Praise the Lord! We're
having just a wonderful, blessed
00:00:54.52\00:00:58.49
time here at Camp
Meeting, aren't we?
00:00:58.69\00:01:01.65
Yeah, but I've never said
"ouch" so many times in my life.
00:01:01.85\00:01:04.22
What? Bro. C.A. said to either
what? Say "Praise the Lord" or
00:01:04.43\00:01:07.86
"ouch" as he hit us
about something so...
00:01:08.06\00:01:11.01
I was guilty a few times
of things he said and I had
00:01:11.21\00:01:13.28
to say "ouch, that hurts. "
00:01:13.38\00:01:14.64
I've heard either
say "Praise the Lord"
00:01:14.84\00:01:17.19
or "Oh me. " "Praise
the Lord" or "Oh me. "
00:01:17.39\00:01:20.89
Well, that was a
great sermon. It was.
00:01:21.09\00:01:23.86
We really needed
all of it. Absolutely.
00:01:24.06\00:01:25.92
I praise the Lord for
him and his love for Jesus.
00:01:26.12\00:01:28.59
By the way, you know we've
been talking about the apps -
00:01:28.89\00:01:31.13
yes - and we've been talking
about our different channels.
00:01:31.33\00:01:33.53
I hope all of you
have the 3ABN app.
00:01:33.73\00:01:39.01
We've got it now
for iPhone, iPad.
00:01:39.11\00:01:40.89
But also of course you
can get us on the Internet.
00:01:41.09\00:01:45.13
But those of you
even by satellite
00:01:45.43\00:01:48.20
we want to let you
know that we are showing
00:01:48.40\00:01:51.30
these programs that are on live
00:01:51.50\00:01:53.78
two hours later we
are showing a taped repeat
00:01:53.98\00:01:58.05
on 3ABN Proclaim!
00:01:58.25\00:02:01.61
So those on the West
Coast have been telling me
00:02:01.91\00:02:04.59
how much they appreciated that.
00:02:04.79\00:02:06.84
Because some of them
weren't even at home by the...
00:02:07.04\00:02:08.82
OK. When we get started
it's 5 o'clock out there. Sure.
00:02:09.02\00:02:12.31
And so they're able to
watch it at their 7:00 PM
00:02:12.51\00:02:16.71
and we're hearing from
them already. If you have
00:02:16.91\00:02:19.55
friends on the West Coast
or you are on the West Coast
00:02:19.76\00:02:22.30
and you want to see
some of the programs
00:02:22.50\00:02:24.71
just remember if
you've already missed it
00:02:24.91\00:02:26.77
flip over to Proclaim! and
you can see it 2 hours later.
00:02:26.97\00:02:29.91
All right. Incredible tools
that we talked about last night
00:02:30.11\00:02:33.36
of communications
that God has given us.
00:02:33.46\00:02:35.29
And this phone
thing... I mean, that's amazing.
00:02:35.49\00:02:37.71
You pull out your iPad and it's
going to be on the Android also
00:02:37.91\00:02:41.73
phone in a few weeks.
They're working on that.
00:02:41.93\00:02:44.34
And you literally just take
it with you everywhere you go.
00:02:44.54\00:02:46.56
You remember when we were kids
- yeah. We weren't even really
00:02:46.76\00:02:48.81
kids. For maybe a
little bit older kids.
00:02:48.91\00:02:51.74
Dick Tracy used to
look at his watch and talk.
00:02:51.84\00:02:54.25
And you know we thought
that was just so impossible.
00:02:54.45\00:02:56.96
Oh man, right. And now you
can see and talk and do Facetime
00:02:57.16\00:03:00.27
and all sorts of
things. Absolutely.
00:03:00.38\00:03:02.22
What technology! I
just got a message from
00:03:02.42\00:03:04.50
Dr. Walt... Dr. Walt Thompson,
00:03:04.60\00:03:06.71
for many years the individual
who has chaired our board.
00:03:06.91\00:03:12.09
And he's still on our board
and we appreciate him so much.
00:03:12.39\00:03:15.53
He was... In the e-mail,
Danny, he was sharing with me
00:03:15.73\00:03:19.15
the first time that
he saw you and Kenny
00:03:19.35\00:03:21.93
and you came to the
Hinsdale Church. Yeah.
00:03:22.13\00:03:24.31
And you were presenting
the dream of going forward.
00:03:24.51\00:03:28.00
And he said: "I couldn't
believe that people weren't
00:03:28.03\00:03:31.06
just unbelievably excited
about getting this message
00:03:31.26\00:03:34.86
around the world. "
And he said: "I was. "
00:03:35.07\00:03:37.24
And he said: "After
our board meeting yesterday
00:03:37.44\00:03:40.30
that he is probably more
excited - oh, that's great -
00:03:40.40\00:03:43.86
than he has ever been about
the fact that we are going to be
00:03:43.96\00:03:47.97
launching from the Valley
of Elah a whole new initiative
00:03:48.07\00:03:53.08
to reach the world for
the Lord Jesus Christ. "
00:03:53.28\00:03:56.68
Absolutely. And we
are excited about it.
00:03:56.88\00:03:59.32
That's in
November. That's in November.
00:03:59.42\00:04:00.81
What date is that?
November 23rd. So a lot of you
00:04:00.91\00:04:04.05
are going to be with us. If
you're not going to be with us
00:04:04.15\00:04:05.95
actually there, please
be with us on television.
00:04:06.05\00:04:10.35
It'll be shown real
time then we'll try to get
00:04:10.55\00:04:13.67
them to repeat it on
Proclaim! two hours later.
00:04:13.77\00:04:16.11
Absolutely. All right.
Now you were talking about
00:04:16.41\00:04:19.08
board members. Dr. Walt - yes
- and of course his wife Avon.
00:04:19.28\00:04:22.00
I think we have
some new board members -
00:04:22.20\00:04:24.17
we do - so we should
invite them out here.
00:04:24.37\00:04:26.02
I'm going to
invite Dr. James Stevens
00:04:26.13\00:04:28.49
to come and his wife Rita.
00:04:28.59\00:04:30.22
And Dr. Stevens is
a member of our board.
00:04:30.42\00:04:33.33
You and I have been with him.
He's been on the Kenneth Cox
00:04:33.53\00:04:36.91
board for many years - yeah -
and is very supportive of 3ABN.
00:04:37.01\00:04:41.35
In fact, you put 3ABN and
the Adventist Hope Channel
00:04:41.65\00:04:46.28
and Glorystar dish in
the homes of new converts.
00:04:46.48\00:04:52.35
Tell us about that.
00:04:52.55\00:04:53.67
Yes. A few years ago
you and I were talking
00:04:53.87\00:04:58.04
and we decided that this
might be something to try.
00:04:58.24\00:05:00.79
Any time we have a new family
that becomes a part of the
00:05:01.19\00:05:04.08
church we invite... or
we ask them if they would
00:05:04.18\00:05:07.74
like to have the satellite
dish. So we have installed
00:05:07.84\00:05:11.07
in the range of 400 satellite
dishes between what we have done
00:05:11.27\00:05:15.46
from our office and
what members have done
00:05:15.56\00:05:18.01
throughout our
conference. And we found that
00:05:18.21\00:05:20.12
this has been very helpful
for people to enrich and enhance
00:05:20.32\00:05:24.45
their faith as they
become a part of our church.
00:05:24.55\00:05:26.49
It kind of reinforces some
of the things they've learned
00:05:26.89\00:05:29.80
when they've
attended evangelistic meetings
00:05:30.00\00:05:31.89
or Bible studies or
something like that.
00:05:32.09\00:05:33.58
Absolutely. And as
technology continues to change
00:05:33.78\00:05:36.39
we can do the little
Roku box. Any of you have
00:05:36.60\00:05:39.22
that at home?
00:05:39.32\00:05:40.38
That thing is like 3
inches by 3 inches by 1 inch.
00:05:40.58\00:05:43.20
You simply plug it in if
you have Internet in your house.
00:05:43.40\00:05:46.64
So I did it, and I'm not that
technically - what do they call
00:05:46.88\00:05:50.97
it? - savvy. I
don't have that savvy.
00:05:51.07\00:05:52.96
But all you do
is you plug it in.
00:05:53.16\00:05:55.33
I plugged it in. Took a cord
from there to the television.
00:05:55.54\00:05:58.24
And turned on the TV set
and just one little remote
00:05:58.55\00:06:01.72
that you push and you can
get all of the 3ABN channels.
00:06:01.92\00:06:05.09
3ABN radio, 3ABN
television. You can get Hope.
00:06:05.29\00:06:07.74
You can get all of
these other channels.
00:06:07.94\00:06:09.33
And it's like $49 or something
and the best one is $99.
00:06:09.43\00:06:13.56
No monthly fee. So
people: what you can do is...
00:06:13.76\00:06:17.04
What he's doing
as a church leader...
00:06:17.18\00:06:19.11
we ought to do
that as individually.
00:06:19.31\00:06:20.93
You have friends,
you have loved ones.
00:06:21.13\00:06:22.77
You have people
around you, neighbors,
00:06:22.97\00:06:26.02
that you can say: "Hey,
let me get you one of these. "
00:06:26.22\00:06:28.13
That's all it is.
It's a one time...
00:06:28.43\00:06:30.46
And these people that are new...
Every one baptized in your
00:06:30.56\00:06:33.13
churches... I hope everybody
around the world is listening
00:06:33.23\00:06:35.94
to Bro. Stevens tonight.
Because what an incredible...
00:06:36.14\00:06:39.00
incredible thing you did.
And now it's becoming even
00:06:39.20\00:06:42.38
easier to do and
you're seeing results.
00:06:42.58\00:06:44.74
Amen. Well listen,
we are so happy that
00:06:45.04\00:06:47.84
you've joined our board.
And Rita, we've appreciated you
00:06:48.04\00:06:51.42
through the years. You are
such a great minister's wife
00:06:51.62\00:06:55.42
and head of The Shepherdess
for the minister's... all the
00:06:55.62\00:06:59.74
wives of your conference.
And we appreciate you both
00:06:59.84\00:07:02.81
very much. Bro. Jim,
would you lead us to the throne?
00:07:03.01\00:07:05.85
Let's bow our heads.
00:07:06.26\00:07:07.57
Our Father in heaven, tonight
we thank you for the many
00:07:07.78\00:07:10.16
blessings You've
given us. We're thankful
00:07:10.26\00:07:12.07
that we can come here
together at this Camp Meeting
00:07:12.27\00:07:14.17
and celebrate
the holy Sabbath Day.
00:07:14.27\00:07:16.91
And Lord, we pray
for this ministry of 3ABN
00:07:17.11\00:07:20.47
that it may go around the
world beyond even our wildest
00:07:20.57\00:07:23.58
imagination. May people hear
this message and may they be
00:07:23.68\00:07:26.79
prepared for
the coming of Jesus.
00:07:26.89\00:07:29.11
And tonight, Lord, we
pray as Bro. David Asscherick
00:07:29.51\00:07:32.56
comes and speaks to us
that Your Holy Spirit will
00:07:32.76\00:07:35.52
speak through him. And
touch our hearts, Lord,
00:07:35.62\00:07:38.13
that we will be more in
tune and aligned with Your will
00:07:38.33\00:07:40.65
for our lives.
We ask all of this
00:07:40.85\00:07:42.78
in Jesus' holy name and
for His sake, Amen. Amen.
00:07:42.88\00:07:46.44
Well listen, Pastor
David is going to be coming
00:07:46.84\00:07:49.45
and speaking again.
He continues the message
00:07:49.55\00:07:52.50
on the covenants.
This is part three.
00:07:52.70\00:07:55.44
He is co-director of
Light Bearers Ministry
00:07:55.74\00:07:59.57
and the director of ARISE.
00:07:59.77\00:08:02.70
You all know him so very
well. I won't take a lot of time
00:08:03.01\00:08:06.55
to speak about him
except to tell you that
00:08:06.75\00:08:09.18
we really
appreciate David Asscherick.
00:08:09.29\00:08:11.75
In fact I appreciate him so
much. Last night I got the idea
00:08:11.95\00:08:17.11
that he might need
a little more time.
00:08:17.21\00:08:19.03
And so I visited with him
and he said: "Yes, he could
00:08:19.23\00:08:23.15
use a little more
time. " So tomorrow morning
00:08:23.25\00:08:25.82
he'll speak at 9:30
AM and also at 11:00 AM.
00:08:26.02\00:08:29.86
So he'll get an extra session
to get this message through
00:08:30.17\00:08:33.66
so we get a complete vision
00:08:33.86\00:08:36.80
of what it is
that he is presenting.
00:08:36.83\00:08:40.18
So before he
comes to speak to us
00:08:40.48\00:08:42.67
our good friend and
our pastor John Lomacang
00:08:42.87\00:08:46.59
is going to sing
for us Pass Me Not.
00:08:46.79\00:08:50.42
Pass me not,
00:09:27.09\00:09:29.71
O gentle Savior,
00:09:29.81\00:09:33.80
Hear my humble
00:09:34.50\00:09:38.07
cry;
00:09:38.17\00:09:41.51
While on others
00:09:41.81\00:09:44.63
Thou art calling,
00:09:44.93\00:09:48.49
just do not pass me by.
00:09:48.79\00:09:54.74
Savior,
00:09:56.06\00:09:59.34
Savior,
00:09:59.64\00:10:03.04
hear my humble cry;
00:10:03.34\00:10:09.28
Yes, while on others
00:10:10.32\00:10:13.94
Thou art calling,
00:10:14.24\00:10:17.54
just do not pass me by.
00:10:17.84\00:10:23.81
Let me at Thy throne
00:10:29.30\00:10:32.71
of mercy
00:10:32.91\00:10:36.04
find a sweet
00:10:36.44\00:10:39.21
relief;
00:10:39.41\00:10:43.44
Kneeling there
00:10:43.84\00:10:46.33
in deep contrition,
00:10:46.44\00:10:50.35
Lord, help my unbelief.
00:10:50.55\00:10:56.51
While I'm trusting only
00:10:57.78\00:11:00.88
in Your merit,
00:11:01.09\00:11:04.62
Would I seek
00:11:05.09\00:11:08.13
Thy face;
00:11:08.33\00:11:12.83
Heal my wounded, broken spirit
00:11:13.13\00:11:19.07
and then save me
00:11:19.27\00:11:21.63
by Thy grace.
00:11:21.73\00:11:25.48
For I'm crying Savior,
00:11:25.78\00:11:30.20
O my Savior,
00:11:30.40\00:11:33.70
just hear my humble cry.
00:11:34.10\00:11:40.00
Lord, while on others
00:11:40.21\00:11:44.55
Thou art calling,
00:11:44.85\00:11:48.34
just do not pass me by.
00:11:48.64\00:11:54.59
You're the
Spring of all my comfort
00:12:00.27\00:12:05.41
and You are more than life
00:12:05.71\00:12:09.92
to me;
00:12:10.12\00:12:14.39
Whom have I on earth
00:12:14.59\00:12:17.98
beside Thee and
00:12:18.28\00:12:21.81
whom in heaven but Thee?
00:12:22.01\00:12:27.25
So I'm crying Savior,
00:12:27.65\00:12:32.00
O my Savior,
00:12:32.20\00:12:35.50
just hear my humble cry;
00:12:35.70\00:12:41.68
Lord, while on others
00:12:42.59\00:12:46.30
You are calling,
00:12:46.70\00:12:50.03
just do not...
do not pass me by.
00:12:50.13\00:12:56.11
Yes I'm crying Savior,
00:12:56.56\00:13:01.04
yes my Savior,
00:13:01.34\00:13:04.77
Just hear my humble cry;
00:13:05.07\00:13:10.98
Lord, while on others
00:13:11.38\00:13:15.62
Thou art calling,
00:13:15.92\00:13:19.41
please do not pass me
00:13:19.81\00:13:24.53
by.
00:13:24.74\00:13:30.30
Oh, oh.
00:13:30.70\00:13:36.44
Lord, do not
00:13:37.20\00:13:40.82
pass me
00:13:41.02\00:13:44.46
by.
00:13:44.86\00:13:50.85
Amen. Thanks, John.
00:14:00.08\00:14:01.51
That brother can sing. Amen?
00:14:01.91\00:14:03.69
Amen. That's how
I sing in my dreams.
00:14:03.99\00:14:06.50
I was saying to
them just backstage
00:14:08.54\00:14:10.47
"You never... I
never feel nervous. "
00:14:10.67\00:14:12.60
You know how some people
when they sing you're nervous?
00:14:12.80\00:14:14.23
Like: "Is that going to be
good? " But you're never nervous
00:14:14.43\00:14:17.38
with John. He just
always hits the right notes
00:14:17.58\00:14:20.03
in the right way
at the right time.
00:14:20.23\00:14:21.65
I love it! Good stuff.
00:14:21.85\00:14:23.52
And how about C.A.'s sermon?
00:14:23.83\00:14:25.53
Ha ha ha ha ha.
00:14:25.83\00:14:27.48
He didn't preach a sermon.
He preached like 3 of them.
00:14:27.68\00:14:30.46
When he said: "I haven't
even started my sermon yet"
00:14:32.48\00:14:34.57
I thought: "You've
already preached two! "
00:14:34.77\00:14:36.07
Good stuff. But I
learned something from him:
00:14:37.43\00:14:39.81
that if you run out of time
00:14:40.11\00:14:42.11
you just say: "OK, well
anyway go read these 2 passages
00:14:42.31\00:14:44.77
'cause that's what I
was going to tell you.
00:14:44.97\00:14:46.27
That's your homework assignment;
I'll get you next time. "
00:14:46.37\00:14:48.16
Good stuff. I just
feel such freedom now.
00:14:49.60\00:14:52.84
I feel like if I run
out of time I'll just say:
00:14:52.94\00:14:54.97
"OK, go read these
verses. It's on you now.
00:14:55.07\00:14:57.95
It's off of me... it's on you. "
00:14:58.25\00:14:59.91
Amen. It was really
actually super appropriate
00:15:00.89\00:15:04.43
and awesome the
material that C.A. preached
00:15:04.63\00:15:08.21
and even Shelley's sermon this
afternoon on the love of God.
00:15:08.41\00:15:11.06
Amen? Good stuff.
And I really appreciate
00:15:11.16\00:15:14.24
because what C.A. has done
for us - even though he thinks
00:15:14.44\00:15:17.37
he didn't get to his material -
00:15:17.47\00:15:18.57
he did a very good job of
communicating the basic...
00:15:18.77\00:15:21.73
at least definitionaly the
basic idea of the covenant.
00:15:22.03\00:15:25.32
That a covenant
is a legal agreement.
00:15:25.62\00:15:27.38
That it's an arrangement.
00:15:27.48\00:15:28.72
That someone can't just
come in and start tinkering with
00:15:28.92\00:15:31.39
the covenant to
change the terms.
00:15:31.49\00:15:33.42
That's going to be
super helpful for us now
00:15:33.62\00:15:36.32
because where we have been
building in our series on the
00:15:36.42\00:15:39.66
covenants - and I want to thank
Jim for giving me yet another
00:15:39.76\00:15:42.53
session. I came
thinking I would have five
00:15:42.63\00:15:44.61
and the Lord has given me six.
00:15:44.91\00:15:46.76
Amen? So I'm super
excited about that.
00:15:46.96\00:15:48.96
We were actually planning
on going to the prison here
00:15:49.16\00:15:52.45
in Marion but it didn't
work out. They couldn't get the
00:15:52.56\00:15:54.13
paperwork sorted out.
So, I was going to be there
00:15:54.23\00:15:57.23
but... and frankly,
I'd rather be there.
00:15:57.33\00:15:59.56
That's no offense to you
guys. I just want to go visit
00:15:59.76\00:16:02.54
my people that are behind bars.
00:16:02.64\00:16:03.82
I want to spend time with
them, but the paperwork wasn't
00:16:03.93\00:16:05.61
able to get sorted out.
00:16:05.71\00:16:06.88
Anyway, we're going to
take advantage of the situation
00:16:07.93\00:16:09.88
anyway. So tomorrow morning at
9:30 AM we're going to continue
00:16:09.99\00:16:13.23
our series. And C.A.
has done a very good job of
00:16:13.43\00:16:16.23
laying - at least where I'm
going - some great groundwork
00:16:16.43\00:16:19.32
here because we're
going to start talking about
00:16:19.52\00:16:21.31
the covenant relationship
that God established with Adam.
00:16:21.61\00:16:25.35
With who
everyone? Adam. With Adam.
00:16:25.55\00:16:28.56
And in this particular
session... Every session
00:16:28.67\00:16:30.66
we have kind of a
goal, a hope, an aim.
00:16:30.76\00:16:34.09
And again, I've learned from
C.A. that if I don't get there
00:16:34.29\00:16:36.21
I'll just tell you what
I was going to tell you.
00:16:36.41\00:16:37.92
Now you go study it on yourself.
00:16:38.02\00:16:39.33
But our goal in
this particular session
00:16:39.73\00:16:42.47
is to talk a little bit
about that legal arrangement,
00:16:42.67\00:16:45.38
that relationship, that covenant
00:16:45.58\00:16:47.40
that God had with Adam and Eve.
00:16:47.70\00:16:49.81
Remember - and we'll talk
about this in just a moment -
00:16:50.02\00:16:51.75
they were an
extension of the family of God.
00:16:51.95\00:16:54.45
But we're going to also
talk significantly here about
00:16:54.76\00:16:58.00
how that relationship and
that covenant was derailed.
00:16:58.10\00:17:01.71
Was what?
Derailed. Was derailed.
00:17:02.67\00:17:04.62
Or to use the illustration
that we had as we closed our
00:17:04.83\00:17:07.17
session this morning,
there was a connectivity
00:17:07.27\00:17:09.66
between God and man in an
ever-growing, ever-expanding
00:17:09.86\00:17:12.92
matrix of love...
but that was broken
00:17:13.13\00:17:17.47
and it was broken
over a lack of trust.
00:17:17.77\00:17:19.68
And that's how all
relationships are broken.
00:17:19.88\00:17:21.51
All covenants are
broken when one party decides
00:17:21.62\00:17:24.18
not to repose trust in the other
00:17:24.28\00:17:26.66
or to turn away from the
terms of that relationship.
00:17:26.96\00:17:29.76
And that's what we're
going to talk about now.
00:17:29.86\00:17:30.92
So without further adieu
let's pray and get right into
00:17:31.12\00:17:34.13
our material.
00:17:34.23\00:17:35.44
Father in heaven,
we are so thankful
00:17:37.52\00:17:39.48
that you have not passed us by
00:17:39.68\00:17:42.29
and as John has
so beautifully sung
00:17:43.40\00:17:45.51
this is the prayer of our heart
that we would not be passed by.
00:17:45.71\00:17:49.79
And we have the entire
record of both the Old and the
00:17:50.00\00:17:52.24
New Testament that You
are not in the business
00:17:52.34\00:17:55.84
and You are not
interested in passing us by
00:17:56.04\00:17:58.93
but You came to save us,
to redeem us, to rescue us,
00:17:59.13\00:18:02.18
and re-connect us to Yourself.
00:18:02.28\00:18:05.26
Father, now as we open scripture
00:18:05.77\00:18:09.12
may we never lose sight of
the grand privilege that is ours
00:18:09.32\00:18:13.16
to call You Father. I
pray that we would understand
00:18:13.36\00:18:17.19
better - not just
intellectually but emotionally,
00:18:17.39\00:18:19.92
psychologically, and
spiritually - that we would see
00:18:20.12\00:18:22.72
that this whole plan
of salvation is a plan of
00:18:23.02\00:18:26.39
covenant restoration.
It's a plan of re-connection
00:18:26.59\00:18:29.23
with the family of God.
00:18:29.43\00:18:30.78
And Father, help us to see
the role that we play in that.
00:18:31.18\00:18:33.93
But even more significantly
00:18:34.13\00:18:36.13
and the center of that is
the role that Jesus plays,
00:18:36.43\00:18:40.71
the Spirit plays,
and that You are playing.
00:18:40.91\00:18:42.90
So be with us now,
Father, as we continue our study
00:18:43.40\00:18:46.02
of You and of the covenants.
00:18:46.22\00:18:48.18
And open our hearts and minds to
this great truth of scripture.
00:18:48.48\00:18:52.52
This is our prayer in
Jesus' name. Let everyone say
00:18:52.82\00:18:55.17
Amen.
00:18:55.37\00:18:56.75
All right. Let's just
spend a brief moment here
00:18:57.25\00:18:59.98
kind of reviewing a little
bit of what we've talked about.
00:19:00.18\00:19:01.90
I wonder if anyone can remember?
00:19:02.10\00:19:03.60
I said that the entire
Bible can be summarized
00:19:03.90\00:19:06.45
in basically three
words or three ideas.
00:19:06.65\00:19:08.71
Does anyone
remember what they were? OK.
00:19:08.91\00:19:12.00
"God is love. "
Very good; very good.
00:19:12.20\00:19:13.45
Now that's the summary of
the first thing that we put
00:19:13.55\00:19:15.64
on the table. That's
an appropriate answer.
00:19:15.74\00:19:17.24
I maybe didn't do a good
enough job asking the question.
00:19:17.44\00:19:19.07
We definitely have been
talking about the table of truth
00:19:19.37\00:19:21.43
and the first and normative
and non-negotiable brick
00:19:21.63\00:19:25.63
or piece that goes
on that table of truth
00:19:25.83\00:19:27.91
is the truth
about who God is. Amen?
00:19:28.11\00:19:30.05
But the question I'm
asking is... The whole Bible...
00:19:30.45\00:19:32.94
I'll just tell you the answer
so you don't have to guess here.
00:19:33.14\00:19:35.03
The entire Bible can be
summarized in basically 3 ideas
00:19:35.44\00:19:38.15
or 3 words that
contain the Biblical concepts
00:19:38.25\00:19:41.37
of creation...
You remember this?
00:19:41.57\00:19:43.93
God is Creator, so creation.
00:19:44.13\00:19:46.12
And then does
anyone remember the others?
00:19:46.32\00:19:47.53
Conflict. Creation and conflict
00:19:47.93\00:19:50.84
followed by
covenant. That's exactly right.
00:19:50.94\00:19:52.53
Creation,
conflict, and covenant.
00:19:52.84\00:19:55.45
That is basically
the Bible in three words.
00:19:55.65\00:19:57.63
God created;
there was a conflict;
00:19:57.83\00:20:00.19
and God covenanted with
Himself and with mankind
00:20:00.39\00:20:03.29
to bring restoration to
that broken relationship.
00:20:03.49\00:20:06.51
That's what we're going
to talk about right now.
00:20:06.71\00:20:08.03
Scripture opens up
in Genesis 1 to 11-
00:20:08.53\00:20:11.76
and Genesis 1 to 11 I should say
00:20:11.96\00:20:14.24
is theologically and
historically the most
00:20:14.44\00:20:17.38
disputed and debated
section in all of scripture.
00:20:17.58\00:20:21.11
More than the
resurrection of Jesus.
00:20:21.32\00:20:22.50
More than the miracles of Jesus.
00:20:22.70\00:20:23.87
The passage of scripture
that is most under scrutiny,
00:20:24.18\00:20:27.04
that is most denied
and debated and discussed,
00:20:27.07\00:20:30.19
is Genesis chapters 1 to 11.
00:20:30.39\00:20:32.86
Right? Because what you have
here is a primordial and early
00:20:33.16\00:20:36.96
history of the planet.
00:20:37.16\00:20:39.10
And that history, of
course, is at direct odds
00:20:39.40\00:20:42.23
with the traditional
evolutionary perspective:
00:20:42.43\00:20:45.54
the long ages view of the
world. And so what we have is
00:20:45.75\00:20:49.31
scripture here coming in direct
conflict or direct contradiction
00:20:49.62\00:20:53.77
to the mainstream story
about how old the world is
00:20:53.97\00:20:58.55
and where it came from and
by extension where we came from.
00:20:58.75\00:21:01.42
So far so good?
00:21:01.82\00:21:02.87
And so people have
denied the basic historicity of
00:21:03.17\00:21:05.59
Genesis chapters 1, 2,
3, 4 all the way up to 11.
00:21:05.69\00:21:07.88
They said: "Well
that's allegorical.
00:21:08.08\00:21:09.82
That's metaphorical.
There really wasn't an Adam
00:21:10.02\00:21:11.75
and an Eve. It's just
trying to tell a story.
00:21:11.85\00:21:14.22
There was no global
flood; it was a local flood,
00:21:14.42\00:21:16.99
a localized situation. And
the whole idea of the Tower
00:21:17.19\00:21:19.91
of Babel... " Now it's
a very interesting thing.
00:21:20.01\00:21:22.53
If you sort of think
of the book of Genesis
00:21:23.51\00:21:25.47
in like a... If you
just kind of imagine it
00:21:25.57\00:21:27.56
laid out in a schematic, right?
00:21:27.66\00:21:30.55
What you end up with is
the first eleven chapters
00:21:30.85\00:21:33.78
basically from
creation to the Tower of Babel.
00:21:33.98\00:21:37.65
Basically all the way through
creation, through the fall,
00:21:37.85\00:21:40.23
through the flood, and then the
building of the Tower of Babel.
00:21:40.43\00:21:42.16
This covers not less than 1,500
and maybe more than 2,000 years
00:21:42.46\00:21:46.82
of human history.
Are you with me on that?
00:21:46.92\00:21:49.11
So the first 11 chapters of
scripture is like 2,000 years of
00:21:49.34\00:21:51.71
human history in round numbers.
00:21:51.82\00:21:53.34
And then from Genesis
12- that's the call of Abram
00:21:53.64\00:21:56.58
who later becomes Abraham -
and then the rest of Genesis
00:21:56.78\00:22:00.13
all the way down
to Genesis chapter 50
00:22:00.34\00:22:01.82
is basically the descendants
of Abraham and covers
00:22:02.02\00:22:04.58
the period of roughly 100 years.
00:22:04.78\00:22:06.59
OK? So now just kind of
appreciate the shape of the book
00:22:06.79\00:22:11.05
of Genesis with me if you will.
00:22:11.15\00:22:12.58
You have 50 chapters.
00:22:12.78\00:22:14.24
How many chapters everyone?
00:22:14.54\00:22:15.77
And the first 11 cover some
2,000 years of earth's history
00:22:16.07\00:22:20.26
and then the next 39 chapters
cover roughly 100 years.
00:22:20.46\00:22:23.66
Give or take... 150 years.
00:22:23.96\00:22:25.80
Are you with me on that?
00:22:26.10\00:22:27.22
So it's obviously
weighted very strongly
00:22:27.42\00:22:30.24
toward the part of
earth's history that takes place
00:22:30.44\00:22:35.11
after the call of Abram.
00:22:35.21\00:22:36.92
Now there is huge reason
for this. Tremendous reason
00:22:37.02\00:22:39.91
for this, and that is
because it's almost as if
00:22:40.11\00:22:42.52
God is just giving a quick
glimpse of... Oh yeah, here's
00:22:42.72\00:22:46.83
creation and here was the flood
and here was the Tower of Babel
00:22:46.93\00:22:49.28
and that gets us to
Abram. It's like He's racing
00:22:49.48\00:22:52.45
to get to the story of
Abram because Abram - later
00:22:52.65\00:22:55.21
Abraham - becomes
the fulcrum on which
00:22:55.32\00:22:58.40
the entire Old Testament
- and the New Testament
00:22:58.60\00:23:01.12
by the way - hinges.
00:23:01.22\00:23:02.76
God's covenant with Abraham
is the metanarrative structure
00:23:02.96\00:23:08.05
for the entire Old
Testament and even by extension
00:23:08.25\00:23:11.03
the New
Testament. So it's just like
00:23:11.23\00:23:12.69
right through 2,000 years and
then HERE is God's relationship
00:23:13.95\00:23:17.91
with Abram, which was a
covenantal relationship.
00:23:18.11\00:23:20.64
Now in Genesis 1 and
2... Let's spend some time
00:23:20.94\00:23:23.19
in those early
chapters. Genesis 1 and 2
00:23:23.39\00:23:25.74
is God in creation.
"In the beginning God
00:23:25.95\00:23:29.13
created the heavens
and the earth. " Etc.
00:23:29.27\00:23:32.52
There have been
people that have suggested
00:23:32.75\00:23:34.86
that there is a distinction
- and not just a distinction
00:23:35.06\00:23:38.89
but a contradiction
between these two chapters:
00:23:38.92\00:23:41.54
Genesis 1 and 2,
the creation chapters.
00:23:41.74\00:23:43.36
And there have been
- you know - scholars
00:23:43.67\00:23:46.26
from various critical
perspectives who have gone in
00:23:46.46\00:23:49.00
and tried to show contradiction.
00:23:49.10\00:23:51.29
"Oh, well Genesis 1 says
this and Genesis 2 says this. "
00:23:51.49\00:23:54.04
"Genesis 1 says this
and Genesis 2 says this. "
00:23:54.24\00:23:56.23
Trying to paint a picture
that two different authors
00:23:56.53\00:23:59.37
painted... wrote at
different times trying to paint
00:23:59.57\00:24:03.05
diverse pictures.
Genesis chapter 1 is Elohim.
00:24:03.25\00:24:06.46
Genesis chapter 2
is Jehovah or Yahweh.
00:24:06.69\00:24:09.17
Genesis chapter 1 is
largely God creating from afar
00:24:09.37\00:24:13.84
with the spoken word. You
have this repeated phrase:
00:24:14.04\00:24:16.11
"And God said... and God said...
00:24:16.31\00:24:18.04
and God said. " Then you
get to Genesis chapter 2.
00:24:18.24\00:24:20.18
It's different. Now
we're dealing not with Elohim
00:24:20.38\00:24:23.28
but with Jehovah.
The language changes.
00:24:23.38\00:24:25.15
But these are not contradictory;
they are actually complementary.
00:24:25.55\00:24:29.26
And what Genesis chapter 1
lays out in sort of chronology.
00:24:29.46\00:24:33.60
The first day: "The evening
and the morning were the first
00:24:33.80\00:24:35.17
day. " "The evening and the
morning were the second day. "
00:24:35.27\00:24:36.55
Third day,
fourth day, fifth day.
00:24:36.75\00:24:37.82
You have this sort of
big panorama of creation.
00:24:38.02\00:24:41.40
Genesis chapter 2
transitions from that
00:24:41.60\00:24:43.46
to a relational
picture of creation, right?
00:24:43.76\00:24:47.44
It says in Genesis chapter
2 verse 7 that the Lord God
00:24:47.68\00:24:50.52
formed man of the
dust of the ground
00:24:50.72\00:24:53.24
and breathed into his
nostrils the breath of life.
00:24:53.44\00:24:55.90
So now God is... The
person of God Jehovah is
00:24:56.20\00:25:00.29
personally physically
interacting with His creation.
00:25:00.49\00:25:04.86
Now in Genesis chapter
2 God makes Adam and Eve.
00:25:05.26\00:25:09.98
And Adam and Eve - as we've
already mentioned, or Adam in
00:25:10.48\00:25:12.69
particular - we went
to the genealogy of Luke
00:25:12.79\00:25:15.72
and we saw that
unlike Matthew's genealogy
00:25:15.92\00:25:18.65
which only goes back to
Abraham - which is important -
00:25:18.85\00:25:21.58
Luke's genealogy goes
all the way back to Adam
00:25:21.82\00:25:25.09
and it was going through
and it would say: "So and so
00:25:25.29\00:25:26.53
is the son of so and
so, the son of so and so,
00:25:26.63\00:25:28.00
the son of so and so,
the son of so and so. "
00:25:28.10\00:25:29.43
And then it says:
"Adam... " And what does it say?
00:25:29.63\00:25:32.08
"the son of God. "
00:25:32.28\00:25:34.58
Now we have been painting a
picture here of the fact that
00:25:35.51\00:25:38.20
God is in
Himself a divine family,
00:25:38.40\00:25:43.03
a divine relational being:
00:25:43.23\00:25:45.44
Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit. Amen?
00:25:46.26\00:25:49.92
And John's observation about
that is that "God is love. "
00:25:50.22\00:25:53.51
Not merely loving but
He is in His very nature
00:25:53.65\00:25:56.90
and in His very essence love.
00:25:57.10\00:25:58.29
Let me just pause
here for just a moment.
00:25:58.39\00:25:59.73
I've got to spend a
few minutes on this.
00:25:59.83\00:26:01.12
I spent a lot of time
unpacking this in the series
00:26:01.42\00:26:04.12
on The Unknown God, but I need
to just spend a moment on this.
00:26:04.32\00:26:08.27
If I say to you "Hippopotamus, "
00:26:09.01\00:26:12.20
do you get a
picture in your mind?
00:26:13.21\00:26:15.46
Hippopotamus. Got
it. If I say "giraffe, "
00:26:15.76\00:26:18.00
you got a
picture in your mind? OK.
00:26:18.30\00:26:20.08
We can do this.
We could say "lion"
00:26:20.28\00:26:22.42
and you get a
picture. We could say "tiger"
00:26:22.62\00:26:24.01
and you get a picture, right?
00:26:24.11\00:26:25.32
You get a mental picture. You
know what we're talking about.
00:26:25.52\00:26:29.24
But if I say "God, "
00:26:29.54\00:26:31.64
right? Do you get a mental
picture? An image in your mind
00:26:33.33\00:26:37.31
of what we're talking about?
00:26:37.51\00:26:38.70
Hopefully not in a way.
In fact, the only appropriate
00:26:39.54\00:26:42.48
image that you could
get would really be Jesus.
00:26:42.58\00:26:44.38
Now there's so
many instances of this.
00:26:44.58\00:26:46.98
For example, just a
quick one that I'll paint here.
00:26:47.18\00:26:49.46
When Moses went to the top
of Mt. Sinai, God said to Moses
00:26:49.87\00:26:52.88
repeatedly. He said:
"Now you remind the Israelites
00:26:53.08\00:26:55.74
they didn't see anything.
You didn't see anything;
00:26:55.94\00:26:58.57
they didn't see
anything. So they cannot make
00:26:58.77\00:27:00.98
a form of Me. "
00:27:01.19\00:27:03.36
Right? There was
clouds and there was smoke
00:27:03.46\00:27:05.32
and there was
lightning and there was thunder.
00:27:05.52\00:27:07.46
It's as if God was
purposely obscuring Himself
00:27:07.66\00:27:11.09
so that they couldn't
go down and make or fashion
00:27:11.29\00:27:14.04
something that was
in the shape of God.
00:27:14.24\00:27:16.88
Are you with me? Yes or no?
00:27:17.28\00:27:18.64
When they did their best
they immediately resorted back
00:27:18.84\00:27:21.08
to their pagan idolatrous ways
00:27:21.18\00:27:23.07
and when they made a god
they made it in the image of
00:27:23.27\00:27:26.08
a golden calf.
00:27:26.18\00:27:27.80
But God didn't look anything
like a - you know - quadruped
00:27:28.01\00:27:31.09
bovine creature at
the top of Mt. Sinai.
00:27:31.29\00:27:33.32
They didn't see.
Jesus in the New Testament
00:27:33.42\00:27:36.30
many many years later would
actually say to the religious
00:27:36.50\00:27:38.81
leaders of His day... He
would say this exact words...
00:27:38.91\00:27:41.17
these exact words. He
would say: "You have neither
00:27:41.37\00:27:43.62
seen His shape
nor heard His voice. "
00:27:43.82\00:27:46.63
The idea of what a God
is is something that frankly
00:27:48.08\00:27:52.54
none of us understands.
God is not like a hippopotamus.
00:27:52.74\00:27:55.03
He's not like a
giraffe; He's not like a tiger.
00:27:55.23\00:27:57.23
He's not like an easily
identifiable, quantifiable
00:27:57.43\00:28:00.96
thing that we know
what we're talking about.
00:28:01.16\00:28:03.24
Theologians and philosophers
and lay people like us
00:28:04.30\00:28:08.28
we don't really know
what we're talking about
00:28:08.68\00:28:12.16
when we talk about a
God in terms of His nature.
00:28:12.36\00:28:15.47
Are you with me?
00:28:16.35\00:28:17.71
And the theologians invent
words to try and communicate
00:28:18.01\00:28:21.32
the ineffability of God,
the incommunicability of God.
00:28:21.42\00:28:26.24
The mystery of
God. We say things like:
00:28:26.44\00:28:28.91
"God is eternal. "
00:28:29.22\00:28:31.31
Which is simply a way of saying
that He had neither beginning
00:28:32.31\00:28:35.03
nor end. But nobody in this room
has any idea what that means.
00:28:35.23\00:28:39.79
Are you with me?
00:28:40.22\00:28:41.29
I had a
beginning: August 16, 1972.
00:28:41.49\00:28:43.85
Every person I've
ever known had a beginning
00:28:44.15\00:28:46.60
and is headed toward an end.
00:28:46.81\00:28:48.22
Right? And here we talk
about another kind of creature,
00:28:48.52\00:28:51.89
another kind of
being, another kind of entity
00:28:52.09\00:28:55.38
who had neither beginning nor
end and no one understands that
00:28:55.58\00:28:59.22
so we simply throw a
word at it. We hope it sticks.
00:28:59.42\00:29:02.58
And the word is eternal...
00:29:02.68\00:29:03.83
but we don't know
what we're talking about.
00:29:04.03\00:29:05.61
We take other words
like "God is a Spirit. "
00:29:06.12\00:29:08.83
When Jesus was sitting
you will recall with the woman
00:29:09.23\00:29:12.07
at the well and the woman
came over and sat and Jesus said
00:29:12.17\00:29:15.05
to her: "God is a Spirit. "
00:29:15.25\00:29:18.04
Remember that?
00:29:18.44\00:29:20.28
"God is a Spirit, and He's look-
ing for people to worship Him
00:29:20.48\00:29:22.64
in spirit and in truth. "
00:29:22.84\00:29:25.87
Now let me ask you a
question: what is a Spirit?
00:29:26.17\00:29:28.29
Do you know?
00:29:30.61\00:29:31.94
We have no idea
what a spirit is.
00:29:32.24\00:29:33.92
What we do know is
what a spirit isn't.
00:29:34.32\00:29:36.90
Right? For example, Jesus
says: "Touch Me and feel Me... "
00:29:38.04\00:29:41.46
He said to His disciples
00:29:41.66\00:29:42.69
"because a spirit does
not have... " You know this?
00:29:42.90\00:29:47.04
"flesh and bones
like you see Me have. "
00:29:47.24\00:29:49.60
Right? So we know that
a spirit is noncorporeal.
00:29:49.80\00:29:53.31
That's a technical
term. Just means doesn't have
00:29:53.51\00:29:54.89
a physical body like we
have. A spirit is immaterial.
00:29:54.99\00:29:58.30
A spirit doesn't have, is not,
now listen to what I'm saying.
00:29:58.50\00:30:01.59
What we know about a
spirit is not what it is...
00:30:01.99\00:30:05.10
it's what it isn't.
00:30:06.82\00:30:07.99
Well what is it? We don't know.
00:30:09.00\00:30:11.02
We're like goldfish trying
to figure out quantum cosmology.
00:30:11.43\00:30:15.03
We don't... We
lack the language;
00:30:15.23\00:30:17.41
we lack the vision; we lack
the intell... we don't know.
00:30:17.61\00:30:21.76
And there are other words.
The theologians use words like
00:30:22.06\00:30:25.00
omnipotent which
means all powerful.
00:30:25.20\00:30:26.91
We don't really
know what that means
00:30:27.11\00:30:28.44
but we know it means a
lot more powerful than us.
00:30:28.64\00:30:30.39
We say things like omniscience:
He knows everything.
00:30:31.45\00:30:33.99
Well we can't even
comprehend what it would be like
00:30:34.19\00:30:35.98
to know everything. And
here's a really tricky one:
00:30:36.19\00:30:38.42
we say He is omnipresent
00:30:38.62\00:30:41.06
which is to say
that He transcends space.
00:30:42.23\00:30:45.49
And you and I can't even
imagine what that would be like
00:30:45.69\00:30:47.70
because we have
always been stuck here.
00:30:47.91\00:30:50.32
Like those little signs that
you see - you know - when you go
00:30:50.62\00:30:52.66
to the fair or to the
mall or to the airport:
00:30:52.76\00:30:54.61
you are here.
00:30:54.81\00:30:56.15
Funny that...
I've always been here.
00:30:57.43\00:30:59.35
Here I am again and here I am.
00:30:59.75\00:31:01.83
Right? You have
never not been right there.
00:31:02.13\00:31:05.10
There you are. But God
apparently is not right here.
00:31:05.30\00:31:09.49
He's here and He's there.
00:31:09.70\00:31:11.68
And He's there and He's there
and He's there, He's there.
00:31:11.88\00:31:14.65
And no one in this room has even
a clue what we're talking about.
00:31:14.85\00:31:20.04
Are you with me?
So we use these words.
00:31:20.34\00:31:22.74
We say: "God is a
Spirit and God is eternal
00:31:22.84\00:31:24.68
and God is
omnipotent and God is omniscient
00:31:24.88\00:31:26.40
and God is omnipresent. "
And basically these are words
00:31:26.60\00:31:29.95
that are masking our ignorance
about what a God really is.
00:31:30.16\00:31:34.11
In terms of
God's essential nature
00:31:34.31\00:31:36.56
we don't know what
we're talking about.
00:31:36.59\00:31:38.38
We together everyone?
00:31:38.58\00:31:40.09
But what we DO know - and
this is where we're going -
00:31:40.39\00:31:42.75
what we do know based on
scripture and the revelation
00:31:42.95\00:31:45.58
of God in Christ
is not what He is
00:31:45.78\00:31:48.71
in terms of His
eternal power and Godhead
00:31:48.91\00:31:51.00
but who He is in
terms of His character.
00:31:51.20\00:31:54.34
Now this is where
things get really awesome
00:31:54.64\00:31:57.25
because our three-word phrase...
00:31:57.45\00:31:58.51
What was our three-word
phrase that we put on the
00:31:58.61\00:31:59.79
table of truth? It
was "God is love. "
00:31:59.89\00:32:02.51
God is love is like a... it's
like a... Just imagine a door.
00:32:02.71\00:32:07.33
Right? And there's like this old
lock. There's a little keyhole.
00:32:07.54\00:32:11.03
And we cannot see
everything. God is behind that.
00:32:11.43\00:32:14.94
We cannot discern
and divine what a God is.
00:32:15.34\00:32:18.54
But we have this little
window, this little keyhole and
00:32:18.74\00:32:21.70
we can sort of crawl up there
and with our very human language
00:32:21.80\00:32:26.31
and our very human modest
intellect we can crawl up there
00:32:26.52\00:32:30.46
and we can look through.
And the keyhole through which
00:32:30.66\00:32:33.87
we are looking is the
great truth that "God is love. "
00:32:33.98\00:32:38.70
We cannot see or understand
everything that's behind this
00:32:39.01\00:32:42.46
door. Are you with me?
00:32:42.56\00:32:44.35
Our view is necessarily limited
because we are creatures.
00:32:44.55\00:32:47.02
In fact, I'm going to
go out on a limb here:
00:32:47.32\00:32:49.09
even in eternity future
00:32:49.39\00:32:52.40
we can have a thousand
million years and we will never
00:32:52.60\00:32:56.10
ever fully understand what
God is in His essential nature
00:32:56.30\00:32:59.65
because He's God.
00:32:59.85\00:33:00.98
The chasm between the
creature and the Creator
00:33:02.15\00:33:05.25
is an impassable chasm.
00:33:05.45\00:33:07.11
Right? And God
knows this, by the way.
00:33:07.41\00:33:09.32
This is where
we're going with this.
00:33:09.42\00:33:10.46
As we go up to that
window and we look through
00:33:10.86\00:33:12.98
and we think:
"Ooh... that's awesome! "
00:33:13.18\00:33:16.10
We can't see everything
but we can see enough to be
00:33:16.51\00:33:19.79
intrigued. And not just to
be intrigued in a curious sense
00:33:19.99\00:33:22.86
but to be in love,
right? We can see enough to say
00:33:23.06\00:33:26.22
"What's in there is awesome. "
00:33:26.42\00:33:27.66
Now here's a
really cool little point:
00:33:27.86\00:33:29.16
in many ways this is
analogous to the sanctuary.
00:33:29.57\00:33:32.92
Because in the sanctuary
you have the courtyard, the holy
00:33:33.42\00:33:35.57
place, and then
the most holy place
00:33:35.68\00:33:38.05
in which God's own
presence - the Shekinah glory -
00:33:38.08\00:33:41.49
was behind the veil
00:33:41.69\00:33:43.96
in the most holy place
hovering over the ark of the...
00:33:44.26\00:33:49.20
the ark of the relationship.
00:33:49.60\00:33:51.29
The ark of the
terms of relationship.
00:33:51.39\00:33:53.57
Now that's where
we're going to go tomorrow.
00:33:53.67\00:33:55.08
But the point is basically
this... quite fascinating:
00:33:55.28\00:33:57.74
in the
architecture of the sanctuary
00:33:57.94\00:34:00.64
the veil did not go
all the way to the top.
00:34:00.84\00:34:03.71
The veil went
right up close to the top
00:34:05.02\00:34:07.40
and of course it
wasn't a hard fast door.
00:34:07.50\00:34:10.42
The veil was such that
light - this is awesome -
00:34:10.62\00:34:13.65
light could stream out from
inside of the most holy place -
00:34:13.85\00:34:17.88
the Shekinah glory -
and fill the holy place
00:34:18.08\00:34:20.66
where the priests were
going in and out every day.
00:34:20.86\00:34:22.52
So 359 days out of the year
00:34:22.72\00:34:24.39
they knew that there
was some beautiful glorious
00:34:24.59\00:34:28.28
incandescent light behind there
00:34:28.48\00:34:31.20
but it was inaccessible to them
00:34:31.40\00:34:33.18
most of the days of the week
except for the Day of Atonement.
00:34:33.38\00:34:35.31
We together everyone?
00:34:35.61\00:34:36.92
And it would light things up.
00:34:37.22\00:34:39.72
Now Satan - and this is
where we're going with this -
00:34:41.01\00:34:43.67
Satan played on the
necessary mystery that is God.
00:34:45.02\00:34:50.41
OK? Satan played on
that because God is...
00:34:52.12\00:34:56.29
He's hidden from us.
It's as if He's behind one of
00:34:56.49\00:34:58.67
these barriers here.
He is necessarily hidden
00:34:58.77\00:35:04.46
as it were by virtue
of what and who He is
00:35:04.66\00:35:08.06
in His nature.
00:35:08.36\00:35:10.31
Now His character will
be increasingly revealed,
00:35:10.61\00:35:12.57
and especially as we
get down to the incarnation.
00:35:12.77\00:35:14.49
But Satan begins to capitalize
on the necessary mystery
00:35:14.69\00:35:19.86
that is God and he essentially
says - now follow this line
00:35:20.06\00:35:23.15
of reasoning here. Now
we're in Genesis chapter 3.
00:35:23.26\00:35:25.25
We've been to Genesis 1, 2.
We've talked about creation.
00:35:25.45\00:35:27.81
Now we're talking about
the ineffability of God.
00:35:27.91\00:35:30.32
And here's effectively what
Lucifer said. Check this out.
00:35:30.52\00:35:33.29
I've been saying Satan
and that's an imprecision...
00:35:33.39\00:35:35.14
Lucifer. We're not
Satan yet... we're Lucifer.
00:35:35.34\00:35:37.74
Lucifer effectively says this...
00:35:38.84\00:35:41.58
He says to the angelic host...
00:35:41.78\00:35:43.78
We'll get to this. This is where
we're going to spend our time
00:35:43.98\00:35:45.54
today. He says: "I have
glimpsed behind the curtain. "
00:35:45.74\00:35:51.32
"I know what's behind the door
00:35:52.27\00:35:54.27
and frankly I'm concerned. "
00:35:54.47\00:35:55.74
"I'm concerned about
what I've seen behind there. "
00:35:57.04\00:36:00.08
And because he had an access,
because he had a privilege
00:36:00.11\00:36:03.33
that most... The Bible calls
him the "covering cherub. "
00:36:03.53\00:36:06.09
"The anointed cherub
that covers. " Ezekiel 28.
00:36:06.29\00:36:08.24
Because he had an access that
most of the angelic host didn't
00:36:08.45\00:36:12.02
have, he had information
that most of them didn't have.
00:36:12.12\00:36:15.96
And so there was -
listen to this carefully -
00:36:16.16\00:36:17.96
there was a plausibility
inherent in his argument
00:36:18.16\00:36:21.26
on two grounds. Number one:
he had access to information
00:36:21.46\00:36:23.62
that they didn't. He
was very proximate to God.
00:36:23.82\00:36:27.97
He was as it were as
close to being behind that door
00:36:28.17\00:36:31.98
or behind that
curtain as could be.
00:36:32.18\00:36:33.93
So number one: he had access
00:36:34.13\00:36:35.77
and number two -
very significantly here...
00:36:35.97\00:36:39.37
What was I going to say
in my second point there?
00:36:39.67\00:36:42.32
Lucifer had access - #1- and
it will come to me in a moment.
00:36:42.42\00:36:45.29
It will come to me because
that's the way my brain works.
00:36:45.69\00:36:48.19
Now don't miss this.
This is a critical point.
00:36:51.59\00:36:55.60
Lucifer essentially says
that he's seen what's behind
00:36:56.20\00:36:59.33
the curtain and he's
concerned about it. And he uses
00:36:59.53\00:37:02.87
his access to information
and he uses his seeming concern
00:37:03.07\00:37:07.92
for the wellbeing of the angels
to paint a picture about God.
00:37:08.12\00:37:12.57
And it's not a favorable pic-
ture; it's not a happy picture.
00:37:12.71\00:37:14.92
And essentially what he says...
00:37:15.22\00:37:17.71
what he ends up
saying... what it boils down to
00:37:17.91\00:37:20.13
is that God is not what
we have been led to believe.
00:37:20.43\00:37:23.97
"We have been led to
believe that God is one thing
00:37:24.27\00:37:27.15
but I have access to information
and I'm just looking out
00:37:27.35\00:37:29.99
for your own best interest. "
That's what I was going to say.
00:37:30.09\00:37:31.91
There was a necessary
plausibility in what Lucifer was
00:37:32.21\00:37:35.74
saying for two reasons.
Number one: because he had
00:37:35.84\00:37:37.78
access to information
that others didn't have
00:37:37.88\00:37:39.25
and number two: because
God is necessarily mysterious.
00:37:39.45\00:37:42.39
Right? And so the angels said:
"You know, he might be right
00:37:43.43\00:37:47.02
about that. " It must have
been sufficiently plausible
00:37:47.12\00:37:51.15
that a full 1/3 of the angels
00:37:51.35\00:37:54.42
aligned themselves with
him and with his concerns
00:37:54.62\00:37:58.16
and with his objections.
00:37:58.36\00:37:59.74
But now check this out:
we think... you know, as if
00:37:59.95\00:38:02.78
it was like the
Mason-Dixon line.
00:38:02.98\00:38:04.06
You have these
that were on this side
00:38:04.27\00:38:06.35
and these that were
on this side. It was far
00:38:06.55\00:38:08.29
fuzzier than that
and the Mason-Dixon line
00:38:08.49\00:38:09.67
was quite fuzzy as well in
terms of the actual relationship
00:38:09.77\00:38:12.51
and other things.
But here's the point:
00:38:12.71\00:38:14.02
even the 2/3 of
loyal angels had questions.
00:38:14.23\00:38:19.04
Because of the nature of the
things that Lucifer was saying
00:38:20.04\00:38:23.12
and because of his credibility
and because of the necessary
00:38:23.22\00:38:25.93
mystery that is God
there was a credibility
00:38:26.33\00:38:30.47
with what Lucifer was saying
00:38:30.57\00:38:32.27
that even those who were loyal
were only provisionally loyal.
00:38:32.47\00:38:37.19
Did you get that?
00:38:37.59\00:38:38.90
So 1/3 say: "Hey, we've
bought what he's selling.
00:38:39.20\00:38:42.85
We're onto his program
and we're out of here. "
00:38:43.05\00:38:44.69
Right? Eventually
when they get kicked out.
00:38:44.89\00:38:46.05
But even the
remaining 2/3 are like... "Man,
00:38:46.25\00:38:51.63
what do we do? What do we do? "
00:38:51.83\00:38:53.52
And there's insights by the way
from the writings of Ellen White
00:38:53.62\00:38:55.77
where as many as half
of those that were loyal -
00:38:55.98\00:38:59.96
in others words, another third -
00:39:00.16\00:39:01.19
had almost aligned
themselves with the disloyal
00:39:01.36\00:39:04.69
but at the last moment
had sort of made the choice
00:39:04.89\00:39:07.70
to stay. But there choice
to stay was like... "We're
00:39:07.90\00:39:11.36
gonna go here. "
00:39:11.56\00:39:14.58
Are you with me?
00:39:14.99\00:39:16.50
Because the whole thing was...
the whole thing had been turned
00:39:16.80\00:39:19.12
upside down. The whole
thing had gone cattywhompus.
00:39:19.22\00:39:21.17
I mean: "Do we believe
him? Do we believe Him? "
00:39:21.38\00:39:23.78
"Do we believe God?
Do we believe Lucifer? "
00:39:23.98\00:39:26.05
And in Genesis 3 we have a
picture - maybe the clearest
00:39:26.08\00:39:29.39
picture - of Lucifer,
who now has become Satan,
00:39:29.49\00:39:32.89
the enemy, the accuser,
00:39:33.09\00:39:34.59
we have a
picture of his basic MO.
00:39:34.79\00:39:37.70
His modus operandi. And
let's take a look at it.
00:39:37.90\00:39:39.80
Genesis chapter 3.
00:39:40.00\00:39:41.10
Genesis chapter 3: there
are basically three elements.
00:39:42.34\00:39:46.25
And many of you have spent
a lot of time in this, so I'm
00:39:46.45\00:39:48.14
going to kind of
treat this quickly
00:39:48.24\00:39:49.97
because I want to
get to some points...
00:39:50.07\00:39:51.16
some significant ones.
00:39:51.37\00:39:52.42
In Genesis chapter 3 we
see Satan... his kind of MO.
00:39:53.81\00:39:57.07
And the MO hinges on 3 points.
00:39:57.28\00:39:59.07
You can think of it
as a tripod of deception.
00:39:59.28\00:40:01.32
As a what? Tripod of deception.
00:40:02.18\00:40:05.04
Let's pick it up
beginning in verse 1.
00:40:05.34\00:40:06.76
"Now the serpent was more
cunning than any beast of the
00:40:06.96\00:40:09.31
field which the
Lord God had made. "
00:40:09.42\00:40:10.67
It's very interesting that
the first time we're introduced
00:40:10.97\00:40:13.29
to Satan, to the accuser,
to the deceiver in scripture
00:40:13.49\00:40:17.71
we're not told
how powerful he is.
00:40:17.91\00:40:19.93
"Oh, he's strong! He's
powerful. " No, no, no, no.
00:40:20.93\00:40:24.37
What is he? What
are we told about him?
00:40:24.60\00:40:25.86
He's subtle; he's
intelligent; he's crafty.
00:40:26.06\00:40:29.94
"The serpent was more subtle
than any beast of the field
00:40:30.77\00:40:33.30
which the Lord God had made.
" And he approaches the woman
00:40:33.50\00:40:35.63
and he says: "Has God
indeed said you shall not eat of
00:40:35.84\00:40:38.69
every tree of the garden? "
00:40:38.89\00:40:40.49
Even within the
question there is a subtlety
00:40:41.19\00:40:47.14
and an element of
confusion that actually paints
00:40:47.34\00:40:50.17
the picture that God had given
in a totally different light.
00:40:50.38\00:40:53.02
In fact God had established
the covenant with Adam and Eve
00:40:53.32\00:40:56.17
that went something like this...
and this is just part of the
00:40:56.37\00:40:58.28
covenant... but
part of the covenant was
00:40:58.38\00:40:59.97
"You can eat of every tree...
" In fact, take a look at this.
00:41:00.17\00:41:02.37
Look at... You're right there
in Genesis 2. Look at verse 16.
00:41:02.77\00:41:06.00
Genesis chapter 2 verse 16.
00:41:06.31\00:41:07.92
"And the Lord God
commanded the man saying:
00:41:08.23\00:41:10.53
'Of every tree of the garden
you may... ' And what does your
00:41:10.73\00:41:13.98
Bible say? 'freely eat. ' "
00:41:14.08\00:41:17.07
What this tells us
is that God's basic way
00:41:18.15\00:41:22.80
of interacting
with human beings -
00:41:23.00\00:41:25.37
of interacting
with His creatures -
00:41:25.57\00:41:26.87
is on the basis of freedom.
00:41:27.08\00:41:29.06
On the basis of what?
00:41:30.06\00:41:31.54
I have two
boys... I have two boys.
00:41:31.84\00:41:34.08
I am trying to
model my own parenthood
00:41:34.11\00:41:36.32
after the way that God
parents the universe...
00:41:36.52\00:41:38.94
the way that He
rules the universe.
00:41:39.24\00:41:40.58
And He doesn't rule it by
the strength of His nature
00:41:40.78\00:41:44.36
but by the
beauty of His character.
00:41:44.47\00:41:45.79
And it goes something like this.
00:41:45.99\00:41:47.33
I say to my boys:
00:41:48.06\00:41:49.72
"Boys, if you want
to do something... "
00:41:49.82\00:41:51.03
Landon and Jabal:
they're 10 and 12... almost 11.
00:41:51.13\00:41:53.23
I say: "If you
want to do something,
00:41:53.53\00:41:55.56
just assume the answer is yes. "
00:41:55.66\00:41:57.82
You might be thinking: "That
is a crazy way to parent. "
00:41:58.22\00:42:01.00
No, I think it's
exactly the right way to parent.
00:42:01.20\00:42:02.75
I say to my boys: "If
you want to do something,
00:42:02.95\00:42:05.40
assume that the answer is yes.
And the answer will only be no
00:42:05.60\00:42:10.21
if the thing you want to
do either endangers your life
00:42:10.41\00:42:13.02
or somebody else's. "
00:42:13.22\00:42:14.26
Right? In other words,
"If it's not good for you
00:42:15.30\00:42:17.00
or not good for somebody
else, I will be forced by the
00:42:17.10\00:42:19.47
circumstances to say no.
But in the absence of that kind
00:42:19.57\00:42:22.64
of thing that's either bad
for you or bad for somebody else
00:42:22.74\00:42:24.54
my answer's going to be
yes. My default condition
00:42:24.74\00:42:27.64
is not no. No. No.
00:42:27.84\00:42:29.77
Don't do; don't touch;
don't grab; don't... don't...
00:42:29.97\00:42:32.57
don't... don't. "
And how many of us
00:42:32.77\00:42:34.00
were that way with our kids?
00:42:34.20\00:42:35.41
Some of you are sitting there
thinking: "Hmmm, I wish I could
00:42:35.72\00:42:37.07
go back and have
my children over. "
00:42:37.17\00:42:38.58
Those of you that
have not yet had children
00:42:38.88\00:42:40.28
let me just recommend
this to you as a way to raise
00:42:40.48\00:42:42.86
your kids. Do not let your...
00:42:42.97\00:42:45.10
You can basically set
the terms of parenting
00:42:45.50\00:42:48.45
by parenting not
from the prohibition side:
00:42:48.65\00:42:52.13
what you can't do
and we don't and don't
00:42:52.33\00:42:54.10
and don't
touch... But you can say:
00:42:54.30\00:42:55.83
"Assume the answer is yes.
00:42:56.03\00:42:57.35
Assume it's yes
unless it's something that
00:42:58.30\00:43:00.17
is going to be hurtful to
you or to some other person
00:43:00.37\00:43:02.50
my natural inclination is
going to be to say 'OK. ' "
00:43:02.70\00:43:06.51
That's exactly what God said.
00:43:06.71\00:43:07.95
"Of every tree of the
garden the answer is 'yes. ' "
00:43:08.15\00:43:10.61
Are you with me?
00:43:11.85\00:43:13.02
But of the one tree...
"But of the fruit of the tree
00:43:13.22\00:43:16.21
which is in the midst of
the garden: don't eat that one
00:43:16.41\00:43:18.30
or you'll die. " Now
there's a point there.
00:43:18.40\00:43:20.02
He doesn't say: "Don't
eat that or I'll kill you. "
00:43:20.22\00:43:22.94
Do you hear the difference?
00:43:24.85\00:43:26.25
He says: "Don't eat
that or you'll die. "
00:43:26.45\00:43:28.10
See, this is a warning.
00:43:28.40\00:43:29.92
It's not a threat.
00:43:30.22\00:43:31.30
"Don't eat of that tree
or I'll give you a lickin'. "
00:43:31.50\00:43:33.95
It's a warning about
what will happen, a natural
00:43:34.25\00:43:36.62
consequence of
separating yourself from God.
00:43:36.82\00:43:39.02
But when Lucifer -
Satan now - asked the question
00:43:39.22\00:43:42.22
rather than painting as God
had a vast panorama of freedom
00:43:42.42\00:43:47.16
with only a very
narrow niche of restriction
00:43:47.36\00:43:50.47
he suggests that in
fact there's a vast panorama
00:43:50.67\00:43:54.03
of restriction with only
a narrow window of freedom.
00:43:54.13\00:43:56.71
"Has God really said
you can't eat of every tree
00:43:56.91\00:43:58.55
of the garden? " Do you
hear how the subtlety suggests
00:43:58.65\00:44:02.20
that in fact God
rules by restriction
00:44:02.40\00:44:04.92
and not by freedom?
00:44:05.12\00:44:06.19
Why would he say that?
And that's the first leg...
00:44:06.49\00:44:08.83
that's the first leg of
the tripod of deception.
00:44:09.03\00:44:11.63
Right? That God is restrictive.
00:44:12.48\00:44:14.69
That He's trying to
keep something from you
00:44:15.09\00:44:17.15
that it would be in
your best interest to have.
00:44:17.25\00:44:18.75
By the way, that's one of his
most successful and significant
00:44:18.88\00:44:22.15
temptations in the world today.
00:44:22.25\00:44:23.40
"You don't want to
turn your life over to God.
00:44:23.60\00:44:24.82
He's going to take
something from you...
00:44:25.02\00:44:26.93
something you really want. "
00:44:27.23\00:44:28.84
Let me tell you right now:
God won't take anything away
00:44:29.04\00:44:31.98
from you that is in
your best interest to keep.
00:44:32.09\00:44:35.13
God wants your happiness
00:44:35.63\00:44:37.82
more than you
want your happiness.
00:44:38.02\00:44:39.71
C.A. just said
that in his sermon.
00:44:40.21\00:44:41.69
He said: "God wants your
salvation more than you want
00:44:41.89\00:44:43.68
your salvation. " Well
it's also true that God
00:44:43.78\00:44:45.97
wants you to be happy even more
than you want you to be happy.
00:44:46.08\00:44:48.66
And so assume that God has
your happiness, your bliss,
00:44:48.76\00:44:54.02
and your pleasure as one
of His highest priorities.
00:44:54.23\00:44:57.20
But Lucifer says: "No, no,
no, no, no. He wants you to be
00:44:57.40\00:44:59.58
unhappy. He's keeping something.
Did God really say you can't eat
00:44:59.68\00:45:01.99
of every tree of the garden? "
00:45:02.09\00:45:03.44
Now the woman senses that
there's something not quite
00:45:03.84\00:45:06.28
right about that and so she
comes to the defense of God.
00:45:06.38\00:45:08.56
Of course God's word didn't need
defending; it needed obeying.
00:45:08.87\00:45:11.67
Whoo, whoo, whoo,
whoo, whoo, whoo, whoo.
00:45:12.07\00:45:14.65
The preacher just said that.
00:45:14.85\00:45:16.38
God's word didn't
need to be defended...
00:45:17.20\00:45:19.08
it just needed to be obeyed.
00:45:19.29\00:45:20.76
But she comes to
His defense anyway.
00:45:20.86\00:45:22.46
Verse 2: "And the
woman said to the serpent:
00:45:22.66\00:45:25.27
'we may eat of the fruit
of the trees of the garden
00:45:25.37\00:45:26.98
but the fruit the tree which
is in the midst of the garden
00:45:27.08\00:45:28.61
God has said you
shall not eat it or touch it
00:45:28.81\00:45:30.23
lest ye die. ' " Now
here's the second leg
00:45:30.33\00:45:33.28
of the temptation... the
second leg of the tripod.
00:45:33.49\00:45:35.66
Verse 4: "Then the
serpent said to the woman:
00:45:35.86\00:45:37.74
'that's not going to happen.
You will not surely die. ' "
00:45:37.94\00:45:40.96
Translation:
"God has lied to you;
00:45:41.46\00:45:44.64
He's dishonest
and untrustworthy. "
00:45:44.84\00:45:46.99
Yeah? Now here we're getting
a picture - a MO - of what
00:45:48.02\00:45:53.49
Lucifer/Satan did in heaven
when he as the anointed cherub
00:45:53.59\00:45:57.54
that covers had access
inasmuch as it's possible
00:45:57.64\00:46:00.28
for a creature to have access
to what was behind the veil.
00:46:00.48\00:46:03.06
And he coveted God's position;
he coveted God's power.
00:46:03.36\00:46:06.22
He wanted something, so he
went and spun his web of lies
00:46:06.52\00:46:09.63
amongst the angelic
host and he essentially said:
00:46:09.73\00:46:12.18
"I have access to
information that you don't have
00:46:12.38\00:46:14.08
and I'm telling you I'm
concerned about who and what
00:46:14.28\00:46:16.89
God really is. " And
we have a window here
00:46:16.99\00:46:18.86
into the kind of
things he would have said.
00:46:19.06\00:46:20.87
"God rules by restriction. "
00:46:21.07\00:46:23.23
"God rules by keeping
stuff from us that would be... "
00:46:25.11\00:46:27.93
"God can't really
understand us. He's a God.
00:46:28.03\00:46:31.05
He's behind the veil.
He's ineffable; we're angels.
00:46:31.25\00:46:35.80
And angels are
holy and angels are good
00:46:36.30\00:46:39.32
and we don't need
restriction... we need liberty.
00:46:39.42\00:46:42.95
We need freedom. " And
the angels: "Yeah, that
00:46:43.15\00:46:45.57
sounds about right.
Yeah, we're with him. "
00:46:45.67\00:46:48.38
And some of the others say:
"Yeah, that sounds kind of right
00:46:48.68\00:46:50.45
too. " And all the while
00:46:50.55\00:46:52.13
God is behind
the veil as it were.
00:46:52.34\00:46:54.80
Now when I'm talking about
here I'm not speaking of the
00:46:55.00\00:46:56.71
veil of the sanctuary -
though that's a metaphor for it.
00:46:56.81\00:46:58.59
He's behind the veil
that separates Him necessarily
00:46:58.79\00:47:01.78
as God from creation.
00:47:01.98\00:47:04.18
And he's thinking: "That's
not right; that's not right;
00:47:04.48\00:47:06.43
that's not right.
" But what can He do?
00:47:06.63\00:47:07.96
He has to allow this
situation to play itself out -
00:47:09.09\00:47:13.10
we're going to get to that
in our presentation tomorrow
00:47:13.30\00:47:15.03
morning at 9:30 AM.
I cannot wait for that!
00:47:15.06\00:47:17.10
But before we get there:
second part of the temptation
00:47:17.20\00:47:20.83
is: "God has lied to you.
00:47:20.94\00:47:22.65
He's dishonest.
God is not trustworthy.
00:47:22.85\00:47:26.77
He is not a person
worthy of your trust. "
00:47:27.07\00:47:29.38
Now these two are bad enough.
00:47:31.69\00:47:33.63
"God is restrictive;
God is not trustworthy. "
00:47:33.83\00:47:35.84
But what Satan does in
the third and final leg
00:47:36.04\00:47:39.32
of the tripod of
temptation is the worst of all.
00:47:39.52\00:47:41.54
Here's where he
attributes a motive.
00:47:41.84\00:47:44.13
He attributes a what did I say?
00:47:44.63\00:47:46.58
He attributes a motive to God.
00:47:46.98\00:47:48.56
"Let me tell you, Eve. Let me
let you in on a little secret.
00:47:48.76\00:47:50.92
It's the same secret I
let the angelic host in on.
00:47:51.12\00:47:53.09
I'll tell you why God is
restrictive and I'll tell you
00:47:53.49\00:47:56.27
why it is that
God has lied to you
00:47:56.57\00:47:59.38
about the fruit of the tree.
00:47:59.78\00:48:01.27
It's because... " Here it is...
00:48:01.67\00:48:04.16
verse 5: "because God knows
00:48:04.36\00:48:07.65
that in the day that you eat
of it your eyes will be opened
00:48:08.05\00:48:11.41
and you will be like
God knowing good and evil. "
00:48:11.61\00:48:13.52
Translation: "God is
looking out for Himself. "
00:48:13.83\00:48:18.08
Oh... and that's the point.
00:48:19.19\00:48:21.78
We've spent two presentations
developing the fact that
00:48:22.08\00:48:24.75
God is... Let's say it
together with enthusiasm:
00:48:24.85\00:48:27.93
That "God is love. "
00:48:28.03\00:48:29.49
And the principle of
love is to give one's self,
00:48:29.69\00:48:32.43
to extend one's self.
00:48:32.63\00:48:34.00
So far so good?
"Greater love has no man than
00:48:34.31\00:48:36.32
this: that a man would lay
down his life for his friends. "
00:48:36.42\00:48:38.19
"For God so loved the
world that He gave... "
00:48:38.39\00:48:39.65
"Husbands, love your wives
as Christ also loved the church
00:48:39.85\00:48:41.52
and gave Himself. "
"The imitators of God as dear
00:48:41.62\00:48:43.56
children and walk in love.
" "As Christ also has loved us
00:48:43.66\00:48:45.84
and given Himself. "
00:48:46.04\00:48:47.18
"I am crucified with
Christ nevertheless I live...
00:48:47.38\00:48:49.00
yet not I but Christ lives in me
00:48:49.20\00:48:50.30
and the life which I now live
in the flesh I live by faith
00:48:50.40\00:48:52.14
in the Son of God who
loved me and gave Himself. "
00:48:52.24\00:48:54.59
Who gave Himself... who gave
Himself... who gave Himself.
00:48:55.51\00:48:58.10
Paul cannot get
away from this phrase.
00:48:58.30\00:49:00.16
He's got it in Galatians.
He's got it in Ephesians.
00:49:00.26\00:49:01.77
He's got it in
Titus. He cannot stop saying
00:49:01.97\00:49:04.86
that God in His very
nature, God in His very essence
00:49:05.06\00:49:07.86
longs to love and to give.
00:49:08.06\00:49:10.76
But Lucifer actually says
the exact opposite is true!
00:49:10.79\00:49:14.19
"God is
restrictive" - number one -
00:49:15.86\00:49:17.72
first leg of the tripod.
00:49:17.92\00:49:18.99
"God is dishonest and
untrustworthy" - number two -
00:49:19.19\00:49:21.52
"and the reason is
He's trying to keep you
00:49:21.82\00:49:24.56
down. He's
looking out for himself.
00:49:24.76\00:49:28.39
That's what He's all about. "
00:49:28.59\00:49:29.68
And here this
imputation of motive
00:49:30.77\00:49:33.83
that God is essentially selfish
00:49:33.93\00:49:36.96
is the thing that causes
the woman to go over the edge.
00:49:37.06\00:49:40.42
Now this is HUGELY important
00:49:40.62\00:49:42.76
and it's astonishing
that we miss this point.
00:49:42.96\00:49:45.45
Watch this. Verse 6:
00:49:45.75\00:49:47.63
"So when the woman saw... "
00:49:47.84\00:49:50.22
Now don't miss that. "So... "
00:49:50.42\00:49:52.79
In the English language that's
basically... The word there
00:49:52.99\00:49:56.71
"so" operates as a
kind of conjunction
00:49:56.91\00:49:58.94
and what it's saying is
"on the basis of that. "
00:49:59.14\00:50:02.05
Are you with me?
00:50:02.95\00:50:04.42
On the basis of that
this is what happens.
00:50:04.72\00:50:08.27
So after the woman had heard
this persuasive and seemingly
00:50:08.67\00:50:13.69
plausible case. "I mean, that
does seem kind of unreasonable.
00:50:13.79\00:50:17.17
Why can we eat of every
other tree and not this one? "
00:50:17.47\00:50:20.32
There is a
plausibility here. Yes or no?
00:50:21.55\00:50:24.84
Don't be so pious as to suggest
that there wasn't a significant
00:50:25.72\00:50:30.34
believability to
Satan's basic accusation.
00:50:30.44\00:50:32.75
Of course there was.
00:50:33.05\00:50:34.23
"That doesn't make any
sense. I can eat of that tree
00:50:34.53\00:50:36.62
and that tree and that
tree and that tree and that tree
00:50:36.82\00:50:38.17
and that tree and that tree
but not this one. Yeah, yeah,
00:50:38.37\00:50:39.98
yeah, yeah. That
doesn't make any sense at all.
00:50:40.08\00:50:42.28
I think you might be
on to something there. "
00:50:44.54\00:50:47.20
And so the first word of verse
6 is such an important word.
00:50:47.40\00:50:50.39
It says "So... " On the
basis of Satan's cunning
00:50:50.49\00:50:55.38
crafty picture of God
00:50:55.58\00:50:58.17
watch what
happens. This is HUGE:
00:50:58.37\00:51:00.65
"So when the woman saw
that the tree was good for food,
00:51:00.85\00:51:02.78
that it was pleasant to
the eye, a tree desirable
00:51:02.98\00:51:04.48
to make one wise,
she ate of its fruit.
00:51:04.58\00:51:06.92
She took of its fruit and ate.
She gave also to her husband
00:51:07.02\00:51:09.88
with her and he ate. And
then the eyes of both of them
00:51:09.98\00:51:12.59
were opened and they
knew that they were naked
00:51:12.69\00:51:14.01
and they sewed fig
leaves together and they made
00:51:14.11\00:51:15.72
themselves coverings. "
We're going to pick that up -
00:51:15.82\00:51:17.35
7 and 8- tomorrow but we've got
to nail this point down here.
00:51:17.45\00:51:20.11
The eating of the
fruit is the least of it.
00:51:22.07\00:51:25.49
Right? That is the
least of the thing.
00:51:26.68\00:51:30.11
It's not as though
God's primary concern
00:51:30.31\00:51:32.57
was with the physical
action of extending the arm,
00:51:32.97\00:51:36.96
taking the fruit, and
placing it to one's mouth
00:51:36.99\00:51:39.07
as if there is some inherent
sinfulness in this motion
00:51:39.27\00:51:43.24
or in this
gesticulation. No, no, no, no.
00:51:43.44\00:51:45.82
The sin did not come
until the true picture of God -
00:51:47.20\00:51:51.45
the hard drive of who
God was - had been ejected
00:51:51.65\00:51:56.36
and a new picture of
God had been put in place.
00:51:57.21\00:52:01.05
And now sin comes
as a natural result
00:52:01.35\00:52:04.71
of a new picture of who God is.
00:52:04.81\00:52:06.68
Don't miss that.
00:52:07.08\00:52:08.26
That's HUGE! The
eating of the fruit was...
00:52:08.56\00:52:11.65
it was... The sin
had already taken place!
00:52:11.75\00:52:14.66
This was merely the
action of going through...
00:52:15.06\00:52:17.67
It was almost a logical
action on the basis of believing
00:52:17.87\00:52:22.66
what she has now
chosen to believe.
00:52:22.86\00:52:24.85
The simplest way to say this
is that sin followed a false
00:52:25.59\00:52:29.43
picture of God.
00:52:29.73\00:52:31.27
As soon as Lucifer got
her to break trust with God
00:52:33.93\00:52:37.97
sin was... the action of
sin was a necessary conse...
00:52:38.86\00:52:44.68
it was an
inevitable consequence.
00:52:44.88\00:52:46.41
Are you with me on that?
00:52:47.70\00:52:49.08
So that's what it's about.
00:52:49.38\00:52:50.72
It's not as though God is
some arbitrary, capricious deity
00:52:51.22\00:52:54.94
some sovereign... you know,
either a distant bureaucrat
00:52:55.14\00:52:58.39
or a despotic tyrant
that says" "Now don't do that
00:52:58.59\00:53:01.01
and don't do that
and don't do that. "
00:53:01.11\00:53:02.27
What this represents and
what this is communicating
00:53:02.57\00:53:06.63
is a total lack of trust
in the person that God had
00:53:06.83\00:53:09.56
revealed Himself to be.
00:53:09.66\00:53:11.41
You had to take that
out... "That's not who God is.
00:53:11.81\00:53:14.54
We can't believe that.
Look at how unreasonable He is.
00:53:14.74\00:53:17.21
Look at how restrictive He is. "
00:53:17.42\00:53:19.15
"Oh, did He give you that
line about how if you don't...
00:53:19.35\00:53:21.07
if you eat of this
tree He'll kill you? "
00:53:21.17\00:53:22.80
"Oh yeah. " "But
look at me. I ate of the
00:53:23.77\00:53:25.58
fruit of this tree
and I'm a talking serpent!
00:53:25.68\00:53:27.55
I have actually entered
into a higher and grander sphere
00:53:28.05\00:53:31.89
of existence than I
had formerly occupied
00:53:31.99\00:53:33.94
and you will too.
God knows that in the day
00:53:34.24\00:53:36.21
that you eat of that
tree your eyes will be opened.
00:53:36.32\00:53:38.37
You'll be like Him; He's
trying to keep you down. "
00:53:38.57\00:53:42.22
And the plausibility...
00:53:42.32\00:53:44.22
"That sounds about right. Yeah I
think you're on to something. "
00:53:44.43\00:53:46.80
She eats of the fruit
00:53:47.00\00:53:49.76
but again, the eating
of the fruit only followed
00:53:50.89\00:53:54.28
the complete removal of
the true picture of who God was
00:53:54.38\00:53:58.93
and the insertion of a
whole new picture of God.
00:53:59.13\00:54:02.32
Now check this out:
00:54:02.63\00:54:03.96
if I'm basically right here,
00:54:04.36\00:54:05.88
that the Bible's
introduction of sin
00:54:06.08\00:54:08.26
is that it's over a
broken relationship and a broken
00:54:08.46\00:54:11.13
picture of who and what
God is, an inaccurate picture
00:54:11.33\00:54:13.31
of what God is, then this tells
us that sin goes far more deeply
00:54:13.41\00:54:16.70
than what we do with
our fingers and our toes
00:54:16.80\00:54:18.65
and even our mouths.
00:54:18.75\00:54:20.19
In fact, there are a great many
people who take an exceedingly
00:54:20.59\00:54:24.32
shallow view of sin as if
sin is just like spilled milk.
00:54:24.43\00:54:27.31
"Oh look! There's spilled
milk. Let's clean it up. "
00:54:27.52\00:54:30.82
And so what do you
do when you spill milk?
00:54:31.06\00:54:32.59
You get out the mop, you
clean it up, and all is well.
00:54:32.72\00:54:34.56
Let me tell you:
the problem with sin
00:54:34.87\00:54:36.85
is nothing like spilled milk.
00:54:37.05\00:54:38.58
It's not as if: "Oh,
God doesn't like sin.
00:54:38.88\00:54:42.81
The solution is
we stop doing it. "
00:54:43.11\00:54:44.91
Let me tell you:
there's a far more deep...
00:54:46.10\00:54:48.89
There is a subterranean
level here that goes like this.
00:54:49.19\00:54:51.52
Why do we sin?
00:54:51.92\00:54:53.68
Why did Adam and Eve
sin in the first place?
00:54:54.84\00:54:56.60
And why do we find
ourselves falling into sin?
00:54:56.90\00:55:00.31
Is it simply
because of addiction or...?
00:55:00.51\00:55:03.12
Those things play an element and
I'm not suggesting they don't.
00:55:03.25\00:55:05.68
But sin is about a false
picture of who and what God is.
00:55:05.88\00:55:11.01
And unless and until we
replace the false picture
00:55:11.21\00:55:14.92
of God that Satan has
planted in many of our minds,
00:55:15.02\00:55:17.10
even Christian's minds,
00:55:17.30\00:55:18.53
unless and until we get a
true picture of who God is
00:55:18.83\00:55:21.96
the solution to the sin
problem will remain elusive.
00:55:22.16\00:55:26.05
"I should stop doing this;
I've got to stop doing this.
00:55:28.06\00:55:30.38
I've got to stop doing this;
I'm gonna muster the strength.
00:55:30.68\00:55:32.61
I'm going to pull
myself up by my bootstraps. "
00:55:32.71\00:55:34.24
Or whatever new technique or
idea or formula that you have
00:55:34.54\00:55:38.10
put into place to
stop doing that thing.
00:55:38.30\00:55:40.22
I'm telling you if the
root of the sin problem is the
00:55:40.42\00:55:42.73
misunderstanding of who God is,
00:55:42.94\00:55:44.16
then the solution to the
sin problem is the correct
00:55:44.36\00:55:46.56
understanding of who He is.
00:55:46.67\00:55:48.27
The breaking of the covenant
that God had established
00:55:52.89\00:55:55.53
between His sons - His
children Adam and Eve -
00:55:55.73\00:55:59.10
the breaking of the covenant.
If a covenant is a relationship,
00:55:59.23\00:56:01.99
it's a legal
relational agreement,
00:56:02.09\00:56:04.00
what happens is is
that it's broken over
00:56:04.20\00:56:06.83
a broken relationship
over a lack of trust.
00:56:06.93\00:56:09.50
Well how's that
going to be restored?
00:56:11.52\00:56:13.31
Well it's not going to be
restored by merely legal means
00:56:13.81\00:56:17.42
because a covenant is
not merely a legal document.
00:56:17.72\00:56:21.15
Its legality only protects
the basic relationality.
00:56:21.35\00:56:24.91
That's as if to
say "Is a marriage
00:56:25.21\00:56:27.44
a legal
arrangement? " Yes or no?
00:56:27.65\00:56:30.56
But is it ONLY a
legal arrangement?
00:56:30.79\00:56:32.62
Heaven forbid! How ugly is that!
00:56:32.92\00:56:35.26
Right? "Well I've got to
be married; I can't break
00:56:35.67\00:56:37.70
my covenant. Guess
I'll stick it out. "
00:56:37.80\00:56:40.71
No, no, no, no. The legality
protects the relationality.
00:56:41.01\00:56:46.30
And the covenant
was legally broken
00:56:47.28\00:56:49.92
because the relationship...
because Adam and Eve lost trust
00:56:50.02\00:56:52.87
in God. They said:
"This guy can't be trusted.
00:56:53.07\00:56:54.81
We know He cannot be
trusted. " It's the very same MO
00:56:55.94\00:56:59.17
that Lucifer used in heaven.
"I know. I've been behind
00:56:59.37\00:57:01.65
the veil. I've seen who and what
He is and I have concerns. "
00:57:01.86\00:57:07.03
We see this here, and scripture
actually uses the language.
00:57:07.26\00:57:10.10
I'm going to pick this
up in our next session.
00:57:10.20\00:57:11.58
"He trafficks in lies. "
00:57:11.78\00:57:14.18
He trafficks in
lies about who God is.
00:57:14.48\00:57:19.14