Thanks for checking out the anchor Faith.
Message podcast from st. Augustine, Florida.
Now, enjoy this message. So it's an honor that Pastor
Earl's asked me to come and Minister.
It's always an honor. I love my church.
I love my church family. I love every one of you, you
know, I've really kind of grown up here and I say that every
time, but I have my, some of the most pivotal points in my life,
have happened here with you guys that I prefer a church.
I answered the call to Ministry. I came here, I've met my wife,
I've had my children, my greatest triumphs, my greatest
failures of all happened in this church body.
So it's exciting for me to come and Minister and it's always a
great honor. This is never something that's
taken lightly by our pastors or any one of us that step up here
because we know the, you know, the responsibility to rightly
divide the word of Truth, the responsibility that rests on our
shoulders to make sure that we're accurately communicating
what God has said in his word. So tonight we're going to go on
a little journey together. Either the title, my message is
lost in the woods. Okay.
The goal was to not be, so let's just be clear about that. but to
any time that we ever, Anybody ever enters this Pulpit at
anchor? In a church, you know, the
message that we bring is not just the general message, you
would hear from the regular Christian religious church.
We always bring the gospel of the kingdom of God and that's
not something I ever be taken lightly.
Because you understand, I was raised in church and I, you
know, every time I miss her, I say this and I get this little
disclaimer but I was basically born on to a Pew.
I think the second the service right after my mom can, you
know, testify with a service right after I was born.
Boom, we were we were there at church and we never missed But
in that, I was taught a lot of great things growing up.
I was taught a lot of the word, a lot of truths and foundations
that set me up from my life. But I was also taught a lot of
religion because the message I received wasn't through the lens
of the kingdom. And when I read the Bible, I
read it through religious eyes until the moment came that I
received the revelation of the Kingdom, until I put on that
lens of the kingdom. And then the whole world came to
life for me. The word of God came to lat.
I mean, everything that I ever had questions of became
answered. I received the kingdom message,
so it's not just a sermon that we preach about the kingdom.
Everything that we talked about everything that we do every the
way that we think all of it hinges on the foundation of the
kingdom. And if you guys miss Sunday, you
need to go back and listen to it before next Sunday, because
Pastor Earle just started a new series.
And it's again, re-emphasizing and Reba, you know, establishing
this foundation of the kingdom of God, that really is just the
message Jesus preached as well. I was reading through today and
like, you know, I read the Bible every day but today specifically
knowing I was going to come Minister.
I started looking through the gospels and looking through the
good news, right? The gospel means, good news and
as I'm looking through the good news, what I didn't find in
there. Was, if you die, you go to
heaven. That's in the Bible.
I'm not discounting, that's not, it's in the Bible.
But when you're reading the gospel, why?
If that was the best news for the church, why isn't it in the
gospels of Matthew Mark, Luke and John Why is it specifically
stated in fact, if the gospel and the good news for all
Humanity was when you die, you spend eternity with God.
If that was the good news, why did Jesus forget to preach that?
So when we, when we look at the kingdom of God, and look at the,
you know, this Forest, so to speak that we've entered into,
you know, we've heard it said a bunch of times from the pulpit.
It's like the kingdom is the forest and every individual
message of Salvation healing forgiveness, all these, you
know, Redemption, all of these things are trees within the
forest. But what I've found is with most
modern Christians. They've come into the kingdom of
God, gotten into the forest. But don't know where they are
and don't know what they've entered into and they're in fact
lost in the woods. And they're wandering around.
And if you ask them direct questions, you know.
Well, you know, why is your if it just at work?
If you say, well, why is your why are you?
Why is your life so good? Because God is good brother and
we walk into church more like God is good and then somebody
says all the time so we know the Christian he's that we speak, we
got it. But if somebody said but why is
he good? How many people go, hmm?
You know, because he is that's not a good enough answer or if
you said, how is God good? Well, because that's what he is.
We don't we don't really know what we have.
So whenever we begin to look at the what God is trying to do in
us through the kingdom, we got to start with the foundation of
Genesis 1:26, put it on the screen.
Some of you have heard this a bunch of times, like a thousand
times but honestly, some of you in here, this is your first time
hearing it. And I'm just going to tell you.
If this is one of the first times, you've heard this
message, you'll never ever be the same.
You'll never able be able to go back from this revelation.
So every time this gets mentioned any time Pastor Earle
ever brings up the Scripture, it becomes alive to me.
There's we have not exhausted the depths of Genesis 1:26,
don't think, I know where we're going.
God gave, man Dominion I get it. I'm telling you, I hear some of
you talking in the lobby, you don't have it yet.
I know what this is. Do you though, really because I,
you know, you're the way the way you're acting is telling me you
don't have it yet, but we're going to read it because this
understand, we're spoiled a tanker, Faith Church.
We get the word all the time. Rightly divided when, I mean,
our pastors do exactly what the Apostle Paul did.
He says, I didn't Apostle. Paul said, I did not withhold
from you, the full counsel of God and I'm thankful for real
pastors, that have raised us in developed us and taught us that
way. But Realize there's other places
outside of here that you'll go and they're not going to
understand this. This is a answer to a deep
theological question that church people and non-church people are
both asking, why do we exist? God answers it on the first
page? That we see God, the high
Creator, the Creator. The emanates love the emanates
life that that has created. All things says, and let us make
man in our image, according to our likeness.
And then he says these three words that are the foundation of
every human Destiny from then, to Eternity.
And I'm going to emphasize what I just said.
Again, the three words that God says here are the foundation of
every human Destiny from this point through eternity.
This did not change when Jesus showed up.
God's original intentions for Humanity.
Never changed ever. His original intentions are his
eternal intentions. So these are the most powerful
words you could ever hear for your purpose, your assignment
and your destiny. God says, and let them rule.
Okay, he then he says over the fish of the sea over the birds
of the sky over all the cattle over all the Earth and over
every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.
We know that God in the original beginning, did not create man so
that he could just be a being of worship to just Worship in a
religious setting. Everything that I've read in the
Bible. Don't know if y'all have read
the Bible, but I read the Bible and everything.
I've read shows that God gave man a kingdom and dominion over
the Earth and an assignment on the planet to dominate the
planet. And that didn't change with
Jesus. So whenever God gave man a
kingdom and said, you're going to, you were born and created to
dominate this world. That means everything that
happened from the fall all the way to Revelation was to get
mankind back to God's original statement of let them rule.
Since it's the foundation of your destiny, realize anything
other than you ruling is substandard living.
And I don't know what version of Christianity, you were told.
But I've read the Bible. And it empowers me to dominate
right now. The Bible talks about the
afterlife and what happens when you die realize even after you
die. You come back because you were
made. To rule here not heaven.
Who rules Heaven, think. Let's just think about it.
Let's think it through, who rules Heaven, someone 1560s
pretty clear 11650 now, which is one of those to get read both
chapters. You'll find it.
It says, the highest Heavens are the Lord's, but the Earth he is
given to who, man or woman mankind, okay?
We're not trying to say just men, but he's giving it to
humanity to mankind. So if gods Original design was
that we would dominate here. That's his forever.
Designed that means Jesus came not to change the rules or to
get you somewhere that you weren't made for.
Jesus came to bring you back to the place that you are designed
to rule. Okay.
I hope we believe it. Let's go to Genesis chapter 2
verses 15 through 17. We're going to do some reading
tonight. It says something, God took the
man and put him into the Garden of Eden, to cultivate it, and
keep it. And I'm going to do what all the
creative team hates. And I'm going to read portions
of it and I'm going to stop and expound and I'm gonna read and
pause all through this. But it says in, God took the man
and put him in the Garden of Eden.
Where did he put, man? Did God do that?
Because he hated man. Did he do that?
Because he wanted man to suffer. No God, put man in the garden in
the Earth. Because that was God's very best
for man, is that he would be where God put him on the planet
if it was better that he just be in heaven with God.
I haven't found that. It says in verse 16, the Lord
commanded the man saying from any tree of the garden, you may
freely eat but from the Tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil,
you shall not eat for in the day that you eat it, you will surely
die. God does a powerful thing for
man. Here in this moment, he empowers
his free will. He gives him an either/or Choice
C without an either/or choice. You don't have free will.
You just exist and are and you go around doing and there's no
consequence. There's no choice.
But God gave man, a choice and I find it interesting.
This whole story starts with the tree.
In the Epic tale that God is riding.
Is the ultimate Storyteller. He starts out his whole story
with you and I and a treat. That'll be important later.
Write that down a tree. Draw a picture of a tree.
If you're like me, take notes and you draw little pictures and
there's this fine. We're not gonna do a Bob Ross
tutorial. Don't worry.
It doesn't have this is this was supposed to be a happy little
tree, but it became not a happy little tree.
So But he says and he put the tree of knowledge of Good and
Evil. You shall not eat from it or in
that day. You eat from it, you will surely
die. So at this point, God gives Adam
a choice to either obey the command or disobey life is
simple for Adam. Would you agree that he has
given obey or not? Don't obey.
And I think it's worth saying for us as Believers right now,
life is still that simple. We overcomplicate things. when
really God is still dealing with us the same way, Okay.
Okay, we'll just keep going. It's fine.
If we look at what's in is we know that it in this story with
just for the sake of paraphrasing.
We know that Adam obviously doesn't obey this.
We see that in the next chapter, he God gives him a woman and
then the next one, they go and they eat from the fruit, and
they're separated. God said, you will die.
If you eat from this fruit, you'll be separated from the
King. You'll be separated from the
Kingdom's realm. And the ultimate thing that he
was separated from was his Dominion.
See sin, always Always causes you to Forfeit Dominion.
Always. Send disrupts your Dominion, sin
comes and divides your dominion and your assignment from what
you're doing. So whenever God said don't eat
from the tree, it was more than him just giving him options
because God just wanted to see if he would obey it.
God was giving him a safeguard to say, here's how you keep your
Dominion. so, if sin destroys your Dominion of sin, hinders
your Dominion, if it keeps you from operating in your Dominion,
He had to send his son to save us from that environment.
If we're to Define sin, a tank of a church, I love how our
pastor always defined Senate made it so simple for me because
sometimes you know you have this whole list of sins, you've got
the unpardonable sin and you got, you know, these other sins
that are you know whatever but in the end sin is only just in
its simplest form. Disobeying what God Said, Adam
didn't cheat on his wife, he didn't murder, he didn't steal,
he didn't do the Ten Commandments, tough.
All he did. Was disobeyed what God
commanded. And that's in affected the whole
world forever. Like, well, you know, sometimes
there's some sins, you know, like, you know, that are worse
than others Sin is Sin. Meaning if God says to do
something, just do it. It doesn't matter how small it
seems. It doesn't matter if he's
talking about plants and fruit, or if he's talking about
people's lives and relationships, just do what he
says. And life simple.
Alright, let's let's go for the further.
Let's look at what sin does here.
Let's go to Romans 5:12. And this kind of gives us the
explanation here. What happened with with with
Adam Romans 5:12 says, therefore just as through one man sin
entered, the world and death through sin, so that death
spread to all men because all sinned, so death entered in to
all humanity and became the nature of everybody.
Born after Adam sinned became inevitable.
By Adam eating the fruit. He made sin inevitable, then the
next passage we see in Romans, if we go to Romans 3:23, this
one we know really well, most Christians know this one really
well, but they know it for different reasons than we're
going to talk about. But it says for all have sinned
and fallen short of the glory of God.
So again what does this mean that we're all?
We all are never going to make it never going to make it is
that what this means? No y'all are taught to good.
See this would this would slay at a different church if I went
to the religious Church in some other town this they'd be like
but y'all are talk to good here. See these points, somebody
online. They're gonna be blown away in
their car. They're gonna what Romans
chapter 7 put that up there for all have sinned and fallen short
of the glory of God and then if Romans chapter 7, start in verse
18, we're going to read Is this for, I know that.
Nothing good. Dwells in me.
That, and again, the writer of Romans here is kind of lamenting
his past life. Okay, he's not presently.
Talking about his present state, but he says, for, I know that
nothing good dwells in me, that is in my flesh for the For the
Willing is present in me, but the doing of good is not for the
good that I want to do. I do not do, but I practice the
very evil that I don't want to do, can anybody identify that?
That was how life was? You're just trying to do good?
I just want to do something good.
It just seems like everything I'm doing is bad verse 20 says,
but if I am doing the very thing, I do not want.
I am no longer the one doing it but sin, which dwells in me, I
find then the principle that evil is present in me and the
one who wants to end me the one who wants to do good.
For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the Inner Man, but
I see a different law in the members of my body Waging War
against the law of my mind, and making me a prisoner of the law
of sin, which is in my members. So, if we stop there, this is
the state of every person that's lost without God.
And it's important to emphasize that as we move further on in
this message, because there is no hope Without the king you're
stuck, no matter what you do, no matter how good you want to be,
no matter how many good things you try to do, it's all going to
be burnt up and fall away. If you're not in the kingdom,
and with the one who can fix the problem, see this man, that's
talking this, this person this personification of this person
needs saving They need a savior. Okay.
Verse 24 Wretched, Man that I am, who will set me free from
this body of the body of this death?
Then we see in verse 25. Thanks be to God through Christ
Jesus our lord. So then on one hand, my myself,
with my mind, I am serving the law of God, but on the other
with my flesh, the law of sin, does it go further?
There's not another one, we'll stop there because I did that on
purpose and I'll remember why in a second.
But in this dreary terrible picture of the this horrible
person that he is and me, we sing a song about this in
Amazing Grace, right? And we all know that song.
Amazing, Grace. How sweet, the sound that saved
a Wretch like Me? So in knowing that we need a
savior. Can we all agree?
We need a savior. In fact, those of you who've
been born again, are you saved? Come on.
Are you saved? From what sin?
What does that mean? No separation is the consequence
of sin. So are you saved from sin?
Are you safe from separation? I'll wait, I mean, look good
because if you ask most Christians, I'll tell you the
popular. It's, I'm not gonna come to, I
could come down. Be like mr.
Joe, what do you think you're safe from and then put him in an
awkward position because then I'll come my friend correct.
When he said me like you're wrong.
Here's what I really meant my message.
I'm not gonna do that to him. I'm just gonna tell you what he
was gonna say what he was gonna say.
Most crisp. Most modern Believers.
It's got finger quotes in case. We're just audio recording, only
see right here. Most modern Believers.
If you said, you're saved, what were you saved from?
They would say, hell, Eternal punishment.
He paid the price for my sins so that I wouldn't have to pay that
price and all they're talking about is the consequence of sin.
But this this man in this passage isn't travailing as a
Wretched Man because of a consequence that's paying out.
He's not at the end result yet yet he feels the wretchedness
that he is. He needs to be saved from his
wretched State presently. Okay, okay, okay, okay.
Okay, we'll go somewhere, hold on.
Let's go to John chapter 8. John 8:34.
We all want Savior, Jesus to save us.
We all understand. He is a savior, he does that,
but who he truly is as Lord. So when we're trying to Define
between Savior, and Lord, what does our Lord and our lordship
that we confess when we get born again, what does that save us
from? What were we in?
What will rebound by? Bound by sin.
Okay. We're, y'all are getting it,
you're putting together. It says Jesus answered them and
said. So if this was in, you know, my
Bible, this would, these letters would be read their white right
now. I have zero Bibles that have
white letters, but it's okay. It says, Jesus answered them and
said, truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin,
is a slave of sin and the slave does not remain in the house
forever, but the sun does remain forever.
Then here's a popular scripture, we quote.
So if the son makes you free you will be free.
Indeed free from what. Free from Santa free from the
consequence of sin. Because right here, it says the
one who commits sin is a slave of sin.
Then it says the son, if he makes you free, you will be
free. I could just be in this one
passage and say it looks like The son frees you from.
The slavery of committing. Sin.
It's gonna be a little quiet for a little bit but all the rest of
you will get on board in a second.
Because when in the end, we want Jesus to be the Savior that
meets us at the Pearly Gates and says, hey, you're okay.
Come on in. and what we get uncomfortable with is the savior
that meets you in your bedroom and says, hey, I can save you
from actually needing a consequence from here on out.
See, it's understood when you accepted Christ that work that
he did in his death burial and Resurrection, you became a brand
new person when you get born again and you made the Covenant
with your mouth that he was Lord forever.
You're the old passed away and you became a brand new person on
the inside free from sin and all your past sins were forgiven.
But the problem is if in that moment he said it doesn't matter
what you do from here on out. He undoes what happened in
Genesis 1:1 God gave man Choice C.
Jesus is work on the death burial and Resurrection is
sitting at is sitting at the right hand of the father that
work didn't undo free will. And we're saying that's right
but it's going to get it's it's going to be tight, it's going to
be right. It's only going to get heavier,
but it'll be okay. I promise it'll end.
Well, is that okay, as could I forecast that at least Because
our issue is, they're like, oh well Jesus.
Forgives all my sins. Even the ones I'm gonna do.
We've already failed that Wretched Man.
That was going to be saved. Apparently, just wants to stay
wretched. So when sin showed up, it was it
was inevitable because there was nothing you could ever do
outside of Christ payment to be free from it.
But the moment that he came and the moment that he died on the
cross and became sin on our behalf.
Because isn't that what it says that he on the cross?
He became what was inevitable for us?
But it's important to note. There's something there's things
that took place before the cross.
Jesus is life, isn't summed up like most of the you know the
Catholic Creeds right? Those are all summed up with the
birth of Christ, the death of Christ and we miss everything in
between which is all the kingdom stuff.
And it was written for a reason. So why don't we go?
And look at that, I mean, it, even if we look at Matthew
chapter 4, look at Jesus, as our perfect example.
Would you say Jesus is our example?
Raise your hand. Let me see, is Jesus the perfect
example. Okay.
Then I never should hear from you, well, but that was Jesus.
My brother. Can you do it?
Because Jesus well that was Jesus.
No, he's our example, an example, something to be
followed and he's not unfair, which means whatever he said
that he did that we could do, we can do so in Matthew 4, when
he's tempted by the enemy. Did he?
Bow to sin. Was he a slave to sin?
so, when Temptation comes to you, Are you a sinner?
Or are you in Christ? The one who overcame.
Because again, when somebody says well, I've been saved the
problem is they're lost in the woods because they know I've
been transferred from the domain of Darkness into the kingdom.
Forest, what's their? I don't know.
But I'm here and it's good and I love it and God is good all the
time and they can't even answer. What have you been saved from?
And then when you throw that well punishment, tell me if I
which one makes me a better parent if My child I know is
going to do wrong. Goes out, runs out in the street
and gets hit by a car and I know it's going to happen.
But I pick them up, I take them to the best doctors and get them
patched up the best I can. And I take care of them and make
sure. Listen, you got hurt, but I'm
going to, we've got the whole environment here to restore you
or am I better as a parent to protect them from the thing that
would cause them to have to go through the whole recovery?
Then we say, father God. We think he's a deadbeat dad.
We think that he's up there sitting going.
Yeah, we'll see what you do. Let's see it.
Lets see it, lets see it up your gut.
Okay, do what you want? Look, okay, now, I guess we're
gonna have to restore you again and there's this whole cycle
with God, that he's just forgiving and saving us after
the after we've done it. And it well, there's a
punishment but we'll get you out the punishment.
Oh, there's a punishment will get you out of the punishment
and he's not here as your bailout plan for your
punishments. He did way more than that.
In fact, that's what the Old Testament people lived in.
There were constantly given sacrifices, because God wasn't
in them, and all they can ever do was wrong.
So all they were going to do. Is blow it all the time, and God
was going to have to forgive every time they brought a half
of a dove or a half of a cow or a half of a lizard or whatever
it was, they had. Every time they made a
sacrifice, God was forgiving. Something they had done whenever
Jesus showed up, he changed those the game he said, now you
don't have to do the stuff that incurs punishment, he saved you
from the thing that was going to hurt you.
But we don't want the personal responsibility of that, not weed
and Cafe church. But you understand what I'm
saying? Because the gospel that I find
in Powers, my choice and responsibility.
The gospel that's preached. In other places.
Widely removes responsibility and says just show up, do nice
stuff, you're always going to fail but God, in the end will
forgive That's a false message that's not in here.
That's not in my Bible. Or any of the other ones I got
the Bible app. I got a whole bunch of Bibles, I
can't find any of them. So, let's keep going, we'll keep
what will keep moving on because sin was truly the thing that
bound us and held us down. I mean again, if you were
chained in a Cell in a horrible place, I mean, you think of the
worst circumstance you could think and some kind of prisoner
of war camp because really isn't that what we were before Christ?
That we were held against our well as captives by a horrible
evil person that only wanted wrong for us and tormented us in
our mind and in our choices in our lives, and then, you know,
wreak havoc in our, in our guilt and in our families, and we were
bound and all the sudden, the savior's shows up And takes you
out of that. He doesn't wait until one day
you die and then says now it's all going to be better.
That's not a good savior. I want the Jesus.
That's powerful in the grace. That's powerful to come in and
break the chains off of me and get me in the Kingdom.
Now noth-nothing Jesus said, just wait until it all goes in a
handbasket to wherever see toeing the line here.
That's the Bible were but that's all y'all think I was gonna say
it. Yeah, I got catch me cussing up
here or anywhere else. Let's go to first, John.
Because the work that Jesus did was not just to forgive your
past sins. And I found so many Believers
really can only talk about where they came from.
And who they were and the old man, and look what I did before
God, and here's my testimony, but really answer the better
question. Where are you going?
Because I could ask the question you were, what were you saved
from? But the better question to ask
is what were you saved for? Why did he save you?
Because he loves us. Listen go listen to pastors
Wednesday night messages on the route of love.
Does God? Love us?
Sure enough. He loves us.
But why were we saved? Why did he save us?
Just so that we could feel his love?
No. We got it.
This isn't you know that he Capital H in case you didn't
know when you read the Bible, there's a capital H for he
that's talking about God or Jesus.
Some of your like duh and then some of your like, oh my gosh, I
just learned one thing tonight. I know that he appeared in order
to take away sins and in him. There is no sin.
Okay, let's read this part again.
Okay, he came to take away sins and in him, there is no sin.
Are you in Christ? Are you in sin?
Because you can't be see, you're getting it, it doesn't work.
Sin and Christ are impossible. Roommates.
They're never moving in together.
They can never dwell together. You'll never find them both in
the same room. In him, there is no sin, no one
who abides in him sins. Okay, hold on.
I got it. I already heard it.
I heard it from some of you already.
Well brother, sometimes we make mistakes.
You know if we sent we're not talking about making a mistake
as a Believer, we're talking about habitually choosing to
just send and go against What God Says.
So let me give that disclaimer very clearly when you're saying
well, since you know, I've you know, what happens when we sent
listen, I'm talking about people who know what God Said and
choose, I'm not going to do that.
So know that as we continue to read, there's no one who abides
in him sins. No one who sins has seen him or
knows him little children, make sure that no one deceives.
You the one who practices righteousness is what now hold
on. I thought we'd been made
righteous Have we been made righteous in Christ?
Yes. Absolutely.
We have So the question is, do we maintain that?
Talking about Works. Your whole life is about works.
You wake up in the morning because it works and you go sit
down at your works and you do your Works.
Don't tell me about Works. Everything we do is working and
doing and moving. And that's because we're alive,
and we're moving forward and we're passionate about
everything that we're doing. So yeah, you're going to work
something. You might as well say.
I'm going to stay righteous. How do you stay righteous?
Practice righteousness. O.
If I said a person who's practicing sin is someone who is
making a choice. I'm not going to do what God
said. Well then the opposite for
righteousness would mean I'm going to do what God Said and
that behavior and that attitude and that heart is righteous.
So don't be deceived a person who practices righteousness.
That's a righteous person. Just as he remember, Capital H,
I just told you that you should have written that down.
He is righteous the one who practices sin is of who, the
devil for the devil has sinned from the beginning and the Son
of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of
the devil. No one.
Who is born of God practices sin. because, There you go,
because his seed abides in him, and he cannot sin because he is
born of God. There's a lot, there's a lot to
be said, go back to the last slide.
Okay. So in keeping life simple.
The person who practices righteousness is what a person,
who habitually practices sin is. Of sin.
And as of who is of the devil for the devil, has sinned from
the beginning. And the Son of God Jesus
appeared for this purpose. To destroy what?
What are the works of the devil? Don't say sin?
Don't do not, do not do that. To me, you're going to leave
here. And your children are going to
ask you what you learn about, you like sin, because that's
what they do to you in class. You know.
We taught him a whole lot more in a cafe Church than that, big
walk. I say what you learn about,
Jesus. What about Jesus?
Don't do that to me. The Works that it's got to be
deeper than that, right? So let's find out what we're his
works. From the beginning.
Let's look at it. Let's go to Isaiah chapter 14.
This is the first account that we have of something that was
taking place before planet Earth.
Before the creation, there was this whole coup that happened in
heaven. so, if we pick up in the stories, Where's it at?
See, I told you if it happens going to call you by name,
Kevin. There we go.
Everybody say thank you, Kevin. He's the man.
I'm telling you, he's one of the best that I've got back there.
Isaiah Chapter, 14, verse 1 through you, you saw it 32.
We're not going to read all the way there, but it says when the
Lord. Wait wait, hold on.
Skip ahead for me to verse 12. Almost.
Here we go. So we pick up in the prophet,
Isaiah's, getting this picture of something that happened in
heaven before the creation. It says, and how you have fallen
from heaven Oh, star of the morning.
O, son of the Dawn. You have been cut down to the
Earth, you who have weakened the nation's but you said in your
heart. So get this.
This is the devil. This is Lucifer and his
beginning. The first time that we see
rebellion in God's kingdom. He says, you said in your heart,
I will say, I will, I will Ascend to Heaven.
I will say I will. I will raise my throne above the
stars of God and I will say, I will I will sit on the Mount of
the assembly in the recesses of the north, and I will see, you
got it Ascend above the heights of the clouds.
And I will make myself like the most most high.
But then it says nevertheless, you will be thrust down into
sheol to the recesses of the pit.
So the first time that we see sin or what we could call
original sin because it doesn't get any more original or Was it
precedent-setting than this? The route of the first fall in
sin, was selfishness. The devil said, I will do what I
want. Above what God wants.
That's the work. The first work of the devil that
we just read was in the beginning.
So then the very next time that we see him show up and start.
Doing his work in the earth is in Genesis chapter 3.
Starting in verse 1. I deserve this because I did
this to Pastor last week, I made him.
Wait, Genesis chapter 3 verse 1. It says now the serpent was more
crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had
made. Do we know who that is.
And he said to the woman indeed has God said You shall not eat
from any tree of the garden. And didn't we read earlier that?
God told Adam, eat freely of any tree but do not eat of the tree
of the knowledge of Good and Evil.
That's in the middle of the garden.
Don't do it. The only command God gave that
was an either, or the only one is the first conversation, the
enemy brings up. Why didn't he talk about
anything else? Why did he make up any other
sin? Why didn't he get Eve to try to
cheat on her husband? Or why didn't he get her to go
and try to steal from something or, or do any other kind of
detestable thing that we can think of?
What did he try to tempt her say you should murder Adam.
Think about it. The only thing that he wanted to
happen was to find. What has God said, all I want to
get them to do is disobey it. He didn't tempt her with
anything else. So he comes in.
He says, indeed has God said, You shall not eat from any tree
of the garden that has he said that don't eat from anything.
Then that just soundless, you crafty.
God said you can't eat, right? Like you're not allowed to eat
at all. Well no.
Oh okay, let's have a conversation then sneaky sneaky
sneaky snake. It says the woman said to the
serpent from the fruit of the Trees of the garden.
We may eat but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle
of the garden, God said, do not eat from it or touch it or you
will die. Now whether she added or didn't
not my concern, but this next part is interesting of all the
things he could have told her or had her do and all of the sin
that is that is in the Earth and all the options and
opportunities. The only thing he came after was
what God Said. Think about it.
If the word of God leave this up here, the word of God is so
valuable. That God himself said, I exalt
my word above my own name. He's got the name above all
names, but he said there's one thing that's higher than that.
And that's my word. In fact, the way he created the
whole universe was with his word, whenever mankind fella
says, he sent forth his word. So the most powerful entity in
the whole universe, is the word of God.
And that's the only thing, the devil cared about even in the
garden and he shows up. And he says, what did God say?
Then the serpent says what God Said won't happen.
You won't die for God knows that in the day that you eat of it.
Now listen, listen wait, go back, go back.
Listen to how the conversation then turns.
Because at this point, Adam and Eve have purpose.
They've been given a mandate they've been given their terms
and conditions of what keeps this Dominion mandate.
And all they know is, God said it, we're doing it. then the
devil says, listen, God knows that in the day that you eat of
it, you know, we kind of read through this quickly, but he
made it personal He said it in the day.
You eat of it. Go back.
Go back, go back. For God knows that in the day
that you eat, now, you can go forward from it.
Your eyes will be opened. All of the sudden they went from
this God, focus of purpose. And what God has assigned them
to your eyes will be opened. When you eat your eyes will be
open. Doesn't this sound like his work
in the beginning? When he said, I will do what I
want. I'll have the only way that he
could get them on board, with his way of thinking, is to get
them to say, but you will have your eyes opened.
And you will be like God knowing Good and Evil.
And then here's where the whole shift takes place.
Before the fruit was eaten in verse six, everything falls
apart right here. In this verse, it says, when the
woman saw that the tree was good for food, When the woman saw was
she blind before, did she see the tree before?
Did she know that it was there because she saw it.
So this is a different kind of seeing This is when the woman
saw that the tree was good for food and that it was a delight
to the eyes. And it was desirable to make one
wise. She took.
She fell right into the Trap. the same trap that every
believer, Will fall into if they don't know where they are in
this Kingdom. And that is the choice between.
Do I get what I want or do I do what he wants?
Is my focus on what the king says or is my focus on what it
does for me? But I want see that's dangerous.
Talk. I need some me time.
How about it? Just all be his time whatever
I'm doing. I know the Lord.
I feel like the Lord has drawn me that but I careful careful
because you're not sounding like Jesus.
You're not sounding like Kingdom.
We read Genesis 1:26 and God says, let them rule.
They don't sound like ruling. Because the moment that she he
was able to get her to focus on herself more than what God Said.
Then she fell to the Temptation and did what we call Sin.
She disobeyed the word of the king all sin stems from you.
Choosing what you want above? What God Said.
That's the root of all sin. A selfish choice to take what I
want instead of what God has said and every day, that's all
you're faced with is that choice?
That's your tree everyday self or God.
So God could talk to Modern Believers this way.
He could say listen. Any good thing that I've ever
made for you everything. I've said in my word is all at
your disposal, take all of it and choose all of it.
There's just one thing you can't choose.
That's yourself. The moment you eat from the Tree
of self. You destroy your Dominion. so,
if we need to be saved, Couldn't we say the greatest thing that
Jesus saved me from I could say this, the greatest thing he
saved me from was myself. I don't have to side with myself
anymore. If I come to a situation where
my own selfish desires rise up, I don't have to choose me.
I can choose him. And in that moment, I don't need
saving from a consequence. I'm saved because I don't have
to have a consequence. I'm not in curing more and more
and more consequences every day because I'm just a sorry sinner.
Don't be deceived if you're a sinner, you practice sin and
that's what you are. But if you're righteous, you
practice righteousness. It's really simple.
I love how that verse remember it started, I said, oh, little
children, That means this is Elementary principal.
The one who practices righteousness is, what the one
who practices sin is what a sinner and belongs to.
How are we over comp? Yeah, thank you.
Being a light bulb. It's not just the shine on my
head. See, I knew that joke would go
over. Well, it's not in here.
I didn't write it down. Pastor Marcus would have.
I did not so note that So again, when Jesus shows up as our
ultimate example, he didn't show up as a person who continually
blew it and all we see is his pattern of making a mistake and
how to get out of the mistake and making a mistake and how to
get out of mistake and make a mistake and talking to the
father. That was not his pattern.
His pattern was only dominating, it was only Rising above
Temptation and saying I don't have to succumb to it.
It was only being faced with situations that he said I'm
gonna choose God. And Jesus is the perfect example
because he always only ever chose God.
But he's Jesus, right? Nobody's perfect.
Hey hey, hey, don't say that. You sound stupid because
somebody was his name is Jesus and he's your example and you
would say I'm a Christian. I'm christ-like.
I'm like Christ in every way except I sent all the time, you
can't be that you can't be in Christ and a thinner.
Doesn't it sound wacky? I mean, seriously, there's
people other Christian radio just this week.
It's why I don't turn it on and it came on randomly against my
will. I didn't want it on and it came
on this person was like, you know, we're all just sorry
Sinners. Why is that a coin?
The phrase among the charge If you're a sorry sinner, you're
not in with him. Again, in the Old Testament.
That's what they were Abraham. All them could get together and
sing together. We're all sorry.
Sinners saved by grace. Let me they were Sinners.
It was inevitable in their life but Jesus is work in his death
burial and Resurrection saved. You from the inevitability of
sin, it is no longer what just happens with you.
We're all human. Yeah, we're all human, but I'm
in a different kind of humanity. I'm in a redeemed, Humanity, I
got born again. I came into this Kingdom, and I
know where I am. I'm not lost in the woods.
I know where I'm supposed to be. Ask me what I've been saved
from. I've got an answer.
It's good. The last question that we really
last is what are we saved for? Because again, if this was
really just about Jesus coming and dying so that you could just
go to heaven, one day, he didn't have to do that.
He came to empower your daily living.
He didn't save you for an end goal.
He saved you for now, in fact all through the gospels, Jesus
was always addressing people's present tense life.
Present tense. This Kingdom that we preach is
not a just a future tense. Its present tense, right now.
When you got transferred from the domain of Darkness, could
do, we all understand this? This passage, we were
transferred from the domain of Darkness into the kingdom of his
beloved Son in whom, there is redemption and forgiveness of
sins. When are we there?
Maybe. When are we there?
When did that happen? Are you in the Kingdom right
now? Where does that happen?
When you die? Does it change the way you live
right now? Or will it just be better when
you die? Is there something you need to
do? Is their responsibility for you
because I found most Believers when they're lost in the woods
is because they have allowed sin to come in and have such a
strong hold. That it breaks off their
dominion. And even though they're supposed
to dominate, they fall into the Trap of trying to dominate while
being dominated and it'll never happen.
If something dominates you, you'll never dominate the planet
and if your purpose is to dominate the planet and
something's dominating you, you'll never enter your destiny.
And I found so many times, when somebody says what's my purpose,
you know, I just want to know my purpose.
It's a big question, guys. It's a huge question.
How do you find your purpose? I mean, it's one of the biggest
challenges you'll ever have is finding and entering into the
assignment that God gave you before you were born.
But so many people can't find their purpose because the
foundation of their purpose is to dominate yet.
They constantly allow other things to dominate them and they
you can't dominate while being dominated.
I've got this addiction and, you know, God just, he's just
forgives me and I just go back to it from time to time, but
it's just because it's just, you know, I'm just only human.
I gave up only human when I got into Christ.
I became a god human. I came a human with the spirit
of God living inside of me. That's different than only
human. So, I'm not only human, I'm no
longer mirrored in the Apostle. Paul say that we're no longer
mirror, we're something greater because the greater one is in
US. Okay, well, let's look over
here. Let's go to Ephesians chapter 2
because what were we saved for? Why did we be saved?
Why does this matter? If he's ins 2:1.
Says and when you were dead in your trespasses and sins, we've
covered clearly before Christ. We were this, right?
We were dead in our trespasses and sins.
Then it says in which you formerly walked according to the
course of this world, according to the prince of the power of
the air of the spirit that is now working in the sons of
disobedience. The sons of Disobedience sin is
simply disobeying the word of the king, which means these
people are just operating. It's in verse 3, says among
them. We too all formerly lived in the
lusts of our flesh. Important to note the word
formerly, he's not talking to Believers at the church of
Ephesus and saying we to all presently live in the lusts of
our flesh because we're all just sorry.
Sinners saved by grace. No.
He said, we formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh.
Indulging in the desires of the Flesh, and of the mind.
And by Nature, we were children of Wrath, even as the rest verse
4, but God being rich in Mercy. Let me just tell you, you didn't
deserve his saving. We didn't deserve it again.
Nobody's given the argument that.
It's not of it's not of Works. Lest any man should boast.
It wasn't something we did to earn his saving us.
But now that he's saved us, don't diminish what he's done
because you want to go back to what he saved you from.
Again, even as a parent, leave that up there as a parent, if my
child went over and got shocked in electrocuted in the light
socket and I rescued them on my oh my gosh and we are
resuscitated him and they came back to life and I saved her
life because I brought them back to life from them talking and
they immediately got up and went back again and I just let him do
it and then I'll just CPR again. And we just have this cycle
where every time they get up how wacky but how many Believers are
doing that the very thing they were saved from and rescued from
in the consequence that they had all the sudden they wake up in
their salvation and go right back to the thing they need
saving from He didn't come to save your consequence.
He came to save you from the thing that was creating
consequence. But God being rich in Mercy
because of his great love and which he loved us.
Even when we We're dead in our transgressions transgressions,
he made us alive together with Christ by Grace.
You've been saved and he raised us up with him and seated us
with him in Heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
Say in Christ is their sin and Christ.
Where are you in? Christ is their sin and you are
you gonna sin? If you do, can you stay in
Christ? Deep question.
We're gonna keep going verse 7, so that in ages to come, he
might show The surpassing Riches of his grace and kindness
towards us in Christ. Is their sin in Christ.
If you want. What's in Christ?
Can you get it through sin? Okay.
Just trying to, We're just trying to just just do we get
it, you know, I'm just wondering.
For by Grace, you have been saved through faith, not of
ourselves, but is a gift of God, not as the result of works.
So that one may boast, but for we are his workmanship.
And, again, we ask the question, what were you say from?
But then the next question is, what were you saved for?
It's answered here. We were his workmanship created
in Christ for, that's a bad word and it's in the Bible.
Works as a bad word. In fact, I find most of the time
when someone wants to quote, to me something about works that
use this passage It's not of our works, lest any man should
boast. but if you just finish out the passage, it says, we
were his workmanship created in Christ for Good works.
Which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
I think God is expecting more from Believers than Believers.
Are expecting from believers. Are we tracking with What's
Happening Here? God, prepared and created us for
good works. So you were saved to do.
The Lord's will and there's nothing holding you back from
always obeying and getting it right?
Every time. The only thing that would
Endeavor hinder you is the same thing that would hinder even the
garden. The same thing that would I
mean, who was listen, who was Lucifer's enemy?
We know that in this in the story that picks up with
Humanity, the enemy in the garden is the serpent.
Who was the Serpent's enemy in heaven?
Himself. Sometimes we we pray and we want
God to Deliver Us from something.
But the thing we really need to liver from is our flesh.
And I'm sorry you can't have a Deliverance service for the
flesh. You're not gonna come down,
we're gonna play Canada and I look what the lawn and you come
down and just dance the flash off.
You're gonna put on worship music in your house and your
flesh is going to melt away. And when you make your daily
choices and daily decisions, you're still gonna have to
choose. Do I side with what I want or do
I side with What God Says? Do I side with my flesh?
Or do I side with my spirit? It's Paul was clear.
You're at War these two things, go against each other.
All the time. You're never free from the
conflict of do I choose flash, or do I choose spirit?
In fact, if he delivered you from the conflict, he's removed.
Your free will. The existence of the choice.
Do I choose God? Or do I choose me?
Means you have a free will in a God who will never violate that.
And it's such a powerful, Eternal principle.
The devil will never ever violated either ever.
The devil is coming after me. Yeah, but he's coming after you
with one thing. A choice.
Always the devil made me do it. No he didn't.
You're a little kid, little kid. Say that stuff.
Don't be a little baby about it. That wouldn't make you do
anything to bed. Offered you?
A choice C was easy for you when she really just new.
I'm just gonna do what God wants and all the sudden, whenever a,
the contrary came in and was handed over on a platter, don't
do what God Said. He didn't force her to do
anything. He offered a choice to choose.
Do you want what you want or do you want?
My God doesn't? He had a good argument?
Look what it would do for you? Think about you think about your
family. Think about how tired you would
be. Think about how hard it is,
raining outside and churches today.
But what if the rain gets you really wet before you go in?
You can listen on YouTube on Thursday.
But God said don't forsake the assembling of ourselves together
and why would I do that for the sake of the weather?
But what will it do for your kids?
They'll get wet to. These are the real life
situations that we deal with. We're not I mean not God's not
tempting. Everybody to murder and rape and
steal and plunder with good people.
All he does is he tempts you with good things?
That aren't the right thing that God said?
Because in the end all he tempted Eve with was, eat some
fruit. Who's going to say that's bad.
Who ate fruit today. Was it bad?
No. So what he did is tempted her
with something that was good but not right?
But we have to be mature enough to distinguish between the two.
What has God said that I should do?
What has God said in his word? Do I do that thing or do?
I do what I want? The last scripture tonight,
we'll look at is this and we should leave here tonight.
Empowered, we started one way. We're ending one way because I
do want to make mention to this because I just have this
thought, you know what, it was awesome.
So I'm going to say it God started the whole story with the
tree. And when that one fell apart, he
started a new story with you with a tree, the thing.
Wow. In the Bible, it says that
cursed is any man that hangs on a tree.
Why? Because the first curse was
hanging on a tree. It was taken off the tree.
And use selfishly. So, be careful with what you do
with the man who hung on a tree for you.
Because you can take him selfishly and miss the gift.
that when man fell with the first tree, got offered a second
tree, that contained all that you would need to overcome 1st.
John 4:4 says this you are from God little children and you have
overcome overcome. Say I've overcome Because
greater is he? Remember, look, he with the
capital, got it. He that is in you, he who is in
you than he, who is in the world.
What could the world come against you with?
That would force you to forfeit your Dominion.
Nothing. The better question is, what
could you do and bring against yourself to forfeit your
Dominion? Because in the end, whether we
do God's will or don't will stand before him?
Alone, not with our pastors, not with our parents, not with our
friends, not with our children, not with the person who did us
wrong. we're all alone will stand there and he'll say, Did
you do? My will?
Or did you do yours? And you'll give an answer.
One of my favorite quotes by c.s.
Lewis, is he said in the end? There's only two kinds of
people. Those who say to the Lord thy
will be done and those to whom. The Lord says, thy will be done.
You have the choice and the ability to choose God to choose,
right? And to live above sin.
And only you. But again first John, 4:4 and
you are from God. And you have overcome because
greater is what's inside of you than anything that could come
against you. Amen.
All right. Let's pray father.
God, we thank you, Lord, so much for the word tonight.
We thank you that you truly have redeemed, us and saved us, and
brought us out of what was damaging Our Lives into a
lifestyle, that would only produce life, and joy and peace
at all times. Lord, you empowered more than
just A consequence in an afterlife, but Lord, you
empowered, our present life and our ability to choose right?
Right now, So father I pray right now.
I think he that each and every one of us Lord, no matter where
we've come from. No matter what.
We've done, we don't focus on who we used to be or where we
came from. But Lord continue to reveal to
us the plans in the purposes and the and the dreams and the
things that you have for us in our future so that we can truly
give an answer and say I'm a Child of God.
I was a sorry sinner. I was bound by sin but Grace has
brought me and made me a brand new person who's no longer
hindered by anything. This world will throw at me.
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