28/2/2015 - Ty Gibson - Ablazing Grace: The Fall

I've been given the task as you moved through at kingscliff the Old Testament I've been given the task of giving you the bad news David and Jared ganged up on me and they said you will deal with Genesis chapter 3 the fall of mankind so it is my task I hope you still like me when it's done it is my task to communicate to you just how truly messed up deranged and truly sick in the head you are this is going to be a wake up call but please know that as we spend this time together there is a solidarity here we are all dysfunctional to one degree or another some to greater degrees than others but every morning when you wake up and you look in the mirror you are looking into the eyes of a crazy person you might want to actually do a little bit of therapy that helps you to realize truly how in need of a savior you are by just as you look at yourself in the morning get eye contact with yourself for a steady 30 seconds and just don't turn your eyes away don't blink just look straight into your own eyes and say to yourself you are a crazy person and you need a Savior that's what we have to talk about but before we get to the bad news is vitally important for me for the purposes of this message that we spend time first allowing scripture to paint a picture for us of how truly beautiful and wonderful and good God intended things to be for you and me only as we see how good it was supposed to be will we be able to sense and realize how truly bad it has become we need to have that sense of contrast this morning so as you begin the story of Scripture you notice something right off the bat especially if you compare it with other literature and myths and stories that were being told at the time what you realize is that Genesis chapters 1 & 2 is nothing short of the most breathtaking and beautiful story imaginable as it paints the picture of what human beings were meant to be now the first thing that we notice in Scripture as we discover the fall what we notice in Scripture is that the opening line of the Bible literally gives us pause it's stunning you know these words write the opening sentence in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth now I want you in looking at that scripture I want you to pause short of the creation part and feel the weight feel the gravity of what we are encountering here just hear the beginning part in the beginning God and then just put three dots there in ellipses in the beginning all there was was God creation is about to unfold right the story is chronicling for us the fact that this particular God ventures into something called creation but before anything is made we are face to face with the sublime reality of God and God alone and as we find ourselves thank you face-to-face with God and God alone we realize that we are encountering a very particular kind of God and you have to remember that when Moses is writing this story there are all kinds of gods that are being talked about by the various population centers of the world in which Moses is ready there's Ishtar there's Marduk there's Dagon there are all kinds of different gods and every one of them bears a name none of them are referred to just with a generic word God as if to say deity or the divine every one of these gods bears name now I'm gonna tell you a little secret that very few people know and it's really not a part of this stage of the story but as you fast forward in the story to the book of Deuteronomy you discover precisely who these other gods are Dagon and mardukan Ishtar and Bale all of whom bear names you discover when you come to the Book of Deuteronomy that these aren't figments of the people's imagination these are in fact fallen angels who defected from the kingdom of God under the leadership of the highest ranking of the angels and his name was Lucifer and having defected and according to Revelation chapter 12 been cast out of heaven to earth those angels under the leadership of the Prince of the demons proceeded to set up shop in this world and begin dominating local people groups and as they dominated local people groups they bore names and they masqueraded as deities as gods and so the gods of the nations when you come in the story to Deuteronomy and you encounter the gods the foreign gods that are worshiped by the various Canaanite nations these are not figments of the people's imaginations these are actual beings spiritual beings of extreme power and intelligence and strength and they are masquerading as God they are purporting to be the god of this group in that group and the other so into this kind of setting in the beginning God created the heavens in the earth Moses begins to tell his story and he doesn't as we have it in the English he does not use the word God now that's what it says in the English version as you can see here he says God in the English version but in the Hebrew it's not God as if it were some kind of generic introduction the name is Elohim if you could read the Hebrew it's a beautiful name but it's a very odd name grammatically and I'll tell you why because Elohim in the Hebrew language is a plural noun what kind of noun is it it is a plural noun as if to say this God that we are encountering is one God who in some kind of mysterious way is more than one this God who is one God is more than one Elohim the word is plural as I just shared last week with the arize class that would be like me introducing myself to you this morning and saying pleased to meet you I'm Thais plural I'm either making a very very ill use of English grammar introducing myself in a plural form or I'm imagining that there's more than one of me but you would not in any sense expect that a plural introduction would be an accurate depiction of myself why because I'm a solitary self I'm a single individual there's just one of me I'm tai not Thais are you with me so far so this God introduces himself in the plural form and it doesn't make sense when we think of each of us as individuals but it begins to make sense when I tell you this while it is true that I am a solitary self a single individual one person I'm tai not tais while that is true there is a plural dimension to my reality as a human being tai is married to a really hot girl named Sue and we have three offspring named Amber Jason and Leah as a group called a family we bear the name the Gibson's and that plural usage of the name is accurate nobody has any problem with it because now we understand what the Bible describes as a oneness between the man and the woman coming together to form a new reality so when we encounter this god this Elohim here's a here's essentially what we're encountering when the Bible says in the beginning God created the heavens in the earth it is as if the Bible is saying something like this to us in the beginning and what's that word love created the heavens and the earth because Elohim or the God that we encounter in Scripture is a God of plurality which essentially means that this God is a God of relationship which the Bible later on will very succinctly describe in the most important line in Scripture in fact it's not only the most important sentence in Scripture it is the most important collection of words that a human being can ever take to their lips the most powerful thing you will ever utter with your mouth are these three words God is love in that one solemn sublime powerful declaration God is love we have all explanatory power at our disposal everything else makes sense in that context not just theologically but relationally psychologically emotionally socially even economically everything else in life makes sense in the light of God's love when God created the heavens and the earth therefore God proceeded to create in the likeness of the core reality of his character god is love and as this God merges with the cosmos around him Father Son and Holy Spirit to create this God is venturing upon an artistic venture anybody who paints a picture is painting out of the imagination out of what they hold in their heart in their mind to be good and beautiful and true and it's no different with God God is an artist and creation is his art God Percy it's to create a vast universe and again this is a part of the story that comes later on in the biblical narrative but I'll just throw it out in order to make sense right now as God goes about creating the vast universe with all of its various constellations and galaxies the Bible tells us that God created a universe that's populated human beings are not alone in the universe before planet Earth and the human race was made God had made other worlds according to Hebrews chapter 1 verse to God through Christ made the worlds plural and God having created those worlds populated them with various beings of different shapes and sizes and kinds we get an idea of how creative God is by looking at the animal kingdom we can't imagine intelligent rational sentient volitional creatures like ourselves that aren't human but according to scripture there are a lot of non-human creatures that have the capacity for reason the capacity for emotion and the capacity for free will in fact if you believe and you are seventh-day Adventists if you're not a seventh-day Adventist by the way welcome we're glad you're here with us this morning but just for those of you who are seventh-day Adventists you understand that we have the prophetic gift among us and in the book early writings you will read where Ellen White was given a vision where she was taken her words not mine to a planet with seven moons and as she was in her vision visiting this planet she says I saw creatures of all different sizes and and descriptions bearing the image of God they were all beautiful not anything like Star Wars or Star Trek or and either alien kind of things that were familiar with and as she visited this planet in her vision she says I saw good oh brother Enoch there Enochs the guy back in Genesis of whom scripture says Enoch walked with God that is he communed with God he was tight with God he had a good relationship with God and God liked him so much he said he and I'm not gonna leave you in this world I want to hang out with you now and so the Bible says Enoch walked with God and he was not for God took him well where did God take him obviously to wherever God is and as Ellen White encountered Enoch this is mind-blowing she said to good old brother Enoch that's the language he uses to describe him she said to good old brother Enoch is this place your home and she said and he said to her now know the City of God the New Jerusalem is my home I'm just visiting this place we'll come back to that in just a moment because God has stretched out before you and me the entire universe as our field of investigation and discovery the fact is right now we're quarantined to Planet Earth you and I were never meant to be this local in God's universe we were meant to travel to plant it so far and to discover beautiful things we've never even imagined the incredible thing is that when the Bible says God created man in his own image as the story continues to unfold it is a very beautiful and amazing creation that unfolds before us in fact if you were to summarize Genesis 1 and 2 Genesis 1 and 2 here's a summary with the ellipses the dots in between here's the story of Genesis chapters 1 & 2 the beautiful picture that unfolds there is one in which on day one this god of infinite other-centered love creates certain aspects of the material creation at the end of that day he says I like it it's good this is pretty nice then God ventures into creating other material things on day 2 he gets to the end of day 2 having finished his particular artistic ventures for that day and God says I like this - it's really good I like it wow it's good the end of day 3 the same the day end of day 4 end of day 5 God says at the end of each of the first five days good good good good good and then God says something astounding at the end of day 6 good good good good good and then God says very good now what's the difference between good and very good my students from the previous week should know the answer to this and from previous years what's the difference between good and very good anybody want to just blurt it out at least Joseph will know the difference between Joseph doesn't know so the difference between good and very good is this good is the material creation that God has made the sea the sky the landscape all the beauty that surrounds us and very good is when God makes the man and the woman in His image to inhabit that beautiful place and enjoy it that's what makes it very good imagine the world without any people well you can't because you're one of the people and you would be imagining something that you couldn't because you wouldn't exist but just hypothetically imagine the world with no people the first thing you would observe is this wow it's really beautiful the second thing you would observe is wow it's a shame nobody lives there that's the difference between good and very good now it's interesting in the Genesis one into account that as good and very good is described the word Eden is introduced to us the word Eden it says in chapter 2 verse 8 that God put the man and his wife in Eden he planted a garden he put him in Eden any of the students remember what Eden means what is it what is it what a pleasure that's right the word literally means pleasure every city means every name means something well Eden means pleasure that's all it means eating this pleasure this is fantastic this means that the God we're dealing with in Scripture is a God who himself is the engineer of pleasure the God we're dealing with in Scripture is the kind of God who likes to have a good time the kind of God we're dealing with in Scripture is the kind of God who enjoys social interaction the kind of God who enjoys beauty in the book steps to Christ Ellen White observes that every time you see a beautiful flower you should realize something that God is a lover of the beautiful yeah this is the God we're dealing with he's a God who has created an environment of pleasure what kind of pleasure just just examine yourself look at yourself what are you what are you as a human being just look at yourself you're capable of mental pleasure aren't you what what kind of pleasure is mental pleasure exploring discovering and learning how many of you love to learn new things I'm not talk about sitting in a classroom with a big dusty book and memorizing facts and then regurgitating them at a test I'm talking about coming for example to a new place you've never been before on planet earth and discovering all the culture and beauty around you of those people you've never encountered before come on that's beautiful how about Violeta encountering a new bird that you've never spotted before and getting the edge over David is that pleasurable or not it's pleasurable we are wired for xplory exploring discovering we are wired for learning I love learning new things but let me tell you something of all the inanimate creation that we can discover and explore there's an aspect of mental pleasure that soars beyond all others and that is to be in a relationship with a human being for a sustained period of time and 10 or 20 or 30 years into the relationship still be learning new things about them you never knew before seeing aspects of their personality you never saw before seeing flashes of insight and perspective you've never seen before in other words the most beautiful thing to be discovered in the world is the heart and mind of a human being God created us with minds for that kind of discovery but not just mental pleasure we are created for emotional pleasure how many of you are aware that you have emotions anybody you have emotions what what what are emotions the word emotion comes from the root word move it means to emote or to move this is the activity that goes on inside of us when you when you discover something new like a bird you've never seen before when you discover something new like a place you've never been before when you discover something you've never known before like a dimension of a person's personality you've never encountered before are you with me it's not just analytical is it you don't just say hmm I have just observed that and then you state the fact or record it in a book it's not just analytical it's also emotional there's a feeling of exhilaration your heart begins to race you feel something inside of yourself in those encounters God created you not only with a mind to discover but with emotions to feel what you discover what a good god this is we're discovering here physical pleasure we were created with bodies that are capable of sensory engagement with the creation around us how many of you like to take some kind of yummy food item into your hands after not eating for four or five or six or ten hours and just to bite into it and have your taste buds just be overcome with the pleasure of the flavors of that food it's a great experience God's the author of all of that God's the one who said I'm not going to create a world in which one time a day they'll have to go up to some kind of booth and put an IV in their arm to get their nutrients that's no fun God said I'm going to create a variety of things to eat and they're going to be lots of colors and different flavors and they're gonna pluck it and they're gonna eat it and they're gonna enjoy it and they're gonna scream with delight when they finally discover mangoes this is who God is this is the kind of world he created but there is a kind of pleasure that trumps all other pleasures and I've hinted at it the core of the biblical narrative is relational integrity or relational faithfulness relational integrity that is two or more human beings coming together in a relationship in which they are faithful to one another a husband to a wife a wife to a husband parents to children children to Nana and Papa friend to friend you were created for relational integrity you were made psychologically emotionally and even biologically to be good to people not to violate them not to hurt them not to cross lines that bring them pain body mind and soul you were made to be good to others relational integrity which sounds rather austere doesn't it gives rise to relational bliss the happiest people in the world you will ever meet are the people who have good long-term sustained faithful relationships they have deeper security than people who continually are engaged in a relationship and then they break it off engaged in another one and that one fell apart engaged in another one that one fell apart always something wrong with the other person the only common denominator in all your broken relationships is you wherever you go there you are and it is suspicious don't you think it is suspicious don't you think that the brokenness of your relationships all approximately look like the same problems with you as the only common denominator now don't take that too personal the same is true of everybody else what I'm simply saying right now is that if you want to know what the Bible is really about okay Genesis to Revelation you want to know what the whole enchilada is filled with you want to know what the thing is that scripture is communicating it's this you were made for faithful relationships with others and that is the secret and source of happiness all peace and joy and goodness derives from you and me my brother being friends and never violating one another the moment I cross the line to do something that hurts or wounds or violates you the integrity of the fabric of the relationship begins to break down and that's where all pain and misery and suffering comes from that is the biblical story now as we look at the end of chapter 2 because actually I was not assigned chapters 1 and 2 I was assigned to chapter 3 but now you've seen the the backdrop right now you feel the weight of the gravity of the beauty of what God intended for you and me and chapter 2 the last verse ends with a rather strange and cryptic line which is where all the happiness had been and from this verse forward it gets miserable alright here's the last sentence of Genesis chapter 2 and they were both what say it out loud if you dare they were both naked the man and his wife and they were not something they were not ashamed now that's a strange sentence it's especially a strange closing sentence you've got this story unfolding oh it's great and God's creating everything and he's made the man and the woman and the animals and the Chipmunks and the platypus and all this stuff and it's so beautiful and now we're coming to the end of the story and they were just stark raving nude and they didn't care about it it's a strange way to end that part of the story I mean it would be strange if I said to you I was just bumming around kingscliff the other day and I was naked and not ashamed that would be odds it doesn't set well we don't think that that's normal but it's telling us something I want you to take that last verse of Genesis I don't want you to hold on to it just put that verse naked and not a shame put that as it were in your pocket hold on to it we're coming back to it in just a minute then Genesis chapter 3 unfolds now the serpent now the whole tone changes like like when that music and the children's story came right it was just all beautiful red hair and surfing until that music started right and the apex predator of nature the shark was invoked in the story that's when my adrenaline really began to pump something like that has happened here beauty beauty beauty goodness goodness goodness good good good good very good now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made now you need to know something about this creature this is not intended to communicate to us just or merely a snake if you fast forward in the storyline you encounter later on in Isaiah in job and then in the New Testament and specifically revelation that the serpent here very well may have been a literal serpent but co-opted or hijacked by a fallen angel so we're encountering an intelligent being here we're encountering the Fallen one we're encountering none other than Lucifer and he enters into a dialogue with Eve the serpent was more cunning it says the King James Version I think says more subtle so you know right from the get-go that something specific is about to unfold what do you know right from the get-go the fall of man is premise on deception would you agree with that that's what the text is telling us the fall of mankind or what we call the sin problem listen carefully now is not merely behavioral violation the for before the behavioral part ever happens follow this something changes in the way they're thinking the problem begins in the realm of the mind later on Sullivan will tell us in Proverbs as a man thinks in his heart so is he that is just a fancy way of saying that the internal content of your thoughts and feelings determines the content of your behavior patterns as a man thinks in his heart so is he and that's how the fall began the devil approaches with an intent to deceive yes that's what the text is telling us and with his intent to deceive watch him go to work here watch the subtlety watch how cunning he is he doesn't just burst in the garden and say hey I'm the devil I used to be a highly exalted angel I've rebelled against God I'm on a collision course with self-destruction I want you to join me it's not in your face it's not blunt it's not blatant he's not showing his hand he's not giving all the data he's measured in his release of information and he poses questions that impose doubt upon their mind regarding who God is the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made and he said to the woman now watch this has God indeed said you may not eat of every tree of the garden now those of you have read Genesis 1 and 2 let me ask you a question is that what God said no he's he's he's saying he's saying what God said with a little twist what had God actually said God had actually said here's God's words watch this feel the difference God said to Adam and Eve of every tree of the garden you may freely eat but just not this one so God framed their experience in terms of a vast horizon of freedom with a minor restriction and that only for their good the devil turns around and he frames the picture as extreme restriction with no hint of Liberty with no freedom at all as God indeed said you may not eat of every tree of the garden so he's insidiously getting into her psyche he's getting into her mind he's suggesting something this is what we call innuendo he's he's suggesting something what is he suggesting here he's suggesting that God is unnecessarily restrictive and you will find that religion postulates God over and over again in this light parents do not raise your children with the impression given to your children as you raise them and teach them about Jesus do not give your children the impression that it's all about the nose no no no no no early on my wife Sue and I as we began to give birth to children and they began to just kind of crank out of the baby factory we have three of them we wanted to have twelve but they didn't work out so we got a backache but anyways so we have our three children and we began to read the writings of Ellen White and we discovered a principle that I've taught for years in child raising seminars and it is simply this the answer to our children is always yes unless it has to be no and what that communicates is I'm for you I'm not against you I'm not a killjoy I'm not trying to wreck your life I only say no when harm would come to you if you were to do the thing that I'm forbidding I never tell you no to anything that would be for your good I only tell you no for things that would be bad for you and that's a different paradigm well the devil wants us to believe that God is essentially into restriction while the story goes on and the woman said to the serpent we may notice what she's trying to do she's trying to recover isn't she she's trying to recover he's trying to hold on to what she knows and the woman said we may yeah yeah no no you're wrong 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 of it neither shall you touch it lest she die in other words she's trying to say no no no we have a lot of freedom it's not as bad as you're making it out to be you've portrayed God as restrictive but that's not how he presented it to me but then he tells the next part of his lie then the serpent said to the woman you will not surely die now in making that statement reason it through with me what has he essentially said about God God said you'll die I'm telling you you won't God is a liar you can't trust him and then he gets to the real point for or because God knows something that you don't know God knows that in the day that you eat of it the tree of the knowledge of good and evil then your eyes will be opened and you will be what like God knowing good and evil what did he just say essentially read between the lines what did he just say God is restrictive God is a liar and the whole reason why God is restricting you and the whole reason why he's not telling you the whole truth because God is essentially looking out for himself he doesn't have any interest in you God is self-serving stated with even stronger negative grammar God contrary to what you thought is not love he certainly doesn't love you well then what happened next the three-pronged lye began to take root in Eve's psyche in her mind that's where he's trying to get into her thinking he's trying to get into her head and now she's she's feeling something if not thinking it she's thinking we'll wait a minute and the three-pronged lye the primal lye if you will the lye that resides in the dark inner chambers of all of our hearts to one degree or another we've all received as a legacy in a birthright every one of us to one degree or another believes some combination of this primal lie that God is restrictive God is not trustworthy and God is essentially self-serving well here's the thing Ellen White with laser clarity in the book education tells us what was happening in that garden not that we didn't already derive it from the text itself but this is just a really simple way of stating what just happened in the Garden of Eden unselfishness the principle of God's kingdom pause right there what is the principle of God's kingdom you joined this church you know what you're signing up for unselfishness you want to be a part of the family of God you're basically saying I want to be a part of a body of people who will endeavor by the grace of God to be liberated from self-serving motives and to begin to live for others unselfishness the principle of God's kingdom is the principle Satan hates now notice this line it's very existence he what he denies what does he deny the existence of the existence of love unselfishness he says it doesn't exist it doesn't exist anywhere in the universe from the beginning of the great controversy he that is Satan has endeavored to prove God's principles of action to be selfish now you know what it is that was going on in the Garden of Eden when the serpent came his whole point this bottom line is if I can just get them to in some way believe that God doesn't love them if I could just get them to believe that God is self-serving Satan knew that they would do exactly what happened they would back up from God because if I don't believe in our relationship that you have my best interests at heart and that begins to register if I feel wronged or manipulated by you naturally what am I going to do at first just emotionally I'm gonna back out of the relationship right I'm going to avoid and evade you because I feel violated and I feel like you don't have my best interests at heart that's how marriages end that's why children leave home and never come back because they feel like trust is violated this is astounding Satan's whole issue is to somehow communicate the idea that God is self-serving so when the woman saw the biblical narrative continues when the woman saw that the tree was good for food and it was pleasant to the eyes wait a minute she's starting to lean into this temptation isn't she and a tree desired to make one wise wait a minute God said if you eat of that tree you'll die now she's believing something different about it if I ate up this tree I'll be made wise she's bought into the lie she took the fruit and she ate it and she gave it her husband and he ate so please understand what just happened you have two things in this text you have the psychological level of the problem and the behavioral level of the problem we tend to focus on the behavioral level of the problem she took the fruit and she ate the behavior is the problem rebellion disobedience the outward act of sin but wait a minute there's something that is there in the deep substrata psychologically of the act of sin what took place before the act of disobedience she believed bad things about God in other words she allowed herself to buy into bad theology heretical theology or heretical picture of God that's all theology is by the way theology is your picture of God bad theology lay at the foundation of the act of disobedience and so Ellen White very very interestingly watch the clarity here as soon as they took the fruit to their mouth the act of disobedience believing the lie that God is not love they got is self-serving they the fruit and the act of disobedience now a whole new reality began to unfold in the book steps to Christ page 17 this statement simply says that the fall of humanity was constituted in this selfishness took the place of love God had created them for other centeredness and now they became self-censored there's another way of looking at this in first John chapter 3 and verse 4 a very common familiar statement to many of you if not all of you the Bible simply says what sin is sin is transgression of what the law or in the New King James Version sin is lawlessness are you with me so far so if sin is transgression of the law if sin is lawlessness watch this you have to ask the question well what law what what's this law and Romans chapter 13 10 says love does no harm to a neighbor therefore love is the fulfillment of the law so so in a word when I ask you Jolie what is the law what's the word love that's it vertical love horizontal love living in right relationship to God and living in right relationship to all others so when the Bible says sin is transgression of the law or sin is lawlessness follow this and if the law is love essentially what have we just discovered we have discovered that sin is what it's lovelessness sin is any and all thoughts feelings or behaviors that are contrary to love anything that violates the integrity of a relationship that's what sin is sin is not merely breaking arbitrary rules that a religion hands to you God's law is not arbitrary every one of the Ten Commandments some dimension of relational love and so that's what is entailed in the sin problem well the story goes on in Genesis 3:7 I told you to put something in your pocket and it needs to come out right now when they send having believed bad things about God's character having then turned inward and began to live for themselves right notice what it says then the eyes of them both were opened what did the devil say your eyes will be opened and you'll be like God well their eyes were open but it didn't yield the net effect that the devil said it would yield their eyes were opened and when their eyes were opened notice what occurred to them and they knew that they were what they knew that they were naked so they sewed fig leaves together and they made themselves coverings what just happened to these people what just happened to Adam and Eve when the Bible says at the end of chapter 2 they were naked and not ashamed and then by contrast describing the sin problem befall it says that they knew that they were naked basically what we haven't let this register you've got to let this sink in essentially when it says they were naked and not ashamed it's not a statement about a lack of clothing now I don't doubt that clothing was lacking but there's a deeper point the point naked and not ashamed means that there is the man and there is the woman they are in a kind or a quality of relationship with one another that is completely free from self-consciousness completely free from insecurity completely free from shame and guilt Adam all Adam sees through the mechanism of his humanity all Adam sees is Eve and all he wants to do is live for her there is no sense of tit-for-tat or what am I gonna get out of it or if I do that will she know all he can think about is living for her best good and Eve what is her basic frame of mind what is her posture she has one of two options Adam is completely conscious of her and living for her right you got that part now her attitude can be hey I like this arrangement I think I'll think about me too or it says they were both naked and not ashamed Eve all she can see and think about through the mechanism of her humanity is Adam and all she wants to do is live for him this is the most beautiful thing imaginable can you imagine having a marriage like that can you imagine raising kids like that can you imagine having a friendship like that in which there is no sense of incrimination no sense of self-consciousness no sense of coming into somebody's presence and you're not quite sure whether they like you or not so your eyes shift and your body posture tells that you're insecure and it takes a few days if not a few weeks to warm up in the relationship because you're just not sure what they think about you this is all the product of the fall of mankind the story continues with this insight the knowledge which God did not want our first parents to have was the knowledge of guilt Ellen White States very bluntly God didn't want you and me to ever feel what it feels like to hate ourselves he didn't want us to ever feel what it feels like to have self-incrimination nagging us from the inside he didn't want you and me to ever feel what it feels like to not like ourselves or to be down on ourselves or to condemn and judge ourselves but the fact is this is what all of us experienced there is what we noticed in chapter 1 and 2 of Genesis there is the human being as God intended the human being to be all right you got that so far we're just going to call it for the sake of illustration the true self the image of God even though we're fallen and broken there are still vestiges there are still little broken pieces of the image of God in you and me when you see a little boy and a little girl playing together in freedom and innocence you're seeing the image of God it's still there there is the true core identity that got intended for you and me and then all of us are being described now the Genesis account tells us that that true self at some point in our lives becomes covered with conscious shame that conscious shame that comes upon you and me comes upon you and me in one of two ways either imposed shame or intrinsic shame imposed shame and some of you will know exactly what I'm talking about some time when you were a little girl sometimes when you were a little boy somebody violated you somebody screamed in your face with hatred somebody touched your body in a way they shouldn't have touched your body somebody crossed a line they shouldn't have crossed somebody hated you somebody called you names somebody bullied you somebody did something to you that defined you in your own inner sense of self identity and that event and sometimes a series of events covers you with shame that's imposed shame and then there's intrinsic shame what's intrinsic shame intrinsic shame is the fact that all of us our selves have violated others we've done wrong there's a legitimate shame I mean I mean if I'm rude and mean to you should I feel guilty about that or should I be able to just slap you in the head and walk away feeling quite fine should that bother me yes I should feel a legitimate guilt a legitimate shame from my own violations and then what we do and this is what all of us are doing to one degree or another right now I don't know you personally and yet I do because human nature itself all of us right now to one degree or another are in compensation mode all of us are navigating the reality of our shame by creating a false sense of self and there are all kinds of different obsessions and addictions that we plunge ourselves into to compensate to new virtru the shame because we don't know how to cope with it and then there are what I call popular personas just look at the world around you just look at yourself the fact is that in order to deal with the brokenness that we sense is inside of us we begin to manufacture a personality a character we become something that we can pull off on the family on the world on the communities so that they think well of me and when they think well of me or they think anything of me I feel a sense of self-worth there's the workaholic that's the person who finds validation in their employment and if their business failed or they got fired from their job they would have an identity crisis life would fall apart they wouldn't know what to do where to turn they wouldn't have the foggiest idea how to reconstruct and they would immediately go into emergency mode and have to create something else to do in order to define themselves and to project themselves to everybody around them now this is interesting I'm gonna say it and I think I think it's the same everywhere in the world and I'll see if this is very common you meet somebody you've never met before first question is what's your name ah my name is Frank what's the next question almost always what do you do what do you do as if that mattered I just met you why do you care what I do I'll tell you why people care what you do and I'll tell you what you care what you do for a profession because by stating what you do you're hoping for elevation in their estimation and for the l/d relationship to go forward some of us are ashamed of what we do how many of us when somebody says what do you do like to say well actually I'm unemployed I got laid off and I don't have a job and haven't had one for 26 years how many of you love that nobody loves that but there are other popular personas there's the nerd the Brainiac the person who likes to just have a lot of facts and figures and spout them off in random conversations where you don't even want the facts in the figures but they want you to know that they know stuff and they get their sense of validation from knowing stuff there's the bad boy persona or the bad girl persona the cool dude or the cool dudette this is the person who has their hair just right who is conscious of the way they walk and super conscious of every other projection of themselves aesthetically and otherwise there's the flirt this is this is that giggly girl who's now 56 and we should really stop giggling I mean she can laugh but when you're 56 you don't giggle when every guy walks in the room you just need to stop you need to get a grip you're 56 now stop the flirting this is the person who is defined they define themselves by the way attention is given to them from the opposite sex as long as I'm walking through the room or through the airport or through downtown and there are two or three occasions where the eyes of male company turned my way and I'm aware of it I feel pretty good but oh the crisis that some people will go through if they go all the way through Rubina mall and since that nobody is looking at them that's a bummer that's a bummer you'll be okay you'll get over it maybe not we're about to find out there's the victim this is the person who always feels violated and wants you to know all the bad things that have ever been done to them and they want to arouse your sympathies but in arousing your sympathies they unwittingly are also creating distance then there's the hero the idiot the comedian the comedian the corrector you know this guy cuz you're in the church this is the guy who has all his theological ducks in a row and he knows what you ought to be eating what you not not to be eating he will come to the elders meetings and make sure that the elders know that some of the ladies are dressing in ways they shouldn't be and we need to raise the standard this is the person who says there had better be reverence in the sanctuary because I have 45 Ellen White quotes to prove that there ought to be this is the person who's right and they like being right they define themselves by virtue of the fact that they are right did I not make it clear that I am right and then there is the priest this is the religious person that is eager to be sought after as a source of spiritual wisdom and insight and resolve all of these are just popular personas and none of them now here comes the point none of them except for number 3 none of them in and of themselves are bad hear what I'm saying now there's nothing wrong with having a job and being successful what the problem is is when you're so invested in that profession that it defines your value and who you are there's nothing wrong with being a flirt as long as it's with him I'm assuming you're married ok there's nothing wrong with being flirtatious as long as this with the right bloke right as long as this with the right girl there's nothing wrong with being well there is something wrong with being the idiot I don't like that one either I said only and I'm ok there's nothing wrong with being the comedian or even being right theologically do we need people who study and can bring data to the table theologically do we need those people yes there's nothing wrong with any of these things except for number 3 and number whatever idiot is okay there's nothing wrong with any of these things the only thing wrong is when our entire identity is invested in these things and when these things are not being acknowledged and played to by others around us we crumble inside because it's all we have I want to tell you you have something more than this more than any of this it's not all you have but a little bit more bad news and I'm hurrying along here a little bit more bad news the Bible describes the sin problem that is what happened back in Genesis 3 fall of mankind with this language in Isaiah chapter 1 why should you be stricken again you will revolt or rebel more and more 'this God speaking to Israel and then he says this interestingly he says the whole head is sick and the whole heart faints now he's doing psychology now God is saying you are sick in the head psychologically you are deranged and emotionally you are deranged you are sick in the head and you are faint in your emotions and don't any of you try to wiggle out of it there's not a there's not a stable person in this room there's not a truly 100% sane individual on this primitive premises every person here is dysfunctional to some significant degree or another this is the universal biblical description of your situation and mine you are sick sick sick in the head and then the Bible says the soul from the sole of the foot even to the head there is no soundness in it but wounds and bruises and putrefying sores this is you this is me they have not been closed up or bound up or soothed with ointment and Jeremiah comes along and he says the sin of Judah you might put there the sin of and just put your name there the sin of Daniel the sin of Mark the sin of Julie the sin of Ty is written with a pin of iron written with the point of a diamond it is engraved on the tablet of their what all sin is psychological and emotional it's all inscribing things inside of you sin writes things inside of you and me it writes shame it writes guilt it writes you're not good enough and you never will be it writes the only thing you have to bring to the table is this and without it you're nothing sin deceives us as well because verse 9 says this the heart is deceitful that's your heart not the person sitting next to you this is so easy to do the problem isn't with the person sitting next to you your heart my heart the heart is deceitful above all things and wicked to what degree desperately desperately wicked who can know it is the question who can know it can you know your own heart I've described things here this morning that have those of you who are engaged maybe more introspective than you are accustomed to there's a knowing that should be coming upon you you should be saying things to yourself right now like this Wow God created me for relationships that are faithful and I've violated some of them I've hurt people and I've done wrong I've caused pain I'm messed up I'm sick god help me you should be thinking things like that well as the story in Genesis goes on they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day and Adam and his wife did what they hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden this is the deepest psychosis this is the deepest psychological derangement the very person that is most in our favor we now think is our greatest enemy the whole world is running from God because of deranged pictures of God to one degree or another in whatever ISM or philosophical view you happen to subscribe to the world is filled with two kinds of people those who are serving God out of a sense of fear and terror of what he will do to them if they don't which is false theology or those who deny the very existence of God on the premise that he couldn't possibly be that ugly if God's like that I don't believe in God that atheism oftentimes but there's a third option there's a third option you and I can see God for who God really is realize that we've been deceived and lied to and come out of hiding and say God Here I am Here I am I'm gonna present myself before you I believe that you have my best interests at heart then the Lord God came into the garden and what did he do did he stomp did he throw things around did he did he blow smoke and fire No God came into the garden and he called to Adam and he said where are you question did God know where they were was God genuinely at a loss for their location God knew exactly which bush they were hiding behind he could have just appeared right behind Adam and even said boo Here I am they were hiding from the very one they should not have been hiding from the only one who could unscramble their eggs and make things right the only one who truly loves them they're hiding from him and God comes with no incrimination with no imposed shame or guilt and he says where are you so he said I heard your voice in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked and I hid myself and then what happened well the Bible says the wicked flee when no one pursues it's just describing phobia Adam and Eve were running from God but God's not chasing them well he is but he's not he's chasing them with love he's not chasing them with incrimination and condemnation he comes into the garden and this is astounding and he said who told you you were naked this is so brilliant God doesn't pop into the garden and say I know you've sinned and I know you're naked come out of the bushes I know what you've done God doesn't come with incrimination he says Adam where are you Adam I was naked and ashamed so I hid and God says who told you you were naked what's the implication grammatically here not me I didn't tell you you were naked I'm not throwing it in your face I'm not accentuating your failure I'm not throwing it up before you to make you feel worse than you already do who told you you were naked fascinatingly then the man said the woman whom you gave to be with me it's her fault so God turns to the woman says okay what about you are you gonna take responsibility absolutely not the serpent whom you created so all the blame is going back where said God blame casting and unforgiveness are the most formidable barriers to our healing and growth this is the core of what has you and me stuck I want you to do something that's going to be uncomfortable just go ahead and do it if you want to opt out you can just close your eyes right now and I want you to picture the face of the person you like least go ahead who is she who is a picture the face of the person you like least and as you picture that person's face I want to say something to you the person you like least is a person that God loves most and God loves you most as well as that person unforgiveness and blame casting is a psychological mechanism for not taking responsibility and coming into right relationship with God in closing I promise I want to share four things with you just for brief secrets to spiritual advancement right now tell the truth to God to yourself to others stop wearing the mask tell the truth be vulnerable be honest if not with others at least with God and with yourself and with others will come later tell yourself the truth resonate with David I acknowledge my sin to you and my iniquity I have not hidden tell the truth to God and to yourself and ultimately to others as well see yourself through God's eyes allow yourself to be defined by God's love one of the most brilliant things in scripture is that in the Gospel of John over and over again Jesus says God loves you God loves you God so loved the world John 3:16 God so loved the world that He gave His only be love love love God loves you and he always uses the word agape which is unilateral love that means I love you because of what's going on in me not because there's anything in you that I ought to love pretty humbling huh God is saying I know you're a sinner you're falling you're deranged you're mixed up but I still love you because there is a quality of faithfulness in me I love you because of me not because of you now that's humbling but one time then he says God loves you God loves you God loves you agape agape got a unilateral unconditional love and then one time when you come to chapter 16 Jesus says I will tell you plainly now about the Father in that day you will ask in my name and I do not say that I will pray to the Father for you for the father himself loves you and Jesus does something brilliant here for one time he says the Father loves you and he doesn't use the word agape he uses the word phileo which means God likes you agape is I love you because I'm God and God is love and no matter what you do I'll still love you but phileo is friendship love phileo is not only do I love you but I like you I want a relationship with you the you that you are I see beautiful things and beautiful potential in you and I want to spend eternity with you and finally let everyone off the hook I don't know who that is for you let everyone off the hook forgive others in the light of God's forgiveness for you forgive others in the of God's forgiveness for you judge not Jesus said and you shall not be judged condemn not and you will not be condemned forgive and you will be forgiven the fourth one simply this fall in love with God I urge this upon you shed formal cultural legalistic religion be done with it stop thinking in terms of I was born and raised in the church therefore I'll keep going and on Jesus for yourself move past the culture past the legalism and fall in love with God as I passed you by again God says to you I saw that the time had come for you to fall in love I covered you I covered your naked body your shame your a guilt with Jessica no go to the piano you're about to sing as I passed you by again we agreed upon a nonverbal cue she thought I was asking her the meaning of the text okay and I passed you by again and I saw that the time had come for you to fall in love God says to you take this personal God says to you it's time for you it's time for you to fall in love so what does God do to help you and I fall in love with him I covered you and your naked body that is I covered your shame love covers a multitude of sins I covered your shame I covered your guilt I'm not relating to you on the premise of your guilt I'm relating to you as if you're innocent God relates to you and me with forgiveness and mercy so that we have legs to stand on he says it's time for you to fall in love with me so I'm going to take the initiative to love you first we love him John says in first John 4:19 because He first loved us I covered your naked body with my coat and I promised to love you yes I made a marriage covenant with you and you became mine this is God speaking to you from his heart asking you to fall in love with him on the shore foundation of his love for you he's the one person in the universe you need to keep hiding from the bottom line is simply this to be fully known and fully loved at the same time is the secret of our healing and growth Father in heaven God you are so beautiful and so good and we have been so deceived about you help us to see you as you are and in seeing your great love for us gain the perspective and the courage to face ourselves the dark spots in our lives and in our characters and in our personalities the fall of our own nature having fallen out of love with you and fallen out of positive relation with others father whoever they are I pray that you would help us as we mend our relationship with you to mend relationships with the men and the women and the children who along the way we have hurt or violated Father I pray for every one of my brothers and sisters here that the message today will give each of us new desire new motivation new courage to grow and to advance as human beings to become like your son Jesus father we want nothing more than to love like you love and it is in Jesus name that we pray

Channel: Kingscliff Church

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Keywords: Kingscliff SDA Church

Id: a0cmmvj-5pE

Length: 70min 16sec (4216 seconds)

Published: Sun Mar 01 2015