I know, I know. Hang with me and you’ll see what I mean. It began in the Garden.
2 The woman said to the serpent, ”We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
Genesis 3: 2-3
Did God say that they couldn’t touch the tree? Looking in Genesis 2: 16-17 we see that is not what God told Adam.
And the Lord God commanded the man, ”You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”
Genesis 2:16-17
No mention of not touching the tree. But this is how Satan works. He attacks twisting the Words of God. He counts on our ignorance (not really knowing the Scripture) our arrogance (we think we know better) and our defiance (we just don’t want to do what God told us to do).
Our pastor brought up the fact that Eve didn’t even know the name of the tree, she just knew it was in the middle of the garden. Not knowing the name of the tree, some of the reverence of it is lost. Too many of us know just enough of scripture to be deceived. Adam didn’t take the time to explain to Eve all that God had told him, so she didn’t have the knowledge she needed. This is where we fail at discipleship. We just don’t take the time to be complete in sharing the Word and that gives Satan an opening that he can use to cause doubt or uncertainty.
Just as Eve added to God’s Word, we may do that to make it work to our advantage. This is where we fall into the trap of wanting to be like God and this actually separates us from God. We exaggerate to make ourselves look better maybe? In the same way, we have to be sure that we’re telling the people we love about the important stuff; about sin. If we don’t tell them, we make them vulnerable to Satan’s lies.
Satan knows God’s Word very well. If we make a mistake he will know it and use it against us. That’s why it’s so important to study our Bible and write the Words of God on hearts. There’s a reason God commands that.
Because we let ourselves be deceived by Satan, we become separated from God. We hide because we’re embarrassed. We are ashamed and can’t face him. Is that what the Father would want? Of course not! He is still loving as he searches out Adam and Eve. He knows where they are, but do they really know the place they’ve put themselves in?
Jesus is NOT the reason for the season. Our fall is the reason he had to come to earth to redeem us. Jesus is the answer to our sin. We see this right here in the beginning in the book of Genesis chapter 3.
14 So the Lord God said to the serpent, ”Because you have done this, ”Cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. 15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”
Gensis 3: 14-15
This was God’s plan all along! He knew that Adam and Eve would eat the fruit of the tree. In order for man to be redeemed, he needed something to be redeemed from.
- Takeaways from today’s sermon:
- God’s response to Adam and Eve’s sin isn’t only judgment; it’s Advent.
- He promises a future Savior, who will come and crush the head of the serpent and be the means of reconciliation between God and man.
- He promises hope. He promises restoration. He promises redemption
- He promises Jesus.
- He promises Christmas
You can listen to this sermon here.
Edited to add: As I began an advent devotional this morning, I was surprised to see the message of this sermon in the first day of a devotional for advent. I tried to include a link to this devotional, but for some reason it’s not working. If you’re interested in it you can download the YouVersion Bible app and look for the devotional Advent A Journey To Christmas.
In Faith,
Pam
Where God Leads 