‘any’ for ‘the one tree’

EVE TRIES TO HELP

This serves to disarm Eve — she is excited that she can correct the serpent

perhaps she is trying to help ‘him’ understand

she is lured in by her good nature and good intentions

She actually ADDS to God’s Word

Genesis 3:2–3 (CSB)

2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit from the trees in the garden.

3 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.’ ”

She happily and innocently corrects the serpent, but also adds the prohibition that not only must we not ‘eat of it’ but we must not even touch it.

Perhaps this was her way of ensuring they would not be tempted.

it is a ‘self-imposed’ restriction

The DIRECT ATTACK

Not comes the frontal assault by the serpent.

Genesis 3:4 (CSB)

4 “No! You will certainly not die,” the serpent said to the woman.

Lit. dying? you will not die.

He is calling God a liar

and then immediately gives the reason

he says ‘here is what God is really up to’

Genesis 3:5 (CSB)

5 “In fact, God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

And the seed has been planted

and it is only a matter of time before it gives birth to fruition

Eve and Adam use their God given reason to think on these things

and decide for themselves

Will we trust the Word of God? or will we trust the Word of the Serpent?

Of course, it is our will, our decision.

Not unlike the cartoon ‘angel and devil’ that appears on our shoulders.

this really is the question we face very day.

Whose voice will we trust?

Genesis 3:6 (CSB)

6 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.

DESTROY

I think it is implied that Satan then condemned them.

God askes in Gen 3:11

Genesis 3:11 (CSB)

11 Then he asked, “Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”

The Result: Brokenness

The Serpent wasn’t exactly lying

Their eyes were opened — they did experience good and evil

Genesis 3:7 (CSB)

7 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.

Genesis 3:22 (CSB)

22 The Lord God said, “Since the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil, he must not reach out, take from the tree of life, eat, and live forever.”

They went from a theoretical knowledge of good and evil to an experiential one.

Guilt and Shame

And for the very first time they felt: guilt and shame

that is the experience of evil

Hiding

So they did what we all do: try to cover our shame

by hiding it and hiding from God

but it won’t work.

What was broken?

Their relationship with God was broken

they experienced spiritual death

physical would follow

Their relationship to each other was broken

Adam blamed Eve

Eve felt shame

Their relationship with themselves

Carrying shame and guilt

self-contempt

self-blame

self-doubt

Their relationship with creation/earth

cursed is the ground.

sin has entered the world and brokenness results

Genesis 3:8–13 (CSB)

8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

9 So the Lord God called out to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”

10 And he said, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.”

11 Then he asked, “Who told you that you were naked? Did you eat from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”

12 The man replied, “The woman you gave to be with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate.” 13 So the Lord God asked the woman, “What have you done?” And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

God’s Response

Genesis 3:14–19 (CSB)

14 So the Lord God said to the serpent:

Because you have done this, you are cursed more than any livestock and more than any wild animal.

You will move on your belly and eat dust all the days of your life.

15 I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.

1. Satan

Cursed Satan

Cast down to the earth

to the realm of the dead (eat dust)

Ultimately be defeated

16 He said to the woman:

I will intensify your labor pains; you will bear children with painful effort.

Your desire will be for your husband, yet he will rule over you.

2. Eve

Difficulty for Eve in childbearing

Relationships to her husband in particular and men in general

17 And he said to the man,

“Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘Do not eat from it’:

The ground is cursed because of you.

You will eat from it by means of painful labor all the days of your life.

18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.

19 You will eat bread by the sweat of your brow until you return to the ground, since you were taken from it.

For you are dust, and you will return to dust.”

3. Adam

Difficulty for Adam in his work (sense of purpose)

Thorns and thistles — frustration in work

Creation itself will rebel against Adam

This week: just felt like thorns and thistles day after day.

The World Today

This is of course the world we live in today

This describes the world today

Brokenness

struggles and frustrations

relational strive

difficulty in families

broken trust

selfishness

blame-shifting

Due to:

Satan and Demons

Satan and Demons constantly at work against God’s purposes

Spiritually Dead

Spiritually dead people unable to live for God and like God as image bearers

The Flesh

The sinful part of us

People are born selfish, self-preserving, self-exalting, self-serving, self-centered

this is the reason for so much evil and suffering today.

It is something we are all born with and is inescapable apart from grace.

The World

These two combined on a collective level to make up ungodly and unbiblical systems of the world.

they result in exploitation and oppression that leads to suffering.

Not quite the world today

God’s Promises

God hints at his plan for Redemption and Restoration even right here in the beginning.

The Promise of a Savior

Genesis 3:15 (CSB)

15 I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring.

He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.

This is the first promise of a messiah, a savior that would come and defeat satan.

1 John 3:8 (ESV)

8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning.

The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.

The Promise of a Redemption & Restoration

Genesis 3:21–24 (CSB)

21 The Lord God made clothing from skins for the man and his wife, and he clothed them.

God Covered their Shame

He sacrificed and animal — blood was shed

and he covered their shame with his covering

foreshadowing Christ — being clothed with Christ.

Galatians 3:27 (CSB)

27 For those of you who were baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ.

Genesis 3:22–23 (CSB) 22 The Lord God said, “Since the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil, he must not reach out, take from the tree of life, eat, and live forever.”

23 So the Lord God sent him away from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken.

24 He drove the man out and stationed the cherubim and the flaming, whirling sword east of the garden of Eden to guard the way to the tree of life.

God desired eternal relationship with them

He expelled them SO THAT they would NOT live forever apart from him

He had the plan to bring them back home.

Application

If the Bible is God’s Word

And God cannot lie

And this is the Story of Scripture

What does this mean for you?

Implications:

God is SOVEREIGN and GOOD

He has a plan and has always had a plan

He takes evil and turns it for good.

DIGNITY is the DEEPEST TRUTH

b/c we bear God’s Image

Depravity is not what is most true about us.

Shame only defines us if we let it.

Christ covers us.

We don’t have to be surprised at brokenness

We can be ready to endure by God’s power and presence

We can be ready to comfort others with God’s comfort

We can overcome the Enemy

Christ has defeated Satan

Disarmed Him of accusations

We can be apart of God’s restoration plan.

In our personal lives

In our personal relationships

To the ends of the earth.

Closing Application

every day questions we can ask whether we are in tragedy or triumph

How does might God be using this to draw me closer to him?

How does this point me to Christ?

Who can I share that with this week?

Closing Prayer