God's Solution to Man's Problem | Sunday Message

Hey there, thanks for listening to the Greg Laurie Podcast, a ministry supported by Harvest Partners. I'm Greg Laurie encouraging you.

If you want to find out more about Harvest Ministries and learn more about how to become a Harvest Partner, just go to harvest.org. Go to your word and learn more about you. Learn how to resist temptation.

Learn how to walk with you. So bless this time of Bible study we pray now. In Jesus' name we ask this, amen. You can all be seated. Good morning to Harvest Riverside, Harvest Kumalani on the beautiful island of Maui and all of you watching at Harvest at Home and of course here at Harvest Orange County. Welcome to church.

So as it has been said, today is Sanctity of Life Sunday. So I was just back in Washington D.C. on Friday. I just flew back yesterday and boy are my arms tired. Get it? I just flew back. It's a joke people.

Okay. So I was privileged to do a prayer and share a few words at this massive March for Life event that's been held for many years now. There was probably more than 100,000 people there and it was just amazing. Just amazing.

So here's a few photos. There were so many young people from all around. Those are my granddaughters, Lucy, Riley, Kathy, my wife in the middle, Allie and my daughter-in-law, Brittany. They were all there marching at the March for Life and this is just so many young people from all around the country. And they call themself, we said hello to former Vice President Mike Pence in his office. So there we all are standing there in the nice warm little room before we went out into the very cold snow. Professional NFL football player, Benjamin there had the opportunity to speak with him.

He spoke as well. There are the girls out in the snow. The snow is just amazing. Look at Kathy on the left. She looks like a model.

Look at her. And there we all are standing together. It was just fantastic time.

And that should probably be our Christmas card next year. I don't know. I was arrested briefly. And that's where I was actually praying at the event. And so I saw this as an opportunity to not only stand with those that stand for the unborn, but also to share the gospel with the folks as well. So here's a little video clip of what it was like back there.

Check this out. Well here we are at the March for Life in Washington D.C. It's snowing.

It's beautiful though actually. And I've got my granddaughter Lucy, my granddaughter Riley, my wife Kathy, my daughter-in-law Brittany, and my granddaughter Allie. They've all got their little signs.

Check out their signs. So we're all out here with hundreds of thousands of people from all around the nation and even the world speaking up for those that can't speak up for themselves. Please join me in welcoming two very special guests Pastor Greg Laurie and Kathy Laurie who inspired the movie Jesus Revolution. I'm so proud of all of you coming out on this very cold snowy day in our nation's capital to speak for those who have no voice. Let me pray for you now Lord. Thank you for every man and woman, every boy and girl here today. Many came from a great distance to our nation's capital to speak up for the unborn. We pray for our nation. We pray for young women who find themselves pregnant that they would carry these babies to term and raise them up or put them up for adoption. We pray that we as believers, the church, would be there to support these mothers. We pray that you would raise up godly people in our government, in the Congress, in the Senate, in the White House, as well as local government officials who would stand for the unborn. You tell us in your word when the righteous rule, the people rejoice. Lord we pray for a great spiritual awakening to sweep the United States of America.

We need another revival. We're all separated from God by our sin, but God loved us so much that 2,000 years ago he sent his son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for our sin and then he rose again from the dead. And if we will turn from our sin and invite Christ into our life, we can know with certainty that we have eternal life.

Alright. So I did a little gospel presentation and I said if you want to accept Jesus Christ why don't you pray this prayer with me right now. And then I said in fact why don't we all pray it together. Thousands and thousands of people are praying this prayer of asking Jesus to come into their life.

I think I'm going to run into someone, maybe more than one, one day that will say I was one of those people that prayed that prayer and gave my life to Jesus Christ on that snowy day in Washington D.C. at the March for Life event. So we'll see. Alright. Well who wants to have a Bible study? Raise your hand up. Oh you came to the right place. We're going to do that. So grab your Bible.

Hang on hard left. Go all the way to the first book of the Bible. That would be the book of Genesis and the title of my message is God's Solution to Man's Problem. 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. A can of 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 warns 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 hair dryer. Do not use while sleeping.

How do you use a hair dryer while you're sleeping? Well someone apparently has done it. And one more. Well actually two more. 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. Here's another one. It says 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 ironed 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. Ok. So when you fire a burst of steam it's like boom.

Like that. So I'm wearing. Two people just woke up I noticed when I did that. So I'm wearing this shirt and I thought oh there's a wrinkle.

I'll just blast it with steam. But I pulled it away from my skin. I'd be ok. 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 welch. She said what happened to you? I said don't ask ok. 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 two. 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 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 is 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.

Your hands went up which perplexes me but 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 pride of life. Every temptation is in one of those categories. First there is 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 lust 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 for pleasure is dead while she is living. Ok so that's the lust of the flesh. Then there's the lust of the eyes.

Things that look good. We read in Genesis 3 Eve saw that it was 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 will 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 the super long first look depending. And that is why Job says, I have made a covenant with my eyes that I will not look on a woman lustfully. So the lust of the eyes. And finally there is 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 will be as a god he says to Adam and Eve knowing good and evil. Now it's not wrong to want to look good. 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 am looking at you right now. No I am not Axel. I am not. But I am thinking about it.

No I am 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. So here is 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 worshiped. 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.

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 have done? And the woman said, The serpent deceived me and I ate.

Alright we will 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 is like she did it.

Like you know he is literally throwing Eve under the bus and he is driving the bus over her a couple of times. We do the same thing. It is not my fault. I am 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 is the woman you gave me. Adam is effectively saying, Hey I am taking a nap.

I wake up. A rib is missing and she is here. It is all her fault. But then Eve, she says, The 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 is offering or it is 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. 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 is easy to blame them but this is just human nature. But we are all affected by this decision he made. Romans 5.12 says, When Adam sinned, sin entered the world and Adam's sin 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 is 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 at verse 1 I am 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 first born lambs from the flock. The Lord accepted Abel in his gift but he did not accept Cain in his gift. This made Cain very angry and he looked dejected. Why are you so angry the Lord asked Cain?

Why do you look so dejected? Then the Lord gives this 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.

Ok we will stop there. The book of Genesis can be divided into three sections. Chapters 1 and 2 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 are sinful by nature.

If history tells us anything it tells us this. Man is not basically good. Man is basically bad.

Bad to the bone. Sinful to the core. History is a space in which Cain's acts ultimately became thermonuclear weapons.

We just take new technology and find ways to use it to make things even worse. And it is not the way it began. I mean here is Adam and Eve. They are having their first child. They had 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 see 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. He was there when she was conceived. But still it is just not what you want to hear on your wedding day from your dad. But that is the way that went.

When Adam and Eve were present for both conception and birth. Now you wonder if Adam is thinking what is 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 is going on here? Well she was going to have a baby and she had her first child Cain. 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 both saw the same things. But one walked with God and one did not walk with God. One was a true worshiper and the other was not a true worshiper.

One was accepted the other rejected. And this reminds us there is 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 is 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 is in the wrong place it is not pleasing to God at all. And that person that is 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 the matter of the heart. It is 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 are 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 in the word that is used for anger here in verse 5 means he burned with anger. Causing the Lord to even say hey anybody 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 you need to not go this way because this is not going to end well for you.

Bring me to point number 7. God wanted confession because that is the only way to forgiveness. Well why are you doing what you are doing? You don't want to do this and Cain should have said you are right. I am overreacting.

I am sorry Lord I repent. But he is just angry. And he is justifying his own anger. It is a weird thing about anger isn't it?

How you can feel so right about it until the adrenaline wears off. Like when you are 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 will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right watch out. Sin is crouching at your door eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master. The Lord is saying Cain you are 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. I read a book a number of years ago called Death and the Long Grass. It was written by a big game hunter. He tells incredible stories of not only hunting lions but actually being hunted by them. There was a group of lions that got a taste for human blood and began hunting people. And one cat alone killed 100 people. And they would come into these tented camps at night and sometimes step over several people and pick their prey and take them out and no one would even know what happened until the next morning. And a lion can move very quickly.

They can move through a lot of distance. So one charging lion can cover 100 yards in three seconds. So I think this is interesting because the devil is not only compared to a snake.

He is also compared to a lion. Over in 1 Peter 5 we read be self controlled and alert. Because your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

Bringing me to my next point. The devil is always looking for trouble. He is looking for a life to ruin. Jesus said of Satan in John 10 the thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. So we have to keep our guard up and be alert to this fact. There is an interesting passage in the book of Job where the angels of the Lord came and presented themselves before God. And Lucifer was among them. And in Job 1 7 God says to Satan where have you come from? And the devil answers I have been going back and forth across the earth watching everything that is going on. He is just looking for a life to ruin.

Ready to pounce. One way that he can get a foothold in our life is when we are isolating ourselves from God's people. This is why we are told in Hebrews don't forsake the assembling of yourselves together as the manner of some is. But exhort one another daily and so much more as you see the day of the Lord approaching.

So basically the author of Hebrews, some believe that is Paul I don't know, but inspired by God nonetheless whoever wrote it. Is saying hey the Lord is coming back. Make sure that you are gathering with fellow Christians encouraging one another.

If necessary correcting one another because the Lord is coming soon. But some are not doing this. And so like when you watch one of those nature shows and you see the prey that the lions get it is often the stragglers. You know all the little antelopes are out there running together. And there is a one struggling antelope. That's lunch for the lion. And lions don't like to expend energy unnecessarily.

They will just kind of lay there in the long grass and then they strike. And once they got their claws on that creature and then they bite into their neck oh man game over okay. That's the devil he is just watching. Oh look at that straggler. Look at that person that isolates themselves from other Christians. Always feeling sorry for themselves.

That looks like a good prey to me. I am going to strike. So that is one way the devil can get a foothold in your life. And there is another way and that is when we allow ourselves to be consumed by our anger like Cain was. Over in Ephesians 4 26 it says don't sin by letting anger gain control over you. Don't let the sun go down while you are still angry for anger gives a mighty foothold to the devil. Let me ask you are you filled with anger for someone right now?

Well Greg they hurt me okay. Maybe it is your parents. Maybe it is your children. Maybe it is a neighbor. Maybe it is a friend.

Maybe it is someone else. But if that anger is controlling your life the person that is being hurt is you not them. It is eating you up inside. And the Bible actually says don't let the sun go down on your wrath. Because when you do you give the devil a foothold. Bringing me to my next point sin is crouching at our doors too. He is ready to strike. He is looking for vulnerability. So we want to be careful and protect our homes from the power of the devil.

Starting with this simple fact I can't do this on my own. I need to pray and ask God to help me. And I want to say a word to fathers and mothers out there. You need to protect your home in every way. I know you may have alarm systems and you put all your locks on and you have got everything right and that is fantastic.

But also remember to have spiritual protection. Have a time where you get together with your family and have a meal together and get rid of the devices. No phones. No tablets.

No TV playing in the background. Let's just talk to each other. Let's pray together. Let's read the Bible together. And men I want to say a word to you. You should be taking the initiative and leading in this area. Men need to be the spiritual leaders in their home. Right? You can do this.

You must do this. So Cain didn't listen. And he was filled with envy. Envy is a tricky kind of a sin. Shakespeare called envy the green eyed monster. Webster defines envy as a malignant or hostile feeling of ill will toward another. The funny thing about envy is we often envy those not people that we perceive as greater than us but more like people we see as equal to us. Envy has been described as a small town sin. It thrives on proximity.

It breeds on proximity I should say. In other words I don't sit around and think why can't I be as wealthy as Elon Musk. Or why can't I fill a stadium like Taylor Swift. No I'm more like why does my neighbor have that and I don't have that. Why did my coworker get that raise and I didn't get that raise.

Why did they get that opportunity and I don't get that opportunity. See Victor Hugo said quote the wicked envy and hate it is their way of admiring. So it's a thing that can start to consume us. I heard a story of a crab fisherman who was walking around with a pail full of crabs. Someone asked him do you put a lid on that. No I don't have to. Well can't the crabs climb out.

He goes no problem because the moment one crab climbs out the others reach up and pull him back down. Right. You know people like that. Oh a great thing just happened to me and they want to pull you right back down.

They don't want you to have that. That's envy and envy can consume you and that's what happened to Cain as well. So sin has now entered the world and Cain acts on this envy and this anger and you all know the story. He killed his brother Abel.

Horrible thing. But God had a solution for Cain's sin and all our sin. And that takes us back to Genesis chapter 3.

Because the Lord promised he was going to send a deliverer. After Eve and Adam ate of the forbidden fruit the Lord made this profound statement. And this is the first messianic passage in the Bible. By messianic I mean the first verse in the Bible that spoke of Jesus coming.

And it's not what we would expect. We might think well it's Isaiah 9 6. unto you a child is born unto you a son is given his name shall be called wonderful counselor the mighty God. That's not the first one. Or maybe it's Isaiah 53 that vividly describes the suffering of the Messiah.

No that's not it. Or maybe Psalm 22. That begins with the words my God my God why have you forsaken me. The very words Jesus cried from the cross. No that's not the first one. The first messianic passage in the Bible is Genesis 3 14 to 15.

Let's look at it together. After Adam and Eve have sinned the Lord said to the serpent because you've done this you're cursed more than all cattle. More than every beast of the field on your belly you shall go and eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman between your seed and her seed. He will bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel.

That's the one. He will bruise your head and you will bruise his heel. So this is the Messiah. So here's what God is saying. Devil I'm not putting you on notice. There is coming one who is going to crush your head.

But you'll bruise his heel. And sure enough Satan struck out at Jesus. He thought he had the ultimate plan. I'll infiltrate their ranks Lucifer thought. I'll get one of Jesus very disciples to betray him and he did. Judas Iscariot who betrayed our Lord for 30 pieces of silver. I'll make sure Jesus is killed and murdered in cold blood on a Roman cross and that will be the end of it.

No that was the fulfillment of it. Because Jesus came to die on the cross. And he said so repeatedly. In fact the Bible says of Jesus he was the lamb slain from the foundation of the earth. What this means is before there was a solar system. Before there was a planet called earth. Before there was a garden called Eden. Before there was a couple named Adam and Eve. A decision was made in the councils of eternity that God would send his own son.

That God would walk among us as a man and live a perfect life and die a perfect death and rise again from the dead. This was the plan. And the devil didn't know it and actually in his weird way helped to bring the plan about.

It blew up in his face. But once the devil knew Jesus was coming he wanted to stop him. So we go to the next book of the Bible the book of Exodus. And we have the Jews multiplying in the land of Egypt under the Pharaoh. The Pharaoh sees him as a potential threat and he gives a command to the Jewish midwives. I want you to drown those little Jewish baby boys. And of course those midwives refused to do it but he is trying to stop Messiah from coming. What is it with the devil always wanting to kill our children? We talk about abortion.

Here is the Pharaoh saying kill those baby boys. You know with some people abortion or women's reproductive rights as they like to call it is almost like a religion. They are passionate about it.

That is the most important thing to them. And we simply say every child should have the right to live. Every child should be able to live their life and make their own choices in life.

Not for you to terminate the pregnancy as you like to say. But in reality you are murdering an unborn child. But here is the devil doing it back in the book of Exodus. Now we fast forward to the book of Esther. And there is an evil man that hatches a plot to destroy all the Jewish people. But thankfully God raised up a courageous young woman named Esther who was the queen and also was a Jew who stood up for her fellow Jews and saved them.

But here is another thing we see that Satan hates. Not only unborn children but Jewish people. Why this rise of anti-Semitism around the world? And we already saw the wicked and horrible attack of Hamas against the people of Israel slaughtering 1300 people.

But now we see protests and rallies around the world with thousands of people chanting gas the Jews. Where did that come from? It came from hell.

It is devilish. But you see these things have gained prominence in the days in which we are living. When I was back in Washington D.C.

It is really quiet in here. When I was back in Washington D.C. I know this is heavy stuff but it is true.

When I was in D.C. I met three Jewish gentlemen from Israel that work at the University of Haifa. And we were talking about Christians and Jews and our relation together.

And I think that they have become stronger in recent days than any other time. And I said to these men, I said look sometimes Christians are mischaracterized as to why we love the Jewish people and why we support the nation of Israel. Some would say well the reason we do it is because we just want Bible prophecy to be fulfilled and we want Jesus to come back again so we kind of hope a war starts.

I said nothing could be further from the truth. The Bible tells us in Psalm 122 to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. I said look I believe that you guys being in your homeland is a fulfillment of Bible prophecy.

Ezekiel 37, Ezekiel 38. But having said that the reason I care about Jewish people. I am not Jewish. I am a Gentile. But Jesus Christ changed my life. And when I asked him into my life I started reading this book that came through your people and it is a story of your people. And as I have studied this book and learned more about you my love for you and for your nation has only grown. That is the reason that I support the Jewish people and I support the nation of Israel.

I could go a lot longer on this topic and help dispel some mythology that you hear a lot but I don't have time to do that right now. I will do it another time. But then as we talked one of the men said you know there is one good thing that has come despite this horrible event. I said what is that he says we know who our true friends are. Not long ago a lady was walking by my house walking her dog and she said I want to thank you. I said oh for what? She said for the things you posted about Israel. I said oh well you are welcome. She says I am Jewish and our daughter is in the university and we have never been more frightened for her future. So thank you for standing for Israel and for the Jewish people.

I said hey I am happy to do that. So this is an opportunity for dialogue with our Jewish friends to tell them that he loves them and they are his chosen people. And he has sent the Messiah for them.

And I think there is a new dialogue that is opening up among us. But Satan wanted to stop Messiah from coming but Satan failed. Even Herod hearing that there was one born who was known as the king of the Jews. Of course slaughtered once again the little ones in Bethlehem.

But he failed and Jesus came and accomplished his mission and died on that cross for the sin of the world. As we close now let me ask you this. Has sin been bringing havoc into your life? Is there some sin or some vice that has gotten the control of you? Remember what God said to Cain. You better master it or it is going to master you.

And the same is true for all of us. Now I cannot master sin in my own power. I cannot overcome sin in my own strength. But through the power of God I can do it because greater is he that is in me and he that is in the world. So take whatever issue you are dealing with. Whatever sin you are struggling with. Whatever vice seems to have a permanent hold in your life.

And I want to tell you something. God is bigger than that problem. He is bigger than that sin.

He is bigger than that addiction. And you can overcome it through Jesus Christ. But keep something in mind. Don't unnecessarily put yourself in a place of vulnerability. Don't unnecessarily put yourself in a place where you could be pulled down. Where did Adam and Eve get tempted?

At the place God told them to not be. So I cannot avoid the influence of culture in the world. It is everywhere right? But if I am on a diet should I hang around at Krispy Kreme donuts? If I have a weakness in another area should I be in a place where I could be more easily tempted?

Right? So make practical decisions. Because 1 Corinthians 10-13 says there is no temptation taking you but such is as common to man. But God who is faithful will not allow you to be tempted above your capacity to resist. But will with the temptation make of way of escape that you may be able to bear it?

Let me just paraphrase that. There is always a way out of every temptation. There just is. Sometimes it is as simple as the door. Sometimes it is as simple as the off button. Press it.

Sometimes it is as simple as terminating the conversation. But then instead of being in places of vulnerability be in places where you are being built up. Like you are right now in church. Worshipping together.

And putting the Word of God together. But sin is crouching at our door. We don't want to be overcome. And then there are some of us that might be green with envy over somebody else. Or what God is doing in their life or what they have or whatever it is.

Don't let that happen to you. Just to focus on your own walk and relationship with Christ. But let me close with this. Maybe I am talking to somebody right now that doesn't have Jesus living in their life. Now I have talked about the devil. I want you to know that he is a powerful force. And we are not his equal. And there is no way we can overcome him in our own strength.

The only way to overcome him is through the power of Jesus Christ. And if you don't have Christ living in your life my friend you are a sitting duck with a bullseye on you. And that is why you need Jesus in your life. And Jesus died on that cross for your sin.

He paid the price for every wrong that you have done. And he will forgive you of your sin if you will turn from it and ask him to come into your life. So I want to close by extending an invitation for anyone here that would like to ask Jesus to come into their heart and life. He stands at the door of your life and he knocks.

And he says if you will hear his voice and open the door he will come in. If you want Christ to come into your life. If you want your sin forgiven. If you want to know with confidence that you will go to heaven when you die.

If you want to find the meaning and purpose of your life. Respond to this invitation right now. Let's pray. Father speak to every heart. Here, listening, watching, wherever they are. If they don't know you let this be the moment they believe. The moment they receive. The moment that you come and live inside of them.

And they begin a brand new life. Now that our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed and we're praying. If you want Jesus to come into your life. If you want him to forgive you of your sin.

If you want to know that when you die you will go to heaven. I want you to raise your hand up wherever you are and I'm going to pray for you. God bless you. Raise your hand up high where I can see it saying I need Jesus today pray for me God bless you. God bless you. Raise your hand up.

Everything can change for you today. He's ready to come into your life but he won't force his way in. If someone's knocking at your door and you want them to come into your home you have to open the door right? So Jesus is knocking you have to answer yes Lord.

Come in. He's knocking. Right now you're sensing that tug deep inside of you aren't you?

Don't resist this. Anybody else? You want Jesus to come into your life.

Raise your hand up. Let me pray for you. Wherever you are God bless you.

Anybody else? God bless each one of you. Alright. Now I'm going to ask every one of you to just raise your hand saying you want Christ to come into your life. I want you to stand to your feet and I'm going to pray with you. Stand to your feet.

You heard me right. Just stand up. We're going to pray and settle this right now.

Even if you did not raise your hand. But you want Jesus in your life today. Stand up and let me pray with you. Wherever you are God bless you that are standing. You won't be alone if you're standing. There's others already standing. Stand up. Maybe you're watching the screen. You stand up.

You guys at Harvest Riverside, Harvest Maui just stand up. Let's pray and settle this right now. You guys watching online you can pray this prayer as well. I'll wait one more moment.

Anybody else? You want Jesus to come into your life. Stand up and let's pray together.

God bless all of you standing. Now pray this prayer out loud after me. Again as I pray. Pray this prayer out loud.

Pray this. Lord Jesus. I know that I'm a sinner. But I know that you're the savior. Who died on the cross for my sin.

And rose again from the dead. Jesus come into my life. I turn from my sin.

I choose to follow you now. As my savior and my Lord. As my God and my friend. Thank you for hearing this prayer. And answering this prayer. In Jesus name I pray. Amen. God bless each one of you that prayed.

Amen. Hey everybody thanks for listening to this podcast. To learn more about Harvest Ministries. Follow this show and consider supporting it. Just go to Harvest.org. And to find out how to know God personally. Go to Harvest.org and click on Know God.