At Journey Church, we began our Life Essentials back.  We study this on Sunday morning and then we elaborate more on these in our small groups on Sunday night.   Today’s lesson was on Believing in Satan and sin.

Jeff did an excellent job on explaining sin and Satan.  The sermon this morning came from Genesis 3:1-7.  He only discussed the conversation between the serpent (Satan) and Adam and Eve.   This very conversation is what brought sin into the world. Below is the conversation between the serpent and Adam and Eve.

NOW THE serpent was more subtle and crafty than any living creature of the field which the Lord God had made. And he [Satan] said to the woman, Can it really be that God has said, You shall not eat from every tree of the garden?  And the woman said to the serpent, We may eat the fruit from the trees of the garden,  Except the fruit from the tree which is in the middle of the garden. God has said, You shall not eat of it, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.  But the serpent said to the woman, You shall not surely die,  For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing the difference between good and evil and blessing and calamity.  And when the woman saw that the tree was good (suitable, pleasant) for food and that it was delightful to look at, and a tree to be desired in order to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she gave some also to her husband, and he ate.  Then the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves apronlike girdles. –Genesis 3:1-7–

This single conversation allowed sin to enter the world.   Millions of years later, we are still a sin filled world.   During this conversation, Satan questions God’s character and makes Eve question God’s motive.  Satan casted doubt into Eve’s mind and she began to believe that things can be questioned and challenged.

Temptation of Satan clouded Eve’s judgment just like today temptation clouds ours.  Eve could not keep Satan’s conversation out of her head.  She constantly loooked at the tree and the fruit it produce.  She finally acted on her thoughts.   This sounds like what we do today.  We just keep looking at something and dwell on it day after day.  Guess what?  We later act on our thoughts, we go out an sin.   So often this happens.   If we could just forget about it and move on, we would be less eager to sin.

Many different observations can be found about Satan in Genesis 3:1-7.

1. Satan is a personal being. He is not a force.
2. Satan acts in opposition to God’s authority and intentions.
3. Satan is crafty.  He doesn’t just drift around.  Satan strategizes by using truth and twisting it so that it sounds good.
4. Satan seeks to tear down and destroy God’s creation. From this very conversation in Genesis, humans today are affected by Satan.   He will destroy everything that is like God.  We are made in the image of God.
5. Satan communicates and seeks to manipulate. He is the master manipulator.
6. Satan has a team. His followers were cast down with him to the Earth from Heaven.

During Jeff’s sermon, he also spoke of six very interesting points about sin.

1. We are born broken. We come to and age where we make willful decisions against our parents (well before we are one).
2. Sin is very damaging. It affects your internal decisions and damages all relationships in its path.
3. Sin shrivels our spirits. It corrupts our consciousness.
4. Sin provokes temptation. Being tempted does not mean that you are conquered.   You can move beyond your temptations and not act on it.
5. Sin is sustain by our thoughts. If we change our thoughts, the patterns of sin will leave.
6. Sin destroys what we prize more and leaves our character looking like road kill.

We were left with several questions to ponder throughout the week.

Why is it important to know Satan is real?

I think that it is very important to know this.   One of the observations from the passage shows us that Satan is a personal being.  He is not just a force or just a thought in our head.   He was kicked out of heaven with several of his angels.   So Satan and his followers are living right amongst us.   They could be standing beside us in the checkout line waiting to buy their groceries.  This is why we must know that he is real.  When we realize that he is real, we can begin to strategize ourselves and win the battle against him.   Believing Satan is real is the first step to winning to world over to Christ.

Why must I know that sin destroys?

How else could I understand the problems in the world?  With my personal life, I can see how my sinful life destroyed awesome friendships and how it has broken up my family.   By living for Christ now, I can see how my life and relationships are stronger than ever.  Yes, I still have problems but it stems make to those temptations that I acted on.   By knowing sin destroys can change your life forever.  Once you realize this, you can see that Christ is the only way to have a life that is not destroyed.

What does this message say about Jesus who became our sin?

I don’t know about you but it brings tears to my eyes.   Jesus stepped in front of me and took a bullet that was intended to kill me.   It shows me how much he truly loves me and God’s people.  To me, Jesus is my hero.   He paid the ultimate price for me.   Jesus is the way, the ONLY WAY.

Related posts:

1. God’s Glory
2. What kind of heart are you?
3. Because she said YES
4. Mommy I Don’t Like This Place
5. The Devil

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