The blame game
Genesis 3:11-13
And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.13 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.
- Adam – you gave me the woman
- Blamed God
- Blamed Eve
- Eve – Blamed serpent – Satan
- Satan – Blamed God – “Hast not God said”
Sin always comes with a price!
Genesis 1:16-17 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
The ultimate cost for man– both physical and spiritual death.
For the Serpent – Genesis 3:14-15 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: 15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
Eve’s curse Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.
Adam’s curse – 17-19 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; 18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
Sin leads to loss of innocence
Genesis :6-11 – And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. 8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. 9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? 10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. 11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?
Attacking the blame game Ultimately, in the end, we all blame our sin on God
James 1:13-17 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: 14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. 16 Do not err, my beloved brethren. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
- Satan tempts with sin (evil)
- God gives only Good Gifts.
- God is NEVER the author of temptation.
- God is always the author of everything good in your life:
-Forgiveness, mercy, grace, love, compassion, church,
loving family, provision, life itself.
Seven stages of temptation
- The look – when he is drawn away
- The lust – One’s own lust
- The lure – enticed – the bait
- The conception – lust has conceived
- The birth – brings sin
- The growth – finished – full grown
- The death – brings forth death
“The Look“
- The open door
- It opens the door from the protection and the protector
- You are drawn away – you go from safe to risky
- You must be aware of the LOOK
- REMEDY – draw back immediately
“The Lust“
1.) Identify:
- Person who tempts you
- Situation that tempts you
- Activity that tempts you
- Place that tempts you
- Those thoughts that tempt you
2.) Your own lusts – these are eagerly awaiting a willing heart!
Daniel 1:8
But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.
- You are drawn away by what you allow to enter your heart
- Temptation tempts you because of what is in the inside, not what is on the outside
- “she tempts me” it is your lustful heart tempts you
- I saw it and could not help myself, so I took it – your covetous heart is the source of your temptation
- They just made me so angry – you unforgiving heart was the source of your temptation
- Temptation distorts a God given desire
It pushes the God given desire past the normal limit into excess.
It pushes the God given desire to find fulfillment in areas that are off limits.
