Pastor Greg Laurie presents the Amazon Prime hit series The House of David, now on DVD. The House of David, which has been just a smash hit on the Amazon streaming platform, is now available in a box set format. And you can watch it when you want to. We're also including something called Beyond House of David, which is a four-part documentary series.
So order your copy right now, The House of David. Yours for a gift of any amount at harvest.org. You are the air traffic controller of your mind. You decide what thoughts are going to be there and what thoughts are going to be rejected. Coming up today, Pastor Greg Laurie urges us to guard our thoughts from taking us on a flight path that leaves us far away from God.
Most sins that people engage in, they think about first. They contemplate it first. They fantasize about it first, right? And so this is why we have to guard our thoughts. 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 will live in. Mankind has had some great ideas: air travel, space flight.
The wheel, the smartphone. But every day, each of us has some very bad ideas. God calls them sin. But good or bad, it starts with an idea. And today on a new beginning.
Master Dread Lori helps us keep our ideas in check. We're launching a new series in the Book of Beginnings. the book of Genesis. We'll see dangerous ideas can be traced all the way back. to the Garden of Eden.
This is the day the day when life begins. Have you ever noticed on certain products there's a warning label? Warning you to not do a certain thing. I came across What could best be described as Wacky warning labels. They're real.
But maybe they've gone a little bit too far. As an example, this is a real warning label on a baby stroller. Warning. Remove child before folding. That means somewhere, someone.
folded the stroller with the baby inside still. A warning on a brass fishing lure with a three-pronged hook on the end, Harmful if swallowed. I think that's true of the fish. I hope a human didn't swallow it. A flushable toilet brush warns.
Not to be used for personal hygiene. Oh, gross. I can have Self-defense pepper spray warns users may irritate eyes. That was kind of the plan. If I'm going to spray someone, I hope it irritates their eyes.
A popular manufacturer of a fireplace log warrants caution, risk of fire. I was hoping for that. On a chainsaw, this is a real warning on a chainsaw. Warning, do not hold the wrong end of a chainsaw. That's good advice.
Warning on a hairdryer, do not use while sleeping. How do you use a hair dryer while you're sleeping?
Well, someone apparently has done it. Here's another one. Warning. This Superman costume does not enable you to fly. Oh great.
So someone Thought they could just jump off the roof because they were wearing that costume. And one more, well, actually, two more. Warning, never try to catch a falling knife. Yeah, that's a good idea. You drop a knife, let it hit the ground.
Well, catch it. No, don't, don't. And then one final one, and I should have heeded this one because I didn't listen to this warning. Warning on a household iron. Never iron clothes while they're being worn.
I have iron clothes. While wearing them, has anybody else done this? Raise your hand if you have.
So You know, you get everything ironed, and you look in the mirror, and there's one little wrinkle, I'll just iron it.
Well, what I did was even worse because I have a heavy-duty steam iron. I mean, this is a next-level steam iron. It has a base, a reservoir, water, it's nuclear-powered, okay?
So, when you fire a burst of steam, it's like, like that.
So, I'm where two people just woke up, I noticed, when I did that, somewhere.
Okay. I'm wearing this shirt and I thought, oh, it's a wrinkle. I'll just plast it with steam. But I. I pulled it away from my skin.
I'd be okay. And I gave it a blast of steam, and I screamed like a little girl. Later that night, I had my shirt off. Don't try to visualize that, please. And my wife looked at me with this red welt.
She said, What happened to you? I said, Don't ask.
Okay, so. That's good advice. Well, you know, there's warning labels, if you will, in the Bible as well. Things that God tells us not to do, and instead things that we should do in their place. Let me give an example.
Psalm 1 says, Happy is the man or woman who does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly, or stand in the way of sinners, or sit in the seat of the scornful. Those are things you should not do. But, His or her delight is in the word of the Lord, and in it do they meditate day and night.
So don't do these things. Instead, do these things.
Well, we're going to look here now. At the very familiar story of our first parents sinning against God because they didn't listen to the warning label. That brings me to point number one. The theme of this message is what happens when we don't follow the warnings.
So the Lord placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. It was literally paradise. They could eat of any tree. I mean, imagine God said, this is all yours to enjoy. You can eat of all of the fruit of the trees of the garden and behold the beauty I placed in it.
One restriction. But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, don't eat from that tree. Scene 2, Adam and Eve standing at the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The one place God told them to stay away from, that's where they were. Already they're setting themselves up for trouble.
They were in the wrong place, and then they heard the wrong voice, and then they did the wrong thing.
So here they are standing by that tree, and of course, the devil comes and he tempts them. And um We see what happens when you don't listen to the warning. Genesis 3:6 says, When the woman saw that the tree was good for food. And that it was pleasant to the eyes and desirable to make one wise. She took of its fruit and ate, and she gave to her husband with her, and he ate.
That brings me to point number two. Every temptation in life fits into three categories. Three categories.
Okay, so how many of you have ever been tempted to sin? Raise your hand up. You've been tempted to sin. Not every hand's going up, so some of you are apparently untemptable. How many of you have given in to the temptation to sin?
Raise your hand up. More hands went up, which perplexes me. Yeah. Whatever, okay.
So Every sin that you've ever committed. Falls into one of three categories, and it's identified for us in 1 John 2:15 to 16. It says, Love not the world. Neither the things that are in the world. For all that is in the world, the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, The pride of life is not of the Father, but of the world.
The lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, the The pride of life. Every temptation is in one of those categories. First, there's the lust of the flesh. Things that feel good. We read in Genesis 3:16, when the woman saw their tree was good for food.
It feels good. The lusts of the flesh would include temptations that are physical in nature, whatever appeals to you. You're drawn to that thing. It's the pleasures of life.
Now, you can have legitimate pleasures in life as a Christian. The Bible even says, in his presence there are pleasures forevermore. But there are good pleasures, godly pleasures satisfied. But then there are ungodly pleasures. Sinful things that we might pursue.
The Bible even warns, she that lives her pleasure is dead while she is living.
Okay, so that's the lust of the the flesh, then there's the lust of the eyes, things that look good. We read in Genesis 3: Eve saw that it was poor. Pleasant to the eyes. Most temptation. Comes through your mind first.
You are the air traffic controller of your mind. You decide what thoughts are going to be there and what thoughts are going to be rejected. But you'll find that most sins that people engage in, they think about first, they contemplate it first, they fantasize about it first, right? And so this is why we have to guard our thoughts and be careful about what we expose ourselves to. David fell into sexual sin when he was on his balcony looking around and he saw the beautiful Bathsheba bathing herself.
Now, he couldn't have seen the first thing, but it's that second look that gets you into trouble. or maybe this super long first look. Depending. And that is why Job says, I've made a covenant with my eyes that I will not look on a woman lustfully.
So the lust of the eyes, and finally, there's a pride of life, things that make you feel and look good. The devil says to them, go ahead and eat of this fruit. It's desirable to make one wise. And you'll be as a God, he says to Adam and Eve, knowing good and evil. No, it's not wrong to want to look good.
Uh you know, it's fine to Want to give some attention to the way you appear. In fact, some of you should give more attention to that. And I'm looking at you right now. No, I'm not, actually, I'm not. But I'm thinking about it.
No, I'm not. But then there are people that are obsessed with that. That's all they think about. You know, just by visiting their Instagram page, right?
So here's the thing: we have to find the balance in all of these things. The pride of life is an obsession with self. wanting to appear more important than we are. This is what got Lucifer, once a high-ranking angel, ejected from his former position in heaven. And then he became Satan or the devil.
He wanted to be worshipped.
So these are the things we should stay away from. The world with its allure is the external foe. The flesh with its evil desires is the internal foe. And Satan with his enticements is the infernal foe. Infernal foe.
Uh Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment. Hey everyone, I want you to know about our app called Harvest Plus. Think of it as a harvest version of Netflix. We have all of our resources in one place. We have our movies like Steve McQueen, The Salvation of an American Icon, Johnny Cash, the Redemption of an American Icon, A Rush of Hope, and much more.
Then we have our television program, daily devotions, and much more.
So go and download the Harvest Plus app.
Well, today, Pastor Greg is helping us avoid the temptation of our adversary as we consider the wisdom found in the book of Genesis.
So now let's go back and look at this scene and look at what happened.
So Adam and Eve eat of the forbidden fruit.
Now sin has entered the world.
So here comes the Lord. Walking through the garden of Eden in the cool of the day, in Genesis chapter 3, verse 10, and God calls out. Where are you? And Adam answered, I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid. God said, Who told you you were naked?
Have you eaten from the tree I commanded you not to eat from? The man said, The woman you gave me, she gave me some fruit of the tree, and I ate it. Then the Lord God said to the woman, What is this that you've done? And the woman said, The serpent deceived me and I ate. All right, we'll stop there.
Point number three, Adam blamed God for what he had done. He blamed God for what he had done. I mean, what happened to the Adam that said of Eve after she was created, This is not bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman because she was taken out of man.
Now it's like she did it. Like, you know, he. He's literally throwing Eve under the bus, and then he's driving the bus over her a couple of times. We do the same thing. It's not my fault.
I'm not responsible. That person trapped me. This person enticed me. I have no responsibility at all. But in a way, Adam was blaming God.
It's the woman you gave me. Adam's effectively saying, Hey, I'm taking a nap, I wake up, a rib's missing, and she's here. It's all her fault. But then Eve. She says, a serpent beguiled me.
Let me update that. The devil made me do it. The devil can't make you do anything. The devil can tempt you. But you have to want what he's offering, or it's not going to happen.
So she was responsible as well, though she was deceived by the devil. We play a role in our own temptation in sin. James 1:13 says, Let no man say when he is tempted, God is tempting me, for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he himself tempt anyone. We do a pretty good job of getting ourselves into trouble because we have a sinful nature. Nature.
My next point: because of Adam's sin, we all suffer. Because of Adam's sin, we all suffer. But let me. Make this point. If you were in the garden, you would have done the same thing.
And so would I.
So it's easy to blame them, but this is just human nature, all right? But we're all affected by this decision he made. Romans 5:12 says, When Adam sinned, sin entered the world, and Adam sinned brought death, and death spread to everyone, for everyone has sinned. Death Illness, disability, age, all a result of the fall. If Adam and Eve had not sinned, we would never get sick.
If Adam and Eve never sinned, we would never die. If Adam and Eve never sinned, I would have hair. You see? It's all connected. We all share in this.
Now, let's see what happens after sin has entered the world. Go to Genesis chapter 4. Starting in verse 1, I'm reading from the New Living Translation.
Now Adam knew his wife Eve and she became pregnant. And when she gave birth to Cain, she said, With the Lord's help, I produced a man. Later, she gave birth to his brother and named him Abel. When they grew up, Abel became a shepherd while Cain cultivated the ground. When it was time for harvest, Cain presented some of his crops as a gift to the Lord.
Abel also brought a gift the best portions of the firstborn lambs from the flock. The Lord accepted Abel in his gift, but he did not accept Cain in his gift. This made King very angry, and he looked dejected. Why are you so angry? The Lord asks Cain.
Why do you look so dejected? Then the Lord gives us ominous warning. You will be accepted. If you do what is right, but if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out because sin is crouching at your door, eager to control you, but you must subdue it and be its master.
Okay, we'll stop there. The book of Genesis can be divided into three sections: chapters one and two: generation. Chapters 3 to 11, degeneration. Chapters 12 to 50, regeneration. In chapter 3, we saw the beginning of man.
In chapter 4, we read of his progress and results as he sins against God. Bottom line: mankind wrecks everything he touches because we're sinful by nature. If history tells us anything, it tells us this: man is not basically good. Man is basically bad. Dad to the bone.
Sinful to the core. History is a space in which Keynes' acts ultimately became thermonuclear weapons. We just take new technology and find ways to use it. To make things even worse. And it's not the way it began.
I mean, here's Adam and Eve. They're having their first child. And they'd never seen a pregnancy before. and much less a birth. I was talking to a pastor friend of mine a while ago, and he told me about his daughter's wedding, and he wanted to say something very profound because he was performing the ceremony.
So there she is standing with her groom, and he looks at her and he says, I was there when you were conceived. And he meant to say, I was there when you were born.
Okay, so it's. I mean, he was there when she was kids, but still, it just. Not what you want to hear. on your wedding day. From your dad.
That's the way that went. When Adam and Eve were present for both, Conception and birth.
Now, you wonder if Adam's thinking, what's happening to my beautiful wife, Eva. Putting a little bit of weight on all of a sudden. Have you found like a high-carb tree out there or something? Why are you knitting those little socks? What's going on here?
Well, she was going to have a baby and she had her first child King. And then followed by Abel. And they both brought their offering one day. And God accepted the offering of Abel, and he rejected the offer of Cain. Bringing me to point number five: being exposed to truth does not guarantee you will follow it.
Cain and Abel were both raised in the same home. They They both saw the same things. But one Walked with God and one did not walk with God. One was a true worshipper, and the other was not a true worshipper. One was accepted, the other rejected.
And this reminds us there's a right and wrong way to approach God. And it comes down to this. The why or the motive. Because as far as God is concerned, motive is everything. One day We as Christians will stand before The judgment seat of Christ.
This is not a judgment about whether or not you get to heaven. In fact, it's a judgment in heaven where rewards are given out for faithful service. And the Bible says God will test every man's work to see what sort it is. In other words, the why. of what you did.
Do you think, well, if I have a beautiful voice and in worship I sing louder than everyone, that will be pleasing to God? Maybe and maybe not. Because if your heart's in the wrong place, it's not pleasing to God at all. And that person that's always off pitch. May be more pleasing to the Lord than the person with the beautiful voice.
Or when we receive an offering and one person gives a lot of money. And another person doesn't give as much. God will be impressed by the motive of why the person did what they did. God looks on the heart. Bringing me to my next point: the heart of the matter is a matter of the heart.
It's all about the heart. The why of why we do things. And so. In the book of Isaiah, it says, God speaking, these people draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. See, Abel was a true worshiper.
His heart was in the right place. Cain was not. And we're given an insight as to what really happened in Hebrews 11 when it says: By faith, Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain.
Well, Cain was ticked off. Angry that God did not accept his sacrifice. In fact, when the word that is used for anger here in verse 5 means he burned with anger. Causing the Lord to even say, Hey, hey buddy, calm down a little bit. Why are you so angry?
Why do you look so dejected? The fact is, Cain's true colors are beginning to show. The Lord is saying that you need to not go this way because this is not going to end well for you. Bring me to point number seven. God wanted confession.
because that's the only way to forgiveness. Why are you doing what you're doing? You don't want to do this. And Cain should have said, You're right. I'm overreacting.
I'm sorry, Lord. I repent. But he's just angry. And he's justifying his own anger. It's a weird thing about anger, isn't it?
How you can feel so right about it. Until the adrenaline wears off. Like when you're driving. And someone does some crazy thing. Right?
They offer a hand gesture in your direction. And you just are so filled with rage, or they cut you off. Or they, you know, roll their window down and yell something, you know, and then you. Do something you regret later. And you need to just calm down.
That was Cain. He was just losing it. And God gives him this interesting warning in verse 7. Listen, you'll be accepted if you do what is right, but if you refuse to do what's right, watch out. Sin is crouching at your door, eager to control you.
But you must subdue it and be its master. The Lord's saying. Cain? You're flirting with disaster. Sin is like a crouching beast poised and ready to strike.
and ruin your life if you don't get control of it. An important warning from our studies in Genesis today with Pastor Greg Laurie here on A New Beginning. And there's more to come as this study continues. The good news regarding the sin that crouches at our door is that the Lord makes His power available to those who are truly His. We can resist sin and the power of the Lord.
And when we fail, God grants second chances. It's part of the blessing of being a believer. Where do you stand with the Lord? Have you truly come to Jesus and asked Him to forgive your sin and beg you? Be your Saviour?
Pastor Gregg, what would you say to the person who wants to make that kind of change today? I would say that God is just a prayer away. You know, it doesn't take years to become a Christian, it doesn't take months. Frankly, it doesn't even take hours. It can happen so quickly.
It just starts with You saying to God, I know I'm a sinner, but I know that You love me? I know that you sent Jesus to die on the cross for my sin and pay for those sins and then to rise again from the dead. And I want him to come into my life.
So here's my question to you: Have you done that yet? Because Jesus, who did die on that cross and rose again from the dead three days later, is alive and standing at the door of your life right now, and He's knocking. And He's saying, If you'll hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in. Would you like your sin forgiven? Would you like to know that when you die you will go to heaven?
Do you want Christ to come into your life right now? If so, why don't you just stop whatever it is you're doing? And pray this prayer with me. You can pray it out loud, you can pray it in the quietness of your own heart. But pray this prayer to God.
Say, Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner. But I know that you are the Saviour. who died on the cross for my sin. and rose again from the dead, I'm sorry for my sin, and I turn from it now. and I choose to follow you From this moment forward, it is I ask all of this in Jesus' name.
Amen. Listen. If you just prayed that prayer, the Bible promises that God has heard your prayer and has answered that prayer. The Bible says that we will confess our sin. He's faithful and just to forgive us our sin and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
So. God bless you. You've made the right decision. The decision to follow Jesus Christ. Yeah, that's right.
And listen, Pastor Greg would like to help you start off right living for the Lord. He'd like to send you his New Believer's Bible. It features hundreds of helps for new believers, and it's written in an easy-to-understand translation.
So contact us for your free copy of the New Believer's Bible. Call us at one eight hundred eight two one thirty three hundred. That's one eight hundred eight two one three hundred. 3300 or write a new beginning box 4000. Riverside, California, nine two five one four.
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Well next time, more insights from man's encounter with sin and temptation in the Garden of Eden. Join us here on A New Beginning with pastor and Bible teacher Greg Lorry. This is a day, the day when life begins.
