Greg Laurie at Harvest Ministries recommend a great resource about the end times by Dallas Theological Seminary professor Mark Hitchcock. He's written a brand new book called The Revelation Answer Book, 125 Common Questions People Ask About Earth's Final Days. And guess what? We have a copy with your name on it.
So for your gift of any size, we will rush you your own copy of the Revelation Answer Book. Available at harvest.org. The devil's primary objective is to separate you from God. Today, on a new beginning, Pastor Greg Lorry warns us about the fiascos and failures our adversary could bring to our lives. That is, if we listen to his voice, he will tempt you and then condemn you for giving in to his temptation.
And he'll say things to you like, oh man, don't read the Bible now. That would be hypocritical. Don't you dare go to church. I mean, when we've sinned, we think, well, I can't go to church after what I did this week. He's a liar.
This is the day when the lost are found. This is the day for a new beginning. Amazing grace, how sweet the sound. Again, you hear all the angels are singing. This is the day, the day when lives begin.
How does the devil cause so much mayhem among believers?
Now he has help. He and his minions set their sights on believers, trying to make them fall. and they're quite good at what they do. But today on a new beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie points out, victory is assured for God's children. when we stand in the victory of Jesus.
We're in the Garden of Eden today watching Adam and Eve struggle against the temptation of our adversary. and we'll see how that struggle affects us even today.
So we've Looked at the creation of all things.
Now we're looking at the story of Adam and Eve's sin against God in the Garden of Eden. And in Genesis 2. Moses zooms in from the cosmos to the Garden of Eden. This new section of Genesis deals with the relationship between God and man. Here's an interesting little point.
The name that God has used of himself up to this point is Elohim. But it shifts in chapter 2 to Yahweh.
So we might say the name of God Elohim would be the name describing him as majestic creator, and Yahweh is dealing more.
Well as in a personal way with us.
So here are Adam and Eve in perfect paradise. Living the dream, man. It can't get any better than this. Surrounded by beauty, surrounded by the most amazing wildlife. All the animals are docile and tame, and the greatest food to eat, and it's so good.
Well, there was trouble in paradise. Enter the devil. Go to Genesis 3, verse 1.
Now, the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, Has God indeed said, You will not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said to the serpent, well, we may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, you shall not eat it, nor touch it, lest you die. The serpent said to the woman, Oh, You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it, your eyes will be open, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.
And when the woman saw the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and desirable to make one wise, she took of the fruit and she ate. And she gave it to her husband with her, and he ate. And the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew they were naked. And they sowed fig leaves together, and made themselves coverings. And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day.
And Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Then the Lord called to Adam and said to him, Where are you? Adam said, I heard your voice in the garden, but I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid myself.
So here now we see how the devil seeks To attack and undermine us. We see his four. Waves of attack that he uses over and over again. What does he do? He questioned the word of God.
Hey, did God really say what you thought he said? Interesting.
Now, coming back to something I mentioned earlier, Satan uses the name. In the first chapter of Genesis for God. Elohim. Did Elohim really say, but remember, the Lord introduced himself as Yahweh, a more personal name. Hey, did Elohim really say what you thought?
He said. The devil's primary objective is to separate you from God through sin. And always be looking for ways to do that. And once he succeeds, Once you take the bait that he offers, then he'll come and condemn you. That's why he's called the accuser of the brethren.
I'm King James. But he will tempt you and then condemn you for giving in to his temptation. And he'll say things to you like, oh man, don't read the Bible now. That would be hypocritical. Don't you dare go to church.
I mean, when we've sinned, we think, well, I can't go to church after what I did this week. What do you think the church is? Think of the church like a hospital. Think of the church. like a place that you go to get better.
But the devil will try to keep you from church, keep you from God's people, keep you from opening the Bible, keep you from praying. Don't listen to him. But that's what the devil does. Did God really say what you thought he said? And he introduces the assumption that God's word is subject to our judgment.
Hey, you know what? I don't know. Do we really want to? Listen to what God said in His Word, and people do this all the time. They'll say things like, Well, I'm a Christian.
And I love the Lord, but I don't know if I agree with this part of the Bible. Listen, the Bible is the source of all truth. And so we believe this, but the devil attacks the word of God. Really, what he is implying is God is holding. You're away from something good.
Man, if God really loved you, He lets you do whatever you want. Why would he restrict you? Why would he say you can't eat of this tree? God's holding you back from this thing because, in the day you eat of it, you will be like a god yourself, you'll be a goddess, knowing good and evil. He's a liar.
If God tells you not to do something, it's for your own good. Is it really that bad? God gives us commandments: you shall not lie, you shall not steal, you shall not take the Lord's name in vain, you shall honor your mother and father. Live in these standards and by these principles because these are walls of protection, keeping evil out. And when you understand the commandments and the principles of Scripture, In their proper context, they're there to protect you.
God says, the Bible says, no good thing will he withhold from those. that walk uprightly. And Satan also questioned The love of God. If God really loved you, He'd let you do whatever you want. No, He loves you too much to let you do whatever you want.
And then the devil denied the word of God. You know, it's a short step from questioning the Word of God. To denying the word of God.
So, what do we learn?
Well Don't get into conversations with the devil. The Bible says, resist the devil, and he will flee from you. And then the devil substitutes. His own life. Amen.
You become like a God knowing good and evil. That was a complete lie. Listen, command central of your life is your mind. Paul writes about this in 2 Corinthians 10 when he says, The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of this world, on the contrary. We have divine power to demolish strongholds.
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God. And we take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ.
So when that thought comes, you say, No, I'm not letting that one in. That thought of fear, that thought of lust, that thought of vengeance, that thought of whatever it is, that's not coming in here. Oh, that thought, that thought's coming in. That passage, that beautiful thought about the Lord, that is going to come in.
So we ask ourselves the question: where is this thought coming from? Here's what you need to remember: every temptation can be resisted and overcome. Every temptation. The Bible says, Blessed is the man that endures temptation, for when he has tried, he'll receive the crown of life. And the word blessed could be translated happy.
Happy You're happy when you overcome temptation. Then 1 Corinthians 10.13 says, There is no temptation taking you but such as is common to man. But God who is faithful will not allow you to be tempted above what you are able, but what with the temptation make a way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.
So how do we fight temptation? We fight back with the Word of God. memorized and quoted. Psalm 119 says, How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to your word.
Then it goes on to say, Your word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against you. It's great to carry a Bible. In your briefcase, your backpack, or your purse, or your merse. If you're a guy, you carry the little handbag MERS. It's a purse, just deal with it, okay?
Great place to carry your Bible, but the best place to carry the Word of God. It's in your heart. Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment. It's a joy to hear when these studies have truly impacted lives. Listen to these comments from one of our listeners.
Hey guys, for Greg. I feel my story is a lot like yours. Um about your age. I lost my oldest daughter to ovarian cancer at the young age of 27. And I'm a pastor, and I would just like to say that I'm encouraged by your words of encouragement.
Every morning I listen to you as I mow lawn out here with my headset on. And I do support you. God bless you and keep up the good work. When we hear from you, it's not only a blessing, it also confirms that the program is touching lives. If you have a story to share, Call Pastor Greg and leave him a message.
Call 1-866-871-1144. That's 866-871-1144.
Well, we're getting some instruction today from Pastor Greg on standing against our adversary and his influence. Let's continue now. Jesus provided us the example. and how to fight temptation. Remember after he was baptized by his cousin John on the Jordan River.
We read immediately he went into the wilderness to be tested by the devil. The devil showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And Satan said, All this is mine, and I can give it to whoever I want. And Jesus, I'll give it to you if you'll worship me. You might think, why would he say that to Jesus?
Understand why Christ came. He came to purchase back that which was lost in the Garden of Eden. He was coming to die a horrible torturous Death. on a Roman cross. Satan's saying, I'll give you a shortcut, no cross, no suffering.
Worship me for a moment, I'll give everything to you right now. And Jesus said, It is written, You shall worship the Lord God, and Him only shall you serve. Then Satan said to Jesus, Why don't you turn this rock into a piece of bread? Jesus had been fasting for 40 days. He was hungry.
Jesus said, It is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but from every word that comes from God. Again, how does he fight Satan with the word of God? He stood on ground that we too can occupy. Jesus could have exercised executive privilege. He could have said, Satan, get out of here.
You're begun. And the devil was overpowered and outraked, but he didn't do that. Jesus faced him like we should face him using the word of God. That's how we do it. But Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit.
Must have looked good at first. We always call it the apple. When Eve ate the apple, Well that's with the apple. There's no apple in the Bible. Bible never says it was an apple.
I don't know where that came from. I wouldn't even be tempted by an apple, would you? Maybe a nectarine or a peach or something. I'm not that much into apples. I think it was probably a piece of fruit like you've never seen before.
It pulsated with light. Like a little disco ball. Had its own theme song, you know. I don't know what it was. But it was something that would dazzle you, like, whoa, what is this?
And then you know, as you bite, it looks so good. It was pleasant to the eyes, it says, and desirable to make one wise. But then when you bit in, it was poison. You ever get those little candies in a box? And you bite into it and it's like, gross, what was that?
All I like in candy boxes, seize candies or whatever, I like the nuts and chews. But then you bite into those goopy, gross things, right? You bite into, oh, this looks so good, there's gonna be no great day. Poison, it's awful. It's the not the candy, but sin.
And so, in the same way, that's what happened. The eyes of them both were open. Verse 7. Their eyes were open to earth and closed to heaven. Then, guess who shows up in the garden?
The Lord. Verse 8, Genesis 3, the Lord comes walking. To the garden, they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day. Interesting.
The word for God is Yahweh.
So we're back to Yahweh again.
So Yahweh comes walking through the garden. It would appear, perhaps. The Lord showed up in the garden. Every day. as the sun was setting.
In the cool of the day everything would be bathed in a golden light. And Adam would normally tell the Lord what he had discovered that day. Maybe he had some questions for God.
So here comes the Lord as he would come. Walking in the garden. But now Adam is not running to see the Lord, he's hiding. from the Lord because of his sin. And what a sad thing that is.
And now the thrill of sin is gone. And sin doesn't always have a thrill, but sometimes it does, and it's short-lived at best. And then the repercussions come, then the guilt kicks in, and that dead, cold feeling that comes from sin is there. And the Lord says, Adam, where are you? Did the Lord say that because he literally didn't know where Adam is?
Adam, Adam, I can't find you. The Lord knew exactly where Adam was. The Lord knew everything that was happening. He was aware of it from the very beginning. God wasn't looking for the location of Adam.
He was looking for confession from Adam.
Sort of like when I used to play hide and seek with my grandkids when they were really little. They would say, Papa, we're going to hide, find us, count to 20. I'd count to 20. walk out into the front room. They're hiding behind the curtain.
But the curtain only goes down so far, and I can see their little feet there. And they're laughing. I hear them, but I act like I don't see them. Where are you? Where are you?
Do it again, Papa.
So I'd count the 20 come out. They're in the same place. Kids, do I have to l teach you how to be more deceptive? I don't know. That's us hiding from God.
Oh, I'm hiding from God. You think God doesn't see you when you turn off the light? You think God doesn't see you when you close the door? God sees and knows everything. Adam, the Lord says, Where are you?
Adam, of course, covers things up. But I wonder if God is asking that question of some of us right now: where are you? Not literally, where are you? He knows where you are, we're in church. But where are you spiritually?
Are you in the place you should be in right now? Or are you separated from God because of sin? I don't think this is a spoiler alert when I tell you that. Of course, Jesus came to die on the cross to reconcile us with God. and to restore what was lost in the Garden of Eden.
And we'll look at that first messianic passage next time in Genesis chapter 3, verse 15, when God speaks of one who would come to deliver us. We'll stop short of that today and just deal with that question: where are you? Are you where you need to be? Are you right with God? If you died today, would you go to heaven?
Or have you done something you know has separated you from God? And there might be someone I'm talking to that. Was walking with the Lord, but you've allowed sin to. get into your life and to compromise you and you've eaten of that Forbidden fruit.
Well, the good news is God. can forgive you. The Bible says if we will confess our sin, He's faithful and just to forgive us of our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. You have to admit your sin. Stop making excuses for it.
Stop blaming others for it. And just say, I'm guilty, I'm sorry, forgive me. And he will. Because Jesus died on that cross for your sin. He paid the price for every wrong you've done.
You don't have to atone for your own sin, you don't have to do X amount of good works. To get God to forgive you, just come and say, God, I'm a sinner, I failed, but you're a savior and you love me, and I need your forgiveness right now. God longs for relationship with you. Isn't it interesting that the story says, the Lord came calling. It should have been Adam saying, God, where are you?
God, come to me. God, help me. It said it's the Lord calling. It's a Lord longing for us. The Lord desiring friendship and fellowship with us, and He's calling out to you.
You say, But Greg, I failed. But the Lord loves you and He misses you. Remember the story of the prodigal son? When he finally came to his senses and returned home, what do we read? Jesus told the story to show us what God is like.
He says the father saw him from a great distance and ran to him. And he threw his arms around him and kissed him and said, This, my son, who is dead, is alive again, and he who was lost is found. That's how God feels about you. Oh, what will God do if I come back? I'm such a failure.
God will say, I've missed you. I love you. Let me forgive you. Will you come to him right now? If you've never asked Jesus to come into your life, you can do it right here, right now.
If you've fallen away from the Lord or you're separated from God because of some sin, you can be forgiven of that sin and reconnect with Him right now. Remember, the devil wants to separate you. From God. But God wants you to come close.
So we're going to pray. And I'm going to give you an opportunity if you need to. to get right with God. Right now. Let's pray.
Father, speak to every person here. wherever they are. If they don't have a relationship with you, let this be the moment they believe. Maybe there's somebody here that would say, I need Jesus today. I don't know if I'll go to heaven one day.
I don't know if my sin is forgiven. I have this big hole in my heart. But I want Christ to come and fill that void. Maybe I'm talking to somebody here who. Has walked with the Lord, but you've allowed sin to get into your life and it's.
Separated you from the Lord, and you need to come back to Him and receive His cleansing. Pray this if you would, Lord Jesus. I know that I'm a sinner. But I know that you're the Savior. Who died on the cross of Calvary.
and rose again from the dead. Jesus, come into my life. I choose to follow you now. Be my Savior. Be my Lord.
Be my God. Be my friend. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Pastor Greg Laurie praying with those who want to make a change in their relationship with the Lord.
It's an important day for some of our listeners to day. And if you've just prayed with Pastor Gregg and asked Jesus to be your Saviour, Well, Pastor Gregg would like to help you get started in this new walk of faith. You know, it's so important to build a solid foundation. and he'd like to send you a complimentary copy of his New Believer's Bible. It's in the easy to understand New Living translation.
So, just give us a phone call at 1-800-821-3300. and ask for it. You can call us any time 24-7-1-800-821-3300. or go online to harvest.org and click Know God. And then let us take a moment to thank you for praying for this ministry and for supporting it through your generous donation.
It's an investment in kingdom business. Isn't that right, Pastor Greg? Yeah, it's really true, Dave, and I believe it's so important because, you know, the gospel saves lives. It saves eternal lives. Because when a person believes in Jesus, according to Scripture, they pass from darkness to light.
From the power of Satan to the power of God. And then, of course, that changes the course of their future. That impacts their children and their children's children. The gospel changes everything. And thousands and thousands of people respond every single year.
Thanks to the Lord. Also thanks to you for your investment in this ministry, enabling us to reach people. Wherever they are.
So if this is something you care about, I encourage you to make a financial investment. and a new beginning in harvest ministries. Yes, that's right, and we really do appreciate your support. Thanks for partnering with us today. It can make a real difference, not just for today or this week, but for eternity.
So get in touch with your support today by calling 1-800-821-3300. That's a 24-7 phone number, 1-800-821-3300. or go online to harvest.org.
Well next time, more insights from the book of Genesis. We'll focus on keeping our thoughts in harmony with our beliefs. Join us here on A New Beginning with Pastor and Bible teacher Greg Laurie. This is the day, the day when life begins.
