Who We Are Part 1
Series: Who I Am
Speaker: Debbie Gould
Date: 6th April 2013
Passage: Genesis 3:1-24
00:00:00 --> 00:00:02 Good evening, let's start with prayer.
00:00:03 --> 00:00:05 Our Father and our Lord, we do indeed thank you
00:00:05 --> 00:00:08 for the privilege of being able to meet together
00:00:08 --> 00:00:09 and look at your word.
00:00:10 --> 00:00:13 Father, we pray that each of us might be sensitive
00:00:13 --> 00:00:15 to what it is that you are teaching us tonight.
00:00:16 --> 00:00:19 Father, we pray that you might give us calm minds
00:00:19 --> 00:00:23 and open hearts, in Jesus' name, amen.
00:00:27 --> 00:00:29 I'm sorry for the coughs.
00:00:29 --> 00:00:31 I apologise up front.
00:00:31 --> 00:00:34 It is wonderful to be here and it is even more wonderful
00:00:34 --> 00:00:38 to start this new series on identity,
00:00:38 --> 00:00:41 as Janet has spoken about.
00:00:41 --> 00:00:47 And you might wonder why would we choose a topic like identity?
00:00:48 --> 00:00:53 Well, at the very heart of who we are
00:00:53 --> 00:00:56 is what influences all of our decisions.
00:00:56 --> 00:00:59 It influences the choices we make.
00:01:00 --> 00:01:03 It will influence all of our reactions,
00:01:04 --> 00:01:07 whether they are reactions to things that happen out there
00:01:07 --> 00:01:11 to other people or the things that happen to ourselves.
00:01:13 --> 00:01:18 We, at our very core, that influences all of those things.
00:01:18 --> 00:01:21 And depending on how we see ourselves,
00:01:22 --> 00:01:26 depends on whether our inner being is in turmoil
00:01:26 --> 00:01:28 or whether it's frustrated
00:01:28 --> 00:01:31 or whether it is at peace
00:01:31 --> 00:01:33 with whatever is happening in our world.
00:01:34 --> 00:01:36 And it's how we see ourselves
00:01:36 --> 00:01:38 that we need to look at very closely
00:01:38 --> 00:01:41 because I actually think that it helps us
00:01:41 --> 00:01:44 live the life that the Lord actually has called us to live,
00:01:44 --> 00:01:47 if we're very honest with ourselves.
00:01:47 --> 00:01:51 We already know that if we are one of God's children,
00:01:52 --> 00:01:56 then we are to be a light in our community.
00:01:56 --> 00:01:58 We're to be a light in our families.
00:01:58 --> 00:02:01 And we're expected to respond differently
00:02:01 --> 00:02:06 to whatever happens in life
00:02:06 --> 00:02:07 and the things that are thrown at us.
00:02:07 --> 00:02:10 We're expected to live differently
00:02:10 --> 00:02:12 because we are Christian.
00:02:14 --> 00:02:18 Scripture tells us that we will go through many trials
00:02:18 --> 00:02:20 to enter the kingdom of heaven.
00:02:22 --> 00:02:25 And so how we go through those trials
00:02:25 --> 00:02:31 and not to be personally shattered along the way
00:02:31 --> 00:02:34 is what we want to actually look at.
00:02:35 --> 00:02:38 In Corinthians, Paul actually is encouraging
00:02:38 --> 00:02:39 all the new believers.
00:02:40 --> 00:02:42 And he's saying to the new believers
00:02:42 --> 00:02:45 about the way that they perceive themselves
00:02:45 --> 00:02:47 but also other people.
00:02:48 --> 00:02:49 He says to them,
00:02:49 --> 00:02:50 from now on,
00:02:51 --> 00:02:54 we regard no one from a worldly view.
00:02:55 --> 00:02:59 Now, wouldn't that be fantastic if that was us?
00:02:59 --> 00:03:02 But we do regard others.
00:03:02 --> 00:03:05 We do regard people from a worldly view, don't we?
00:03:05 --> 00:03:09 We tend to identify ourselves and others
00:03:09 --> 00:03:10 by our appearance,
00:03:11 --> 00:03:12 by our performance,
00:03:12 --> 00:03:14 and our social status.
00:03:15 --> 00:03:17 And the Bible is very clear, however,
00:03:17 --> 00:03:18 that that's not who we are.
00:03:19 --> 00:03:22 It says that we're made in the image of God.
00:03:22 --> 00:03:27 And being made in the image of God,
00:03:27 --> 00:03:29 we have a spiritual nature
00:03:29 --> 00:03:30 and we have a human nature,
00:03:31 --> 00:03:32 a human body of flesh.
00:03:32 --> 00:03:36 But it's not our outer person,
00:03:36 --> 00:03:37 this bit.
00:03:38 --> 00:03:41 It's not this that is made in the image of God.
00:03:41 --> 00:03:45 It's our inner person that is created in the image of God.
00:03:45 --> 00:03:50 It's our inner person that has the capacity
00:03:50 --> 00:03:53 to think, to feel, to choose.
00:03:54 --> 00:03:56 Deep down inside of us,
00:03:56 --> 00:03:58 we are spiritual beings.
00:04:00 --> 00:04:02 1 Corinthians 4.18 says,
00:04:02 --> 00:04:04 For what is seen is temporary,
00:04:05 --> 00:04:07 but what is unseen is eternal.
00:04:08 --> 00:04:11 So when we look at Adam and Eve before the fall,
00:04:12 --> 00:04:14 we know that originally
00:04:14 --> 00:04:18 their lives were very different.
00:04:19 --> 00:04:24 They were alive both physically and spiritually.
00:04:25 --> 00:04:26 Being physically alive
00:04:26 --> 00:04:29 means that Adam's physical body
00:04:29 --> 00:04:31 was connected to his inner being,
00:04:32 --> 00:04:33 to the core of his being.
00:04:34 --> 00:04:36 And we too are physically alive.
00:04:36 --> 00:04:40 We can taste, touch, smell, feel and see.
00:04:41 --> 00:04:44 But Adam was also spiritually alive.
00:04:44 --> 00:04:45 That is,
00:04:46 --> 00:04:47 the core of his being
00:04:47 --> 00:04:49 was connected to God.
00:04:50 --> 00:04:53 And that is how we were designed to be as well.
00:04:54 --> 00:04:55 On the one hand,
00:04:55 --> 00:04:58 our spirit connected to our physical bodies.
00:04:59 --> 00:05:00 And on the other hand,
00:05:00 --> 00:05:02 our spirit connected to God.
00:05:03 --> 00:05:04 But a change came,
00:05:05 --> 00:05:08 which we'll talk about in a moment
00:05:08 --> 00:05:09 with Adam and Eve.
00:05:09 --> 00:05:11 First of all,
00:05:11 --> 00:05:12 we need to understand
00:05:12 --> 00:05:14 that this connection to God
00:05:14 --> 00:05:18 gave Adam a whole different quality of life
00:05:18 --> 00:05:21 from mere physical existence.
00:05:22 --> 00:05:24 Being spiritually alive
00:05:24 --> 00:05:26 meant that Adam's identity
00:05:26 --> 00:05:30 had three very important qualities.
00:05:30 --> 00:05:32 That is,
00:05:32 --> 00:05:33 he had significance,
00:05:34 --> 00:05:35 he had security,
00:05:35 --> 00:05:36 and he had acceptance.
00:05:38 --> 00:05:40 Let's look at significance.
00:05:40 --> 00:05:44 God gave Adam a purpose for being.
00:05:44 --> 00:05:48 He was to rule over the birds of the sky,
00:05:48 --> 00:05:49 the beasts of the field
00:05:49 --> 00:05:50 and the fish of the sea,
00:05:50 --> 00:05:51 scripture tells us.
00:05:51 --> 00:05:53 Adam did not need
00:05:53 --> 00:05:55 to search for significance
00:05:55 --> 00:05:57 because he already had it.
00:05:58 --> 00:06:00 He also had security.
00:06:01 --> 00:06:03 He was totally safe
00:06:03 --> 00:06:05 and secure in God's presence.
00:06:06 --> 00:06:09 Everything he needed was provided.
00:06:10 --> 00:06:13 Food, shelter, companionship,
00:06:13 --> 00:06:13 everything.
00:06:14 --> 00:06:16 He had no concept
00:06:16 --> 00:06:19 of what it meant
00:06:19 --> 00:06:22 to need anything at all.
00:06:22 --> 00:06:25 And he had acceptance.
00:06:27 --> 00:06:30 Adam had an intimate relationship with God.
00:06:30 --> 00:06:33 He could talk with God at any time.
00:06:33 --> 00:06:36 He knew that he had God's full attention.
00:06:37 --> 00:06:39 Then God created Eve for Adam
00:06:39 --> 00:06:42 and he had a sense of belonging,
00:06:42 --> 00:06:44 not just to God,
00:06:44 --> 00:06:45 but to another person.
00:06:47 --> 00:06:50 And they together were accepted by God
00:06:50 --> 00:06:53 and they were accepted by each other.
00:06:54 --> 00:06:56 They were naked and unashamed,
00:06:57 --> 00:06:58 nothing to hide,
00:06:59 --> 00:07:00 nothing to cover up.
00:07:01 --> 00:07:03 They had an intimate relationship
00:07:03 --> 00:07:04 with each other
00:07:04 --> 00:07:07 in the presence of God.
00:07:08 --> 00:07:11 Now that's how God created you and me to be.
00:07:11 --> 00:07:13 We were designed for that kind of life.
00:07:14 --> 00:07:15 Complete security,
00:07:16 --> 00:07:17 a real purpose,
00:07:17 --> 00:07:19 no need to worry about anything,
00:07:19 --> 00:07:21 and a sense of belonging
00:07:21 --> 00:07:24 to God and to other people.
00:07:25 --> 00:07:26 So what happened?
00:07:29 --> 00:07:30 Sorry.
00:07:30 --> 00:07:31 If having significance,
00:07:32 --> 00:07:34 security and acceptance
00:07:34 --> 00:07:37 made up Adam's identity,
00:07:38 --> 00:07:40 then what happened to us?
00:07:41 --> 00:07:42 Well,
00:07:43 --> 00:07:45 we need to look at the temptation
00:07:45 --> 00:07:47 and the fall
00:07:47 --> 00:07:49 to understand why the world
00:07:49 --> 00:07:51 has a messed up identity.
00:07:53 --> 00:07:55 In Genesis 2, 8, 9,
00:07:55 --> 00:07:55 we read,
00:07:56 --> 00:07:57 Now the Lord had planted a garden
00:07:57 --> 00:07:59 in the east in Eden,
00:07:59 --> 00:08:02 and there he put the man he had formed.
00:08:02 --> 00:08:05 And the Lord God made all kinds of trees
00:08:05 --> 00:08:06 grow out of the ground,
00:08:06 --> 00:08:08 trees that were pleasing to the eye
00:08:08 --> 00:08:09 and good for food.
00:08:10 --> 00:08:11 In the middle of the garden
00:08:11 --> 00:08:13 were the tree of life
00:08:13 --> 00:08:14 and the tree of knowledge
00:08:14 --> 00:08:15 of good and evil.
00:08:16 --> 00:08:18 And a bit further down,
00:08:18 --> 00:08:19 it says,
00:08:19 --> 00:08:20 The Lord God took the man
00:08:20 --> 00:08:22 and put him in the garden of Eden
00:08:22 --> 00:08:23 to work it
00:08:23 --> 00:08:25 and to take care of it.
00:08:25 --> 00:08:27 And the Lord commanded the man,
00:08:27 --> 00:08:28 You are free
00:08:28 --> 00:08:30 to eat of any tree
00:08:30 --> 00:08:31 in the garden,
00:08:31 --> 00:08:33 but you must not eat
00:08:33 --> 00:08:35 from the tree of knowledge
00:08:35 --> 00:08:35 of good and evil.
00:08:36 --> 00:08:37 For when you eat of it,
00:08:38 --> 00:08:40 you will surely die.
00:08:40 --> 00:08:44 Now the tree in the centre of the garden
00:08:44 --> 00:08:45 reminds us
00:08:45 --> 00:08:48 that moral boundaries
00:08:48 --> 00:08:50 are given to us
00:08:50 --> 00:08:52 for our good.
00:08:53 --> 00:08:55 They are part of the way
00:08:55 --> 00:08:56 that the world is,
00:08:56 --> 00:08:58 part of the divine pattern
00:08:58 --> 00:08:59 of the garden.
00:09:00 --> 00:09:02 And when we overstep
00:09:02 --> 00:09:04 the divinely given boundaries
00:09:04 --> 00:09:07 and seek to trespass
00:09:07 --> 00:09:08 into areas
00:09:08 --> 00:09:10 which belong to God alone,
00:09:11 --> 00:09:13 the word comes to us,
00:09:14 --> 00:09:16 for when you eat of it,
00:09:16 --> 00:09:18 you will surely die.
00:09:19 --> 00:09:20 We notice also
00:09:20 --> 00:09:23 that this one negative command
00:09:23 --> 00:09:25 is set in the context
00:09:25 --> 00:09:26 of divine care
00:09:26 --> 00:09:28 and provision from God.
00:09:28 --> 00:09:31 It is not a harsh restriction,
00:09:31 --> 00:09:33 but rather
00:09:33 --> 00:09:34 it's a symbol
00:09:34 --> 00:09:35 of the fact
00:09:35 --> 00:09:36 that crossing
00:09:36 --> 00:09:38 the God-given limits
00:09:38 --> 00:09:39 diminishes
00:09:39 --> 00:09:41 rather than enhances
00:09:41 --> 00:09:43 our human well-being.
00:09:44 --> 00:09:45 It gives a boundary
00:09:45 --> 00:09:47 within which
00:09:47 --> 00:09:48 there is freedom.
00:09:49 --> 00:09:50 And unfortunately,
00:09:51 --> 00:09:55 the idyllic setting
00:09:55 --> 00:09:56 in the Garden of Eden
00:09:56 --> 00:09:57 was shattered
00:09:57 --> 00:09:58 because that boundary
00:09:58 --> 00:10:00 was crossed.
00:10:01 --> 00:10:01 Now,
00:10:01 --> 00:10:02 we all know
00:10:02 --> 00:10:04 that children respond
00:10:04 --> 00:10:06 best when they know
00:10:06 --> 00:10:06 their boundaries
00:10:06 --> 00:10:07 in a home,
00:10:08 --> 00:10:09 where there is freedom
00:10:09 --> 00:10:10 to explore,
00:10:11 --> 00:10:12 to learn,
00:10:12 --> 00:10:14 and yet be safe
00:10:14 --> 00:10:15 from harm.
00:10:16 --> 00:10:17 A confidence grows
00:10:17 --> 00:10:18 in each child
00:10:18 --> 00:10:19 when they know
00:10:19 --> 00:10:21 that the adults
00:10:21 --> 00:10:22 are caring
00:10:22 --> 00:10:24 and loving them
00:10:24 --> 00:10:25 by protecting them
00:10:25 --> 00:10:26 from harm.
00:10:27 --> 00:10:28 That's what God
00:10:28 --> 00:10:28 was doing
00:10:28 --> 00:10:29 in the garden.
00:10:29 --> 00:10:32 In Genesis 3,
00:10:33 --> 00:10:34 we had it read,
00:10:34 --> 00:10:35 it tells a sad story
00:10:35 --> 00:10:36 of Adam and Eve's
00:10:36 --> 00:10:38 lost relationship
00:10:38 --> 00:10:38 with God.
00:10:40 --> 00:10:41 The effects
00:10:41 --> 00:10:42 of the fall
00:10:42 --> 00:10:42 were dramatic.
00:10:44 --> 00:10:45 They were immediate
00:10:45 --> 00:10:46 and they were
00:10:46 --> 00:10:47 far-reaching,
00:10:47 --> 00:10:48 infecting
00:10:48 --> 00:10:50 every subsequent
00:10:50 --> 00:10:51 member
00:10:51 --> 00:10:53 of the human race,
00:10:53 --> 00:10:54 you and me.
00:10:54 --> 00:10:57 What happened?
00:10:57 --> 00:10:58 Well,
00:10:58 --> 00:10:58 it's simple
00:10:58 --> 00:10:59 in some respects.
00:11:00 --> 00:11:01 They ate
00:11:01 --> 00:11:02 and they died.
00:11:04 --> 00:11:04 Their union
00:11:04 --> 00:11:05 with God
00:11:05 --> 00:11:06 was severed
00:11:06 --> 00:11:07 and they were
00:11:07 --> 00:11:07 separated
00:11:07 --> 00:11:08 from God.
00:11:09 --> 00:11:10 Did they die
00:11:10 --> 00:11:11 physically?
00:11:12 --> 00:11:13 Not immediately,
00:11:14 --> 00:11:15 although physical
00:11:15 --> 00:11:15 death would be
00:11:15 --> 00:11:16 a consequence
00:11:16 --> 00:11:17 of the fall
00:11:17 --> 00:11:18 as well,
00:11:18 --> 00:11:19 but they died
00:11:19 --> 00:11:21 spiritually.
00:11:21 --> 00:11:21 They were
00:11:21 --> 00:11:22 separated
00:11:22 --> 00:11:23 from God's
00:11:23 --> 00:11:23 presence.
00:11:24 --> 00:11:25 They were
00:11:25 --> 00:11:25 physically
00:11:25 --> 00:11:27 cast out
00:11:27 --> 00:11:28 of the garden.
00:11:29 --> 00:11:30 Just as we
00:11:30 --> 00:11:31 have inherited
00:11:31 --> 00:11:33 physical life
00:11:33 --> 00:11:34 from our
00:11:34 --> 00:11:35 first parents,
00:11:35 --> 00:11:36 so we have
00:11:36 --> 00:11:37 inherited
00:11:37 --> 00:11:39 spiritual death
00:11:39 --> 00:11:40 from them
00:11:40 --> 00:11:40 as well.
00:11:41 --> 00:11:42 Consequently,
00:11:42 --> 00:11:43 every human
00:11:43 --> 00:11:44 being who
00:11:44 --> 00:11:44 comes into
00:11:44 --> 00:11:45 the world
00:11:45 --> 00:11:46 born physically
00:11:46 --> 00:11:49 alive
00:11:49 --> 00:11:50 but spiritually
00:11:50 --> 00:11:51 dead.
00:11:52 --> 00:11:53 We are
00:11:53 --> 00:11:54 all separated
00:11:54 --> 00:11:54 from God
00:11:54 --> 00:11:55 in our
00:11:55 --> 00:11:57 birth.
00:11:58 --> 00:11:59 Romans 5.12
00:11:59 --> 00:11:59 says,
00:12:00 --> 00:12:00 Therefore,
00:12:00 --> 00:12:01 just as sin
00:12:01 --> 00:12:02 entered the world
00:12:02 --> 00:12:03 through one man
00:12:03 --> 00:12:04 and death
00:12:04 --> 00:12:04 through sin,
00:12:05 --> 00:12:06 and in this way
00:12:06 --> 00:12:07 death came
00:12:07 --> 00:12:07 to all men
00:12:07 --> 00:12:09 because all
00:12:09 --> 00:12:10 sinned.
00:12:10 --> 00:12:12 This is why
00:12:12 --> 00:12:13 we as a church
00:12:13 --> 00:12:15 spend a lot
00:12:15 --> 00:12:15 of time
00:12:15 --> 00:12:16 praying for
00:12:16 --> 00:12:17 those people
00:12:17 --> 00:12:18 who are in
00:12:18 --> 00:12:18 the dark
00:12:18 --> 00:12:19 and who do
00:12:19 --> 00:12:19 not yet
00:12:19 --> 00:12:20 know Jesus.
00:12:22 --> 00:12:23 We want
00:12:23 --> 00:12:24 the Lord
00:12:24 --> 00:12:25 to bring
00:12:25 --> 00:12:26 them alive,
00:12:26 --> 00:12:28 to waken
00:12:28 --> 00:12:28 them up
00:12:28 --> 00:12:29 and bring
00:12:29 --> 00:12:30 them spiritually
00:12:30 --> 00:12:32 alive because
00:12:32 --> 00:12:33 they cannot do
00:12:33 --> 00:12:34 it by themselves.
00:12:34 --> 00:12:34 Only God
00:12:34 --> 00:12:35 can do that.
00:12:37 --> 00:12:37 Now,
00:12:37 --> 00:12:38 how did this
00:12:38 --> 00:12:38 temptation come
00:12:38 --> 00:12:39 to Eve?
00:12:39 --> 00:12:40 Or how does
00:12:40 --> 00:12:41 temptation come
00:12:41 --> 00:12:41 to any of us
00:12:41 --> 00:12:42 for that matter?
00:12:42 --> 00:12:44 The serpent
00:12:44 --> 00:12:45 began the
00:12:45 --> 00:12:46 conversation
00:12:46 --> 00:12:47 in the
00:12:47 --> 00:12:47 seemingly
00:12:47 --> 00:12:48 harmless
00:12:48 --> 00:12:50 terms of
00:12:50 --> 00:12:51 a discussion
00:12:51 --> 00:12:52 about God.
00:12:53 --> 00:12:54 The serpent
00:12:54 --> 00:12:55 doesn't deny
00:12:55 --> 00:12:55 the goodness
00:12:55 --> 00:12:56 of God.
00:12:57 --> 00:12:57 He simply
00:12:57 --> 00:12:59 sows very
00:12:59 --> 00:13:00 small seeds
00:13:00 --> 00:13:01 of mistrust.
00:13:03 --> 00:13:03 He isn't
00:13:03 --> 00:13:04 looking like
00:13:04 --> 00:13:05 something evil
00:13:05 --> 00:13:06 that Eve
00:13:06 --> 00:13:06 would be
00:13:06 --> 00:13:07 frightened of.
00:13:07 --> 00:13:07 After all,
00:13:08 --> 00:13:08 she is in the
00:13:08 --> 00:13:09 garden with
00:13:09 --> 00:13:09 all the
00:13:09 --> 00:13:10 creation
00:13:10 --> 00:13:10 that has
00:13:10 --> 00:13:11 all the
00:13:11 --> 00:13:12 animals that
00:13:12 --> 00:13:12 are there.
00:13:13 --> 00:13:13 It might
00:13:13 --> 00:13:14 have surprised
00:13:14 --> 00:13:15 her that
00:13:15 --> 00:13:16 the serpent
00:13:16 --> 00:13:17 spoke,
00:13:18 --> 00:13:18 but she
00:13:18 --> 00:13:19 clearly wasn't
00:13:19 --> 00:13:20 shocked to
00:13:20 --> 00:13:21 see a serpent
00:13:21 --> 00:13:22 in the
00:13:22 --> 00:13:23 garden.
00:13:25 --> 00:13:26 It simply
00:13:26 --> 00:13:28 moves from
00:13:28 --> 00:13:29 the woman's
00:13:29 --> 00:13:30 knowledge of
00:13:30 --> 00:13:31 God's goodness
00:13:31 --> 00:13:32 to cause
00:13:32 --> 00:13:34 doubt about
00:13:34 --> 00:13:35 the one
00:13:35 --> 00:13:36 prohibition
00:13:36 --> 00:13:37 that God
00:13:37 --> 00:13:37 has given
00:13:37 --> 00:13:39 the
00:13:39 --> 00:13:40 answer to
00:13:40 --> 00:13:40 the woman's
00:13:40 --> 00:13:41 freedom.
00:13:41 --> 00:13:41 It does so
00:13:41 --> 00:13:42 by twisting
00:13:42 --> 00:13:43 ever so
00:13:43 --> 00:13:45 slightly the
00:13:45 --> 00:13:46 word from
00:13:46 --> 00:13:47 God that
00:13:47 --> 00:13:48 was to give
00:13:48 --> 00:13:49 freedom to
00:13:49 --> 00:13:50 make it sound
00:13:50 --> 00:13:51 as if God
00:13:51 --> 00:13:51 was being
00:13:51 --> 00:13:52 mean.
00:13:53 --> 00:13:54 Did God
00:13:54 --> 00:13:54 say,
00:13:56 --> 00:13:56 you must
00:13:56 --> 00:13:57 not eat of
00:13:57 --> 00:13:59 any tree
00:13:59 --> 00:13:59 of the
00:13:59 --> 00:14:00 garden?
00:14:01 --> 00:14:02 If God
00:14:02 --> 00:14:03 is really as
00:14:03 --> 00:14:04 generous as
00:14:04 --> 00:14:04 we have come
00:14:04 --> 00:14:05 to believe,
00:14:06 --> 00:14:06 if God
00:14:06 --> 00:14:07 really cares
00:14:07 --> 00:14:14 for our welfare, surely he would not deny us this one small thing which looks good for
00:14:14 --> 00:14:22 food and pleasing to the eye. God knows that we need food. God wants us to delight in his
00:14:22 --> 00:14:31 world. Surely he would not forbid this one little thing. Friends, once we open ourselves
00:14:31 --> 00:14:40 up to a discussion with the tempter as to what God really meant, we have placed ourselves
00:14:40 --> 00:14:51 in a situation where escape is very difficult. And just as an aside, why do you think the Lord's
00:14:51 --> 00:15:01 prayer says, lead us not into temptation as opposed to lead us out of temptation once
00:15:01 --> 00:15:11 we are there? Once we are near temptation, it is very difficult to make rational decisions.
00:15:13 --> 00:15:21 Temptation begins with the small things. How can one small piece of fruit bring so much damage
00:15:21 --> 00:15:32 to the whole world? God was calling Eve to trust him and we too are asked daily to trust this
00:15:32 --> 00:15:41 same God, to know that he is for us and he is not against us. Adam and Eve, whilst in the garden,
00:15:41 --> 00:15:55 could only make one wrong decision, only one, and they did. So we need to see what some of the
00:15:55 --> 00:16:07 effects of that one wrong decision leads to. There are two main things. One has a number of subheadings,
00:16:07 --> 00:16:14 but one is the loss of the knowledge of God and the other is many negative emotions.
00:16:16 --> 00:16:22 But first let us look at the loss of knowledge of God. The wisdom of God was no longer with them
00:16:22 --> 00:16:30 and they were left to discover their own identity, purpose and meaning in life independently of their
00:16:30 --> 00:16:39 creator. The sheer fact that Adam tried to hide from God shows us his deficiency in his understanding of
00:16:39 --> 00:16:45 who God was. Listen to how Paul describes Adam's descendants in Ephesians. He says,
00:16:45 --> 00:16:51 they are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of their
00:16:51 --> 00:16:59 ignorance. Paul also tells us that the natural person who is spiritually dead cannot discern
00:16:59 --> 00:17:06 discern the things of God because they must be discerned spiritually. To be in a relationship
00:17:06 --> 00:17:14 with God was to know God. When Adam and Eve sinned and were banished from God's presence,
00:17:15 --> 00:17:22 they lost the intimate knowledge of God they once enjoyed. That's how we came into the world,
00:17:22 --> 00:17:31 without a true knowledge of God. And so we question God if things are not going according to the plan
00:17:31 --> 00:17:39 that we have. Along with having a loss of knowledge of God, there came a host of negative emotions.
00:17:41 --> 00:17:52 Where they have had enjoyed freedom and security, there is now fear and anxiety. The very two things,
00:17:52 --> 00:18:01 that break intimacy in relationships, fear and anxiety. Look with me at the verses in verse 8.
00:18:02 --> 00:18:07 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord as he was walking in the cool of the day,
00:18:07 --> 00:18:13 and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man,
00:18:13 --> 00:18:19 where are you? He answered, I heard you in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked and so I hid.
00:18:19 --> 00:18:28 And so he said, who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I had told you not to eat from?
00:18:28 --> 00:18:31 As if God didn't know already.
00:18:31 --> 00:18:40 The first emotion is fear. Do you know that phrase? Do you know that that phrase,
00:18:41 --> 00:18:50 do not fear, is the most repeated commandment in the Bible? The most repeated.
00:18:50 --> 00:18:56 Anxiety disorders are the number one health risk of our world.
00:18:58 --> 00:19:07 It is hard to imagine, but Adam and Eve had no irrational fears until they sinned. Not one.
00:19:08 --> 00:19:16 And we too were born with a driving need to get back to the position of security that they had lost.
00:19:16 --> 00:19:21 So that was fear and anxiety.
00:19:21 --> 00:19:23 They also felt guilty and shameful.
00:19:24 --> 00:19:27 Originally, they had a sense of significance.
00:19:28 --> 00:19:34 When the relationship with God was broken, that was replaced with a sense of guilt and shame.
00:19:35 --> 00:19:40 All of us would hate it if everything about ourselves,
00:19:40 --> 00:19:45 the good and the bad was on open display for everyone here at church to see.
00:19:46 --> 00:19:51 All of our selfish thoughts, all of our selfish desires.
00:19:52 --> 00:19:57 We would have a sense of guilt and shame and be very frightened
00:19:57 --> 00:20:03 that somebody might see the true person that Debbie Gould is.
00:20:03 --> 00:20:12 Identity crisis and negative self-image have been human problems since the fall.
00:20:13 --> 00:20:15 So what do we do?
00:20:15 --> 00:20:19 What's the normal thing when we know that we've done something wrong?
00:20:20 --> 00:20:22 What happened with Adam and Eve?
00:20:22 --> 00:20:27 We automatically go to blaming somebody else or something else.
00:20:27 --> 00:20:34 Adam blames Eve, Eve blames the serpent, and we are guilty of blaming also.
00:20:36 --> 00:20:38 They also felt rejected.
00:20:39 --> 00:20:40 They were banished from the garden.
00:20:42 --> 00:20:44 They lost the relationship with God.
00:20:45 --> 00:20:49 Originally, they had a sense of belonging, of complete acceptance.
00:20:50 --> 00:20:52 When the relationship with God was broken,
00:20:52 --> 00:20:56 there came a crushing sense of rejection.
00:20:57 --> 00:20:59 Everyone is born with it.
00:21:00 --> 00:21:06 And it creates in us a very strong need to be accepted.
00:21:07 --> 00:21:15 We have a strong sense of wanting to belong, to fit in, to be accepted.
00:21:15 --> 00:21:26 And you see this very clearly when individuals, young people, desperately want to be married,
00:21:26 --> 00:21:34 thinking that having a spouse is going to give them that sense of belonging that we all crave for.
00:21:34 --> 00:21:44 My whole personal testimony is about wanting to be accepted and looking for it in all the wrong places.
00:21:44 --> 00:21:49 They also felt weak and powerless.
00:21:49 --> 00:21:58 Originally, Adam and Eve had the power of God within them to be and to do all that God created them to be and to do.
00:21:58 --> 00:22:04 Now they had to rely upon their own strength and their own resources.
00:22:04 --> 00:22:15 And hence, we too grew up trying to control our own destinies, which often results in us trying to control others.
00:22:15 --> 00:22:23 We take on a self-reliant attitude and choose to be independent to others and to God.
00:22:23 --> 00:22:28 I'll do it my way, as the famous song goes, or I did it my way.
00:22:29 --> 00:22:33 Or we try to prove ourselves by what we achieve in life.
00:22:33 --> 00:22:41 What uni we go to, what marks we get, the promotions we might get from work.
00:22:42 --> 00:22:50 And dare I say, sometimes it actually goes into even what ministries I might have in a church.
00:22:52 --> 00:22:56 All of this we use to try and feed our insecurities.
00:22:56 --> 00:23:03 And if we don't achieve and cannot control, we then feel as if we have failed and that we are failures.
00:23:04 --> 00:23:14 We can all make the mistake of believing that the role we play, the job we do, the results we get in exams,
00:23:15 --> 00:23:18 that it's these things and many, many more.
00:23:19 --> 00:23:23 It's these things that define who we are.
00:23:23 --> 00:23:25 We all have been there.
00:23:25 --> 00:23:27 We have all made that mistake.
00:23:29 --> 00:23:38 We can think that we do not believe any of what the world says about who we are and how we should think.
00:23:38 --> 00:23:47 But our decisions and our choices and our reactions often will tell us something different.
00:23:47 --> 00:23:48 Let me repeat that.
00:23:48 --> 00:23:58 We can say that we believe what the Bible says, that I am free in Christ and that is a truth.
00:23:59 --> 00:24:09 But in reality, how we make choices, what we react to, what decisions we make,
00:24:09 --> 00:24:14 that is what tells us ever so clearly what is going on inside of you.
00:24:14 --> 00:24:22 Another emotion is that they felt depressed and angry.
00:24:22 --> 00:24:28 And we see this in the children of Adam and Eve, when they brought an offering to the Lord
00:24:28 --> 00:24:31 and Cain's offering was rejected by God.
00:24:32 --> 00:24:39 He felt depressed and angry and we know from Scripture it then led into murder and murdering his brother.
00:24:39 --> 00:24:48 We all in varying degrees get depressed when things are not going as we would like them to go.
00:24:49 --> 00:24:56 Is my identity tied up with my life going smoothly?
00:24:56 --> 00:25:06 By that I mean when life is tough and seems to be breaking at the seams, do I question my worth?
00:25:08 --> 00:25:19 Do I believe the lie that I am only whole as a person when all is going well and everyone loves me?
00:25:19 --> 00:25:27 So there is something wrong with me if all is not going well and people are not loving me.
00:25:28 --> 00:25:30 Do I feel a failure?
00:25:31 --> 00:25:36 Do I feel as if I have no worth if that is happening around me?
00:25:36 --> 00:25:49 Do I feel as if I have no worth if I have no worth if I have no worth if I have no worth?
00:25:49 --> 00:25:51 That Adam and Eve lost.
00:25:52 --> 00:25:54 But we don't know how to do it.
00:25:55 --> 00:26:03 So it's no surprise that we can be confused as to who we really are and what will make us happy.
00:26:03 --> 00:26:08 Now the world thinks that they've got the answer to this whole identity thing.
00:26:09 --> 00:26:15 The world will actually tell you that if you have performance plus accomplishments,
00:26:16 --> 00:26:19 then that will equal significance.
00:26:21 --> 00:26:26 The world will tell you that if you have status plus recognition,
00:26:27 --> 00:26:29 then you will have security.
00:26:29 --> 00:26:35 The world will tell you if you have appearance plus admiration,
00:26:36 --> 00:26:38 then you will have acceptance.
00:26:39 --> 00:26:45 But human effort cannot recapture what Adam and Eve lost.
00:26:46 --> 00:26:53 The only possible answer to our predicament is to restore our relationship with God,
00:26:53 --> 00:26:56 to reconnect our spirit to God's spirit,
00:26:56 --> 00:27:00 to become spiritually alive again.
00:27:00 --> 00:27:03 But that is not something we can do ourselves,
00:27:03 --> 00:27:05 and many of you already know that.
00:27:06 --> 00:27:11 So God sent Jesus to undo the work of Satan,
00:27:11 --> 00:27:13 who had deceived Eve,
00:27:14 --> 00:27:18 resulting in the sin that separated her and Adam from God.
00:27:18 --> 00:27:26 Jesus was like Adam in that he was both physically and spiritually alive.
00:27:27 --> 00:27:31 But he was unlike Adam because Jesus never sinned.
00:27:32 --> 00:27:39 He modelled for us how a spiritually alive person can live in this fallen world,
00:27:39 --> 00:27:47 and it is only by absolutely being dependent upon the heavenly father.
00:27:48 --> 00:27:50 The only way to live.
00:27:51 --> 00:27:55 But Jesus came to give us more than an example.
00:27:56 --> 00:27:59 He came to give us life.
00:27:59 --> 00:28:02 John 1 says,
00:28:02 --> 00:28:03 In the beginning was the word.
00:28:04 --> 00:28:09 In him was life, and that life was the light of men.
00:28:09 --> 00:28:10 John 10.10,
00:28:10 --> 00:28:13 I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.
00:28:14 --> 00:28:15 John 11.25,
00:28:15 --> 00:28:17 I am the resurrection and the life.
00:28:18 --> 00:28:21 He who believes in me will live even though he dies.
00:28:22 --> 00:28:23 In other words,
00:28:24 --> 00:28:27 he will live spiritually even if he dies physically.
00:28:27 --> 00:28:30 What Adam lost was life.
00:28:32 --> 00:28:35 What Jesus came to give us all was life.
00:28:36 --> 00:28:38 Whenever we become Christians,
00:28:39 --> 00:28:42 our spirit is reconnected to God's spirit.
00:28:43 --> 00:28:45 We are spiritually born again,
00:28:45 --> 00:28:49 and we can know God and relate to others
00:28:49 --> 00:28:53 in the same intimate way that Adam and Eve knew.
00:28:54 --> 00:28:56 Friends, if you are a Christian,
00:28:57 --> 00:29:03 do not be tempted to think that you cannot fall into the trap
00:29:03 --> 00:29:07 of believing what the world believes about who you are.
00:29:08 --> 00:29:12 I have seen time and time and time again
00:29:12 --> 00:29:15 over many years of ministry,
00:29:15 --> 00:29:19 many Christians who have fallen for the world's trap
00:29:19 --> 00:29:22 of believing that they do not have worth
00:29:22 --> 00:29:27 when in fact Jesus came so that they can have freedom in him.
00:29:28 --> 00:29:29 In 1 John 5.12,
00:29:30 --> 00:29:31 the apostle says,
00:29:31 --> 00:29:34 he who has the son has life.
00:29:35 --> 00:29:39 He who does not have the son does not have life.
00:29:39 --> 00:29:42 Our need to establish an identity,
00:29:43 --> 00:29:44 to be accepted,
00:29:44 --> 00:29:47 to be secure and significant,
00:29:47 --> 00:29:50 are fully met in Christ.
00:29:51 --> 00:29:54 We have seen that the world does not have the answers
00:29:54 --> 00:29:55 to our identity,
00:29:55 --> 00:29:56 but Christ does.
00:29:57 --> 00:29:58 Believe the truth
00:29:58 --> 00:30:01 that knowing Christ gives you the confidence
00:30:01 --> 00:30:03 of being very safe
00:30:03 --> 00:30:04 and secure
00:30:04 --> 00:30:08 in the Father's arms and his heart.
00:30:08 --> 00:30:09 Amen.