Freedom Series (Part 6)

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Freedom Series

(Part 6)

Good morning and welcome to Jesus Church

• I hope you are enjoying the series
  • I know it’s impacting my life… as I study
  • Hope its impacting your life as well
• Nothing has more potential than Christians living life in freedom
  • Must understand the reality of bondage
  • Talking about doors we open
    • We open doors to the thief
    • Walk away thinking nothing will happen
      • He will come in

1 John 2:16 – For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, is not of the Father but is of the world.

“World” not Satan… Satan isn’t the door but he will use the door

• 1 Jn shows us the 3 main doors that enemy comes through
  • 2 weeks ago we talked on “Pride” which is 1 of the main doors
  • This was the FIRST door Satan opened…
  • Pride is what? Believing that you can do it better that God can
• This week: Talk about another door… 1^st door mankind opened
  • This week the lust of the eyes…
  • Next week will be lust of flesh

Gen 3:1-6

Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field, which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, you shall not eat of every tree of the Garden”.

What does Satan do… He casts doubt on the Word of God

• First Adam – Satan casts doubt
  • Jesus is called the 2^nd Adam
    • Satan casts doubt
    • And Satan tried to do the same thing
    • No new tricks
• If in war you have battle plan of enemy
  • That’s a huge advantage
  • 16 or 60 you have advantage

And the woman said to the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die. Then the serpent said to the woman, “You shall not surely die.

• This is a direct contradiction to God’s Word
  • So many completely disregard warnings in Bible
  • Because they know best

For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.

• Satan can only succeed if he can get you to doubt God’s Word
  • To Think: God’s Word isn’t for today
  • To Think: God’s Word isn’t absolute
    • Because Satan like a salesman that keeps you talking
    • Eventually he can get foot in the door

Pleasant to the Eyes

Most believe this was only pleasant tree

Gen. 2:9

And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food

• All of these trees were pleasant
  • Satan convinced her something was different about this tree
  • How do I know that “She saw that it was pleasant to the eyes”
    • Pleasant – Lust or Desire (lust of eyes)
    • She desired what wasn’t hers over what God had given her
• She believed something besides God best would make her happy
  • Ever heard the phrase: The grass is always greener
  • That’s Satan’s sales pitch
• But Satan always reveals his plan… he always tips his hand
  • When you hear a voice saying what God’s given me not enough
  • I want what is forbidden
  • Satan’s already tipped his hand
    • But its up to us to identify that

Eve was convinced – God is holding out on me

• You can have all of this… but not that
  • And it just comes down to a issue of trust
  • When 1 Jn talks about “Lust of Eyes”… Metaphor
    • Lust – Forbidden craving
    • Eyes – Truth of the mind
• Gk – By receiving one to withdraw them from another’s sight
  • Satan did this to her (Turn head)
  • And she trusted in her own thinking

Listen: You will trust ONLY ONE master

Rom. 6:16

Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are salves of the one you obey – whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?

• If you close every door… want to keep control of one
  • The enemy will find his way in
  • Because you’ve left that door open
• If I buy a boat with 10 gaping holes… and patch 9
  • It would be foolish to think water won’t find its way in
  • If you patch every hole but seek truth outside God
    • The enemy will still have place into your house

Tag: Here’s the awkward question

Why did God put tree there?

To Test You… but why does he test us

• Duet. 8 and other places… tests us so he can bless us
  • God blesses us when we believe in Him
  • More than we believe in ourselves
• Bible is one big story
  • From the beginning God is teaching us to trust Him.
  • Because trust in God brings us into community w/ Him.

Rom. 10:9

If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

• What is salvation… not going to hell? NO
  • It’s being reunited with Jesus
• Adam and Eve trusted God until they didn’t
  • They sought trust in something else
  • They believed in something else

Another word from TRUST – FAITH

• It is by grace you have been saved through faith…
  • Grace is what Jesus provides for us
  • Faith is learning what he has been telling us from the beginning
    • Trust in me
• Not surprised it was called the tree of knowledge
  • Adam and Eve had two specific trees
• Life and Knowledge
  • Allowed to eat of the tree of life (never did)
  • Only ate of the tree of knowledge
  • What did it bring: Death… because they didn’t trust God

Listen: We face two trees each day

• Question is: Whose knowledge are you going to trust
  • Finances/Marriage/Kids/Morals
  • Prov. 14:12 – There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death
    • Repeated in Prob. 16:25
• Picking their own knowledge led to death in the beginning
  • It does the same thing today.

Tag: That was chapter 3. Chapter 4 we see their son

Their child does the same thing

When it comes to trusting God – He has to come first

• Called the principle of 1^st and it tests how much you trust God
  • 1^st Commandment – No other gods before me
  • This is where the idea of tithing comes from

Lev. 27:30

And all the tithe of the land whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord’s. It is holy to the Lord

Ex. 23:19

The first of the first fruits of your land you shall bring into the house of the Lord your God.

• We this is in the life of Cain – How Satan finds an open door
  • All because he doesn’t follow the principle of first

Gen. 4:3-7

And in the process of time it came to pass that Cain brought an offering of the fruit of the ground to the Lord. Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat. And the Lord respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering. And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell.

So the Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it.”

• Talking about doors… Sin is just waiting for you to open that door
  • Te-shu-kwa – Beast ready to devour
  • God: Desire is to rule over you, mastery over you, control you
    • Possess you

You have a test on who you will trust

• Who will you put first
  • Enemy is waiting at the door
  • Hoping you will open the door for him to come in
    • Because of the lust of the eyes
• We see something that makes sense to us
  • Maybe it’s a moral decision
  • Maybe it’s a business decision
  • Maybe it’s the balance of your budget
    • We make a decision to trust something
      • If it isn’t God
        • We put him second
        • And we open the door
• We take our eyes off Him
  • We do this (turn of head)

Tag: Another story of man turning head from God

Matt 14:25-31

Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear.

But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”

So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

Picture – Jesus comes walking on water around 3am

And he’s close enough to talk

• Yet its dark and windy enough they can’t recognize him
  • Jesus identifies himself why…
  • Because they can hear him/can’t see him
• Most of us remember that Peter sank
  • Peter walked on water
  • Text says he “began to sink”
    • Who begins to sink?!?!
• Peter is walking to Jesus in the dark
  • To do that – had to keep his eyes on Jesus
    • His trust was in Jesus
    • His faith was in Jesus
  • And this wasn’t some negative edge pool
    • Peter had to take a step
      • A step of faith
      • With his eyes on Jesus
        • And it worked
• What happened next: Same thing that happened to Adam & Eve
  • Its the same thing that happens to you & me
  • But when he saw the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink

Moment knowledge/experience/practicality takes precedent over God

• You’ll be consumed by the water of your life
  • What Jesus attributes Peters fall to “O you of little faith”
  • Believing the wind and waves… over Jesus
• How many times do we believe things over Jesus
  • Our bank account
  • The news
  • Our emotions over Jesus
• If you keep your eyes on Jesus… he’s won’t let you sink
  • You trust in him to hold the universe together
  • How is it so hard to trust him in our lives

Tag: Satan even tried to use this tactic on Jesus himself

Temptation of Jesus

Luke 4:1-4

Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward when they had ended He was hungry. And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”

Why was eating bread a temptation… Temptation – to entice one to sin

• How is making bread sin… answer is in the response
  • Verse 4 – But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.”
  • I don’t rely on myself, I trust in God
• Satan’s 1^st line of attack: Get you to rely on yourself
  • 1^st temptation was a setup for the second
  • Satan says there is another way (better way)
    • Worship me
    • I will give you this world that you came to save
• Choose what makes sense to your flesh
  • Reject what you know in your spirit
  • Put your logic before God’s logic

And if you turn the knob… the enemy waiting behind the door

• Trusting, believing, having faith
• In a god that does not care for you
• Will not look out for you best

Ps. 115: 5-8

They have mouths, but they do not speak;

Eyes they have, but they do not see;

They have ears, but they do not hear;

Noses they have, but they do not smell;

They have hands, but they do not handle;

Feet they have, but they do not walk;

Nor do they mutter through their throat.

Those who make them are like them;

So is everyone who trusts in them.