"Did God Really Say?"

Here is the first in a series using the selected texts for my commissioning process in the United Methodist Church. I felt that it went really well and pray that you may be challenged as I was in the hearing of His word.

I am also attaching the manuscript from my preparation. This is unusual as I normally do not script my messages. Blessings, Mark

2015-01-07 "Did God Really Say" from Christ UMC Tulsa on Vimeo.

“Did God Really Say?”
Introduction: Genesis 3:

 Message:

Our Story This is a story that I often think about. It comes to mind often when I am preparing for sharing other biblical stories. I am reminded of this story when I witness the struggles of this world. I am fascinated by it. Our story begins in the first two chapters of Genesis; God creates our world and upon completion, He stands back to admire His work and says, “It is very good.” “Perfect” would be how I would describe it. However just as soon as we are introduced to the characters within this perfection, perfection becomes tarnished. Paradise is lost.
 I am fascinated by this story. If it were not so sad, it can be read as a comedy of errors. Given all of the tools to succeed, we were so easily deceived. We let ourselves become deceived. As the serpent begins to speak, perfection begins to shatter. When Adam and Eve partake of the forbidden fruit, our fate is sealed.

 The Consequences

Guilt and shame were the first consequences reported. Their eyes were opened to the fact that they were naked. They had always been naked. In their guilt and shame, they became uncomfortable to being exposed. When God entered the garden, they hid. We were not designed to handle guilt and shame. Our logic becomes almost comical. “Let’s hide from God.” It is a symptom of the spiritual death that had occurred in our disobedience. We surely DID die in that moment. We became so disconnected that we began to believe that we could hide from the omnipotent and omnipresent Creator of the Universe. We “hid” from God.

When confronted with the truth of having disobeyed God, I wonder if we had a chance to reconcile and prevent the tragedy that we know follows. When our Creator asks us directly of our disobedience, our guilt and shame again confuses us. We do not accept the responsibility of our actions but instead begin to blame anyone but ourselves. Adam blames Eve and God Himself. “The woman whom YOU GAVE TO BE WITH ME,” is Adam’s accusation of God. Our guilt and shame create desperation and again our logic is lost. Have you ever blamed your accuser for your own guilt and shame. “If you hadn’t XXXX, I wouldn’t have YYYY.”

I believe that because Adam blames Eve initially, many have inferred that Eve, after visiting with the serpent, brought Adam the forbidden fruit and persuaded him to also eat of the fruit. However, the text indicates that Adam was there the WHOLE time. He silently stood by and allowed Eve to eat (I wonder if he was waiting to see the consequence). Eve simply handed him another. We see no indication of persuasion. He took it and ate it.

Eve, having been thrown under the bus by Adam, panicked and blamed the serpent, never mind the fact that the fruit looked tasty and we liked the idea of becoming like a god.

 I feel that due to these additional errors, in part, we find these additional consequences. Note in these consequences that they are attached to blessings. With the joy of childbirth, we find pain. In the joy of marriage, there is struggle. In our work, we lose all efficiency. It requires more of us and makes us weary.

 The final consequence was the foretold consequence of our disobedience, death. To insure that this consequence was enforced, we were banished from the perfection that had been created specifically for us.

 Where did we go wrong?

I think we are painfully aware of the consequences of this story. We are living within these consequences daily. This story of human failure happens really early in our story and we messed up really early even in this story. Listen again to the serpent’s words. “Indeed, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The serpent begins questioning God’s words but also plants the idea of questioning God’s intention. Eve responds to the serpent’s question with a straightforward account of God’s words. The serpent firmly plants doubt into the minds of Adam and Eve. He says that what God has said is not true and that you cannot trust Him, for He is holding out on you.

Doubt creeps into our minds and poisons our thoughts. We choose to believe a strange, talking serpent whom apparently we just met over our Creator whom we know. We begin to question God. We wish to choose for ourselves what is good and what is evil for us. We desire to have the “wisdom” to fully understand. We choose to be our own god…

Ever since, God has sought to restore us into His care. He desires to choose for us good and avoid evil. He desires life abundant, not suffering and death. He desires to be our God and we His people. He sent His Son to demonstrate His trustworthiness. We did not trust and murdered Him. He seeks us to this day.

Do you trust Him?

It seems to me that we continue to struggle in our trusting God. We often rush ahead of His direction and will. We want to maintain control over our lives and even our faith. We give of ourselves what we desire not what He desires. We take care of ourselves and offer Him what is leftover; our time, our talents, and our finances. Sometimes, we put these things first for Him but still struggle with trusting Him for other needs. We fail to wait on Him to provide for our need or provide direction for meeting that need. We scramble or panic to insure our needs are met. Countless times I have seen folks seek to meet their own needs only to discover had they waited and trusted, He would have provided something greater that truly met the need.

I know of folks who have purchased vehicles with credit, jeopardizing their ability to meet other basic needs when a much cheaper, or even free, vehicle became available had they waited, trusted. 

Here are my questions for you tonight.
 - Do you trust Him? I mean really trust Him, with all the areas of your life. Do you trust Him in the decisions you make?
 - How do you show Him that you trust Him? Is there evidence in your life that point to your full trust?
- How can you trust Him more?