WEBVTT 00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:02.399 Welcome to the Awakening Church podcast. 00:00:02.560 --> 00:00:07.040 We pray this message encourages you and provides the hope and light of Jesus Christ. 00:00:07.200 --> 00:00:08.640 Thanks for tuning in. 00:00:19.280 --> 00:00:20.000 Hey, welcome. 00:00:20.079 --> 00:00:21.359 If you're new, my name's Ryan. 00:00:21.600 --> 00:00:24.320 Absolutely thrilled to have you join us today. 00:00:24.559 --> 00:00:30.320 Now, each year we choose a theme as a church of like, okay, here's where we're gonna grow, develop, what we're longing for. 00:00:30.480 --> 00:00:32.719 This year, the theme was biblical literacy. 00:00:32.799 --> 00:00:40.240 Like, we as a church want to get to know God's word and get God's word into our hearts and lives. 00:00:40.560 --> 00:00:45.520 Um, and we began the year with uh in January series called Cultivate. 00:00:45.600 --> 00:00:48.880 And how do we cultivate a relationship with God in his word? 00:00:49.200 --> 00:00:58.079 And I did this little kind of like um third grade project, science project, where we had the dirt and the seed and the sunflower seeds. 00:00:58.159 --> 00:01:03.119 And here's what's great is you guys send me pictures of your sunflower still. 00:01:03.359 --> 00:01:03.840 I love it. 00:01:03.920 --> 00:01:06.000 I get DMs, I get texts, it's awesome. 00:01:06.159 --> 00:01:08.480 Here's one that I just recently got right here. 00:01:08.640 --> 00:01:09.680 Isn't that beautiful? 00:01:09.760 --> 00:01:10.400 That's amazing. 00:01:10.560 --> 00:01:16.480 Someone else just sent me one that has grown uh taller than them, so please keep sending me those. 00:01:16.799 --> 00:01:18.319 I love them. 00:01:18.560 --> 00:01:19.680 They're great. 00:01:19.920 --> 00:01:26.959 Now, as part of biblical literacy, we're going through and teaching through the very first book in the Bible, the book of Genesis. 00:01:27.120 --> 00:01:36.000 Genesis just means beginnings, and it lays the foundation for everything else that comes next, even the foundation of Jesus. 00:01:36.159 --> 00:01:44.480 And so we started a series, Genesis chapter one called Foundations, and then Genesis 2, we just completed before Easter called Unalone. 00:01:44.640 --> 00:01:53.439 Today we're beginning a new series teaching through Genesis chapter 3 called Where in the World Did We Go Wrong? 00:01:53.599 --> 00:01:56.879 So go ahead and say to your neighbor, where in the world? 00:02:00.879 --> 00:02:02.959 And then go, I don't know. 00:02:07.040 --> 00:02:10.800 Because you can't help but when you look at the world around us. 00:02:11.919 --> 00:02:25.120 When you look at what's happening on a global scale, on a social reality in our nation, just in our area, and then just the fabric of relationships and what you're personally walking through. 00:02:25.199 --> 00:02:28.639 You can't help but ask this question how did we get here? 00:02:29.759 --> 00:02:32.240 How in the world did we get here? 00:02:33.599 --> 00:02:34.800 I mean, think about this. 00:02:34.879 --> 00:02:39.680 How did we get in this world where beauty and brokenness live side by side? 00:02:39.919 --> 00:02:41.439 Pain and progress. 00:02:41.919 --> 00:02:56.319 We scroll through war zones and wetty photos on the same feed, where laughter and loneliness sit at the same dinner table, where we're more connected than ever, yet more disconnected. 00:02:57.039 --> 00:03:02.960 We live in a world that's never been more advanced, yet we have we never had more anxiety. 00:03:05.120 --> 00:03:12.319 We're surrounded by information, starving for meaning, we're chasing progress, but something still fills off. 00:03:13.759 --> 00:03:15.280 How did we get here? 00:03:17.439 --> 00:03:25.280 And what if the real issue isn't just out there as we look at the world, but it was in each of us? 00:03:26.560 --> 00:03:35.360 And could the story of where it all went wrong actually show us how to begin to put it back together? 00:03:36.080 --> 00:03:39.599 Here's something that uh we all know and understand. 00:03:40.159 --> 00:03:44.639 If you misdiagnose the problem, you'll miss the cure. 00:03:46.000 --> 00:03:53.360 And so, what we must do in our time, the reason we ask this is we have to diagnose the problem really well. 00:03:55.280 --> 00:03:59.680 Because if we misdiagnose it, we'll end up with the wrong solution. 00:03:59.759 --> 00:04:03.599 And I just want to argue, we've been misdiagnosing the problem. 00:04:03.680 --> 00:04:13.120 And we think if we just have more technology, if we just have more education, then we'll see this cure that will solve everything else. 00:04:13.199 --> 00:04:21.839 And the problem is, is we have more of all those things, and we still have more of all the problems. 00:04:23.920 --> 00:04:41.040 Genesis 3 tells the story of where it all went wrong and how we got here, which is really good news because it also points us to how in the world we can finally be put right again. 00:04:41.439 --> 00:04:44.639 If you got your Bibles, would you open up to Genesis 3? 00:04:44.720 --> 00:04:45.759 It's at the very beginning. 00:04:45.839 --> 00:04:50.639 If not, you open up your phones, um, but it's right at the very beginning, right here. 00:04:50.720 --> 00:04:51.920 You can flip open. 00:04:52.240 --> 00:04:55.199 Genesis chapter 3 begins this way. 00:04:57.120 --> 00:05:02.800 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. 00:05:03.120 --> 00:05:10.240 He said to the woman, Did God really say you must not eat from any tree in the garden? 00:05:10.480 --> 00:05:15.360 Like you're surrounded by all these incredible trees, and God said, You can't have any of them? 00:05:16.079 --> 00:05:22.079 Well, the woman said to the serpent, uh, we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden. 00:05:22.240 --> 00:05:28.639 But God did say, You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it. 00:05:28.800 --> 00:05:35.279 Well, he didn't actually say you shouldn't touch it, which is interesting as we kind of add on to what God said, that's a whole nother problem. 00:05:35.759 --> 00:05:37.199 Or you'll die. 00:05:38.319 --> 00:05:41.920 You will certainly not die, the serpent said to the woman. 00:05:42.240 --> 00:05:52.560 For God knows that when you eat from it, your eyes will be open and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. 00:05:53.040 --> 00:05:58.959 When the woman saw the fruit, it we don't know that it was an apple, by the way. 00:05:59.519 --> 00:06:05.279 It's historically gone down that way, and I tried to research it, and I'm not even sure why. 00:06:05.759 --> 00:06:07.680 Because apples are great. 00:06:09.199 --> 00:06:19.839 When the woman saw the fruit, that the tree was good for food, pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. 00:06:20.240 --> 00:06:24.480 She also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it. 00:06:24.639 --> 00:06:30.319 Adam's sitting there the entire time listening to this conversation and says, Nothing. 00:06:31.040 --> 00:06:33.839 That is another sermon for another day. 00:06:35.040 --> 00:06:44.079 Then the eyes of both of them were opened and they realized to get that they were naked, so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. 00:06:46.399 --> 00:06:49.439 Where in the world did we go wrong? 00:06:50.399 --> 00:06:53.279 And how do we and how did we get here? 00:06:53.439 --> 00:06:57.600 Our problem today actually is we love self-diagnosis, don't we? 00:07:00.480 --> 00:07:03.600 About five, six years ago, I had this really heavy shelf. 00:07:03.680 --> 00:07:09.120 I was doing some work uh on a room, and a heavy shelf fell and hit me in the head. 00:07:09.360 --> 00:07:11.920 It like knocked me silly, like scary silly. 00:07:12.160 --> 00:07:20.720 And um and and then it's the day before my wedding, or not wedding, my birthday, uh, and so that's how knock silly I was. 00:07:20.879 --> 00:07:22.160 I didn't know what day it was. 00:07:22.800 --> 00:07:25.600 And Jenny's like, you should go to the doctor. 00:07:26.480 --> 00:07:28.480 And I'm like, I'm fine. 00:07:28.720 --> 00:07:30.079 She's like, You got hit in the head. 00:07:30.160 --> 00:07:32.000 Do you know you maybe you have a concussion? 00:07:32.160 --> 00:07:35.360 And I'm like, I did my own cussion protocol. 00:07:36.240 --> 00:07:39.920 I called my buddy who used to play in the NFL, asked him some questions. 00:07:40.079 --> 00:07:42.319 He knows a lot about head injuries. 00:07:42.879 --> 00:07:44.160 I'm fine. 00:07:44.639 --> 00:07:48.480 Five days later, I go to the doctor and like, oh no, you have a concussion. 00:07:49.120 --> 00:07:52.000 We love self-diagnosis, don't we? 00:07:52.399 --> 00:07:55.920 Oh, the other thing that we love is also friend diagnosis. 00:07:57.439 --> 00:08:00.000 Hey, tell us, tell us what's going on. 00:08:00.160 --> 00:08:00.639 You know what? 00:08:00.720 --> 00:08:05.680 We have WebMD, we have ChatPTT, chat PTT, chat PT, there you go. 00:08:05.920 --> 00:08:06.800 G P T. 00:08:07.360 --> 00:08:08.160 That's it. 00:08:12.480 --> 00:08:24.720 And so as a result, we miss out and we misdiagnose, and we're wondering why we're struggling, and we keep asking the question, how did we get here? 00:08:26.399 --> 00:08:33.679 Genesis 3 gives us where in the world did we go wrong and the diagnosis for the human condition. 00:08:34.399 --> 00:08:35.840 How did we get here? 00:08:36.080 --> 00:08:47.519 And the first thing that it tells us, the first area that we have to understand is that we have a very real spiritual enemy. 00:08:47.919 --> 00:08:49.919 That text begins with this serpent. 00:08:50.000 --> 00:08:55.279 Now, the goal wasn't to tell us the where the serpent came from, the nature or the origins of it. 00:08:55.360 --> 00:08:57.120 That's a whole series in and of itself. 00:08:57.279 --> 00:09:00.639 Maybe we'll do a you know a school of faith on this. 00:09:00.960 --> 00:09:10.080 Serpents in the ancient Near East, it was deeply symbolic, used all over the some snakes were to be worshipped, others were to be considered incarnations of evil. 00:09:10.159 --> 00:09:13.679 They were associated with both wisdom and death. 00:09:14.879 --> 00:09:16.639 How in the world did we get here? 00:09:16.799 --> 00:09:23.519 First thing we have to recognize is that we have a very real spiritual enemy. 00:09:24.159 --> 00:09:26.799 What's interesting is you go, like, aren't we in the age of intellect? 00:09:26.879 --> 00:09:28.559 Aren't we in the age of technology? 00:09:28.720 --> 00:09:33.840 This whole spiritual thing, Ryan, that's under a rock, you know, spirits everywhere. 00:09:33.919 --> 00:09:35.360 Isn't that gone? 00:09:35.600 --> 00:09:42.320 Well, no, actually, did you know 70% of Gen Z believe there is something supernatural beyond the world? 00:09:42.559 --> 00:09:47.840 76% of those in America believe in a God and a universal spirit. 00:09:48.159 --> 00:09:52.720 60% of people embrace at least one new age belief. 00:09:53.440 --> 00:09:57.279 40% of people believe in psychics. 00:09:58.159 --> 00:10:07.120 40% of people believe that spiritual energy comes from objects, specifically uh crystals, which has been on the rise. 00:10:07.279 --> 00:10:19.440 44% of those between the age of 13 to 25, 44, almost half, engage with crystals to access power beyond themselves. 00:10:21.279 --> 00:10:28.000 First thing when we're asking where in the world do we go wrong, we have to recognize we have a very real spiritual enemy. 00:10:29.600 --> 00:10:36.320 Scripture is clear that there is a spiritual unseen realm that's just as real as the physical realm. 00:10:36.879 --> 00:10:51.440 Just as the wind, though we cannot see it, we see its effects, and when you show up into the backyard and the, you know, the canopy got blown over or the umbrella got blown over, you don't go, I have no idea how that happened. 00:10:53.600 --> 00:11:00.480 You recognize, no, when blew that out, that there is a spiritual and a physical reality. 00:11:01.759 --> 00:11:08.480 Jesus would say it this way: the thief comes to kill, steal, and destroy. 00:11:09.120 --> 00:11:13.039 An enemy isn't just someone that dislikes you or disagrees with you. 00:11:13.200 --> 00:11:18.639 They're out to get you, they hate you, they want to destroy your identity, your purpose, and your calling. 00:11:19.279 --> 00:11:28.639 Have you ever wondered why it is when you finally like want to start working on your marriage that you get into the biggest argument? 00:11:31.200 --> 00:11:39.679 Like when you're finally ready to get help for that addiction, the wave of shame and hopelessness just floods in like a tidal wave. 00:11:41.279 --> 00:11:50.879 When you finally are ready to really follow Jesus, life gets busier, temptations get louder, doubt gets heavier. 00:11:52.159 --> 00:11:57.360 Why does it feel so hard to move forward towards what's good? 00:11:59.279 --> 00:12:02.879 There's two temptations when it comes to this spiritual realm. 00:12:03.039 --> 00:12:03.360 C.S. 00:12:03.519 --> 00:12:05.679 Lewis unpacked it well for us. 00:12:05.919 --> 00:12:10.080 He says there's two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. 00:12:10.240 --> 00:12:18.879 One is to disbelieve their existence, the other is to believe and feel an excessive, unhealthy interest in them. 00:12:19.120 --> 00:12:26.799 They themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight. 00:12:28.000 --> 00:12:34.159 The way the apostle Paul would say it was finally be strong in the Lord. 00:12:35.279 --> 00:12:37.279 And in his mighty power. 00:12:38.240 --> 00:12:42.159 Like there's a strength that you need that you do not possess that he possesses. 00:12:43.919 --> 00:12:48.480 And when you lean on your own strength, you will not have what you need to stand strong. 00:12:49.039 --> 00:12:52.080 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 00:12:52.240 --> 00:12:56.240 Therefore, take your stand against the devil's schemes. 00:12:57.679 --> 00:13:07.759 Like there is a standing that we do, and as followers of Jesus, we recognize we have a spiritual enemy, but we are not defeated, and we do not fight for victory. 00:13:07.919 --> 00:13:15.759 We fight from victory because we have a risen, conquering king who has defeated Satan and his enemies. 00:13:16.000 --> 00:13:17.679 And so there is no fear. 00:13:17.919 --> 00:13:23.360 He has power and he has control, but he does not have power over you. 00:13:26.879 --> 00:13:35.120 Then he says, for our struggle is not against flesh and blood, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 00:13:35.679 --> 00:13:39.440 Our battle is against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 00:13:39.759 --> 00:13:41.679 You know what the word devil means, by the way? 00:13:41.840 --> 00:13:43.039 We should throw that word around there. 00:13:43.120 --> 00:13:49.679 It's just, it's actually not really a proper name so much as it is a description. 00:13:49.919 --> 00:13:51.840 It means slanderer. 00:13:53.279 --> 00:13:57.440 The enemy wants us to believe all kinds of false and damaging things. 00:13:57.679 --> 00:14:02.879 Namely, that you're not really lovable, God doesn't want you, that you're a failure. 00:14:03.360 --> 00:14:12.879 What are the devil's schemes, his tactics, his uh and you'll notice that when uh the serpent showed up into the garden, he didn't show up with weapons or force. 00:14:12.960 --> 00:14:14.480 What did he show up with? 00:14:15.360 --> 00:14:16.559 A whisper. 00:14:17.279 --> 00:14:17.919 A word. 00:14:20.159 --> 00:14:24.240 First thing that he wants to do is he wants to cast doubt on God's word. 00:14:26.240 --> 00:14:27.759 Did God really say? 00:14:29.600 --> 00:14:31.759 Is he really trustworthy? 00:14:32.559 --> 00:14:36.000 And the answer is he lied, bold faced lied. 00:14:36.240 --> 00:14:36.559 No. 00:14:37.279 --> 00:14:44.000 God really did not say you can't eat from any of the trees, but it begins to sow a seed of doubt. 00:14:44.159 --> 00:14:45.200 Is it really reliable? 00:14:45.360 --> 00:14:46.559 Is he really trustworthy? 00:14:46.720 --> 00:14:47.919 Is this really good? 00:14:49.279 --> 00:14:53.919 One of his primary tactics is to twist truth. 00:14:55.279 --> 00:14:59.759 Cast doubt on God's word and then question God's goodness. 00:15:01.519 --> 00:15:02.799 Did God really say? 00:15:02.879 --> 00:15:08.159 And then, for God knows that when you eat of this, when you take this, do you see this right here? 00:15:08.320 --> 00:15:14.720 When you eat of this, oh my goodness, you'll be like God. 00:15:18.639 --> 00:15:19.279 Why? 00:15:20.720 --> 00:15:25.360 Why did he say not to eat of that tree? 00:15:28.639 --> 00:15:31.039 Why would God withhold from you? 00:15:32.320 --> 00:15:43.360 See, that's our fundamental belief about God is that somehow we he's holding out on us that like there's something good, it's over here, but God's like trying to keep us from that. 00:15:47.440 --> 00:15:53.120 Every sin originates from the belief that God is not good. 00:15:55.919 --> 00:16:01.759 Question God's goodness, and when you begin to question God's goodness, you begin to refine what is good. 00:16:02.159 --> 00:16:03.600 You'll be like God. 00:16:04.399 --> 00:16:09.279 The tragedy is Adam and Eve were made in the image of God. 00:16:09.600 --> 00:16:11.360 He already made them like God. 00:16:11.440 --> 00:16:18.240 They're running after and searching for something they already had, trying to get it in their own way. 00:16:19.200 --> 00:16:21.919 We would redefine good this way. 00:16:23.600 --> 00:16:25.679 God, just follow your heart. 00:16:27.440 --> 00:16:29.039 Live your truth. 00:16:31.679 --> 00:16:33.919 If it feels good, do it. 00:16:34.639 --> 00:16:37.679 It can't be bad or wrong if it feels good. 00:16:37.840 --> 00:16:38.159 Why? 00:16:38.240 --> 00:16:41.600 Because following your heart has never led you astray. 00:16:45.039 --> 00:16:46.960 See the enemy tactics. 00:16:51.519 --> 00:16:59.759 Wants you to doubt God's word, doubt his goodness, and redefine what's good on your own terms. 00:17:00.720 --> 00:17:09.279 And the truth is, is if we're gonna understand how we got here, first we have to recognize and understand we have a very real spiritual enemy that hates you. 00:17:09.680 --> 00:17:14.000 That his enticement and his words aren't for your good, they're for your harm. 00:17:14.319 --> 00:17:17.680 And he's a liar, and he's been a liar since the beginning. 00:17:18.640 --> 00:17:24.480 The second thing, and the problem with this, is then we believe the lie that we could be better without God. 00:17:27.279 --> 00:17:30.480 That we can be happier without God. 00:17:31.440 --> 00:17:36.400 That we can have what is good without God. 00:17:38.640 --> 00:17:44.960 See, we didn't, humanity didn't fall because we wanted to be bad. 00:17:46.720 --> 00:17:53.119 Humanity fell because we wanted something better without God. 00:17:54.480 --> 00:17:58.480 In fact, I like how John Piper talks about temptation. 00:17:58.799 --> 00:18:00.319 He says it this way. 00:18:01.920 --> 00:18:08.640 He says, The power of all temptation is the prospect that it will make me happier. 00:18:09.200 --> 00:18:10.640 Isn't that true? 00:18:11.200 --> 00:18:12.799 It's like, you know what? 00:18:13.039 --> 00:18:15.759 I have access to everything, but I don't have that. 00:18:15.839 --> 00:18:18.720 What is it about that one thing that you're like, oh, I just want that one thing. 00:18:18.799 --> 00:18:22.319 If you say I can't have it, oh, it's off limits, I really, really want that. 00:18:23.680 --> 00:18:26.799 But you can have all these other things, but not that thing. 00:18:27.519 --> 00:18:29.680 And that thing will make me happier. 00:18:30.960 --> 00:18:36.880 The power of all temptations is the prospect that'll make me happier. 00:18:37.200 --> 00:18:42.000 He goes on to say, no one sins out of a sense of duty. 00:18:42.240 --> 00:18:44.400 It is my duty to do this. 00:18:45.680 --> 00:18:56.400 And at the core, since the very beginning, there are three temptations that the enemy has been using to entice us away from the goodness of God. 00:18:57.839 --> 00:19:00.480 It happened all the way back in the garden. 00:19:01.519 --> 00:19:08.240 Jesus, when he was one in the wilderness for 40 days, the enemy showed up with these three primary temptations. 00:19:08.319 --> 00:19:12.880 Then John, the disciple of Jesus, would later expound on these and identify these. 00:19:12.960 --> 00:19:16.079 He would say, uh, in John 1, there you go, thank you very much. 00:19:16.240 --> 00:19:27.759 For everything in the world, now when he's talking about the world, he's talking about a system, a way, a culture, an ethos, not just like, oh, this world, this planet, physical. 00:19:28.000 --> 00:19:39.119 Everything in the world, the world system that there is the God of this age, the demonic forces, and there's a world system that is anathetical and against God Himself. 00:19:39.599 --> 00:19:47.200 Everything in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life comes not from the Father, but from the world. 00:19:47.359 --> 00:19:49.200 These three core temptations. 00:19:49.359 --> 00:19:51.200 First is the area of pleasure. 00:19:52.400 --> 00:19:53.039 It was good. 00:19:53.279 --> 00:19:55.759 Notice it said it was good for food. 00:19:56.640 --> 00:19:58.480 The lust of the flesh. 00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:04.000 Pleasure, the desire to feel good and satisfies cravings on our terms. 00:20:04.160 --> 00:20:09.920 Not just physical pleasure, but the escape from pain, loneliness, boredom, or limits. 00:20:10.480 --> 00:20:12.720 It's the story of every addiction. 00:20:14.480 --> 00:20:17.680 This will make me feel better. 00:20:20.160 --> 00:20:22.559 Pleasure and possessions. 00:20:24.160 --> 00:20:25.920 Pleasing to the eye. 00:20:28.720 --> 00:20:31.440 To chase what looks good or impressive. 00:20:31.759 --> 00:20:36.799 The sense that if I just had that, I'd be enough. 00:20:37.279 --> 00:20:40.160 If I could just drive that. 00:20:41.759 --> 00:20:44.559 If I could just wear that. 00:20:45.680 --> 00:20:46.799 Maybe you're a shoe person. 00:20:47.039 --> 00:20:48.400 Maybe you're a watch person. 00:20:48.720 --> 00:20:52.000 If I could just own the house. 00:20:53.440 --> 00:20:58.240 If I could just have this type of relationship. 00:21:03.680 --> 00:21:10.640 It's going around God's ways to get it for ourselves that brings destruction and harm. 00:21:13.440 --> 00:21:16.000 I'm only as valuable as I have. 00:21:16.240 --> 00:21:32.559 Pleasure, possessions, and then power or prestige, the desire for gaining wisdom, the pride of life, the desire to be in control, to define what's right and wrong for ourselves, the deep need to be in control, to look like we have it all together. 00:21:33.039 --> 00:21:39.119 If I can just be important enough, successful enough, admired enough, then I'll be secure. 00:21:39.279 --> 00:21:42.079 Isn't that the God of this age, Silicon Valley? 00:21:44.079 --> 00:21:48.559 What we're striving after, what we're running after, why you work the long hours. 00:21:52.880 --> 00:21:57.599 These are the same three from the very beginning. 00:21:57.759 --> 00:21:59.759 The enemy, by the way, he's not. 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:01.839 Creative, but he is good. 00:22:03.519 --> 00:22:05.200 I was gonna, you know, oh boy. 00:22:05.279 --> 00:22:06.000 Oh yeah, there we go. 00:22:06.079 --> 00:22:07.599 Oh no, let's not even try. 00:22:07.759 --> 00:22:08.640 I was gonna try it. 00:22:08.720 --> 00:22:09.279 I don't know. 00:22:09.440 --> 00:22:10.079 I don't know. 00:22:11.039 --> 00:22:12.079 Oh, you think so? 00:22:12.400 --> 00:22:13.519 All right, let's try it. 00:22:14.640 --> 00:22:15.920 Woo! All right. 00:22:16.240 --> 00:22:17.440 Don't clap for that. 00:22:17.519 --> 00:22:18.960 That was terrible. 00:22:20.000 --> 00:22:22.079 The desire for prestige. 00:22:25.599 --> 00:22:27.279 How did we get here, friends? 00:22:27.440 --> 00:22:33.119 We first must realize that we have a spiritual enemy, and we miss that. 00:22:33.279 --> 00:22:35.680 We live as if it's not true. 00:22:36.720 --> 00:22:38.880 And so we live vulnerable. 00:22:39.440 --> 00:22:43.839 And then we believe the lie that we could be better without God. 00:22:44.000 --> 00:22:46.079 That God's somehow holding out on us. 00:22:46.240 --> 00:22:48.240 His goodness is not good enough for us. 00:22:48.400 --> 00:22:51.759 And I want something else that promises it now. 00:22:55.119 --> 00:23:01.200 And then finally, we underestimate the consequence of sin. 00:23:04.000 --> 00:23:06.400 We underestimate the consequence of sin. 00:23:08.000 --> 00:23:09.519 We don't use that word anymore. 00:23:09.599 --> 00:23:10.400 We don't talk about it. 00:23:10.480 --> 00:23:12.480 It's got lost from our vernacular, sin. 00:23:12.559 --> 00:23:13.759 No, that's yeah, yeah. 00:23:14.960 --> 00:23:15.279 Sin. 00:23:18.480 --> 00:23:27.119 Sin simply is the refusal to trust God and the decision to live life on our own terms. 00:23:27.440 --> 00:23:28.160 That's it. 00:23:29.839 --> 00:23:35.839 The serpent said to the woman, you will not certainly die, take, and eat. 00:23:36.480 --> 00:23:38.000 And that was a lie. 00:23:38.559 --> 00:23:41.359 See, we underestimate the consequence of sin. 00:23:41.519 --> 00:23:44.480 Sin doesn't make us bad, it makes us dead. 00:23:46.240 --> 00:23:50.880 We're so confused, like concerned about moralism in the church. 00:23:52.160 --> 00:23:56.000 We should be far more concerned about dead people. 00:23:58.400 --> 00:24:08.720 Like the reality is, is what scripture says is that the wages of sin is death. 00:24:12.480 --> 00:24:13.920 What is a wage? 00:24:16.960 --> 00:24:25.279 I mean, I go to work, I clock in, I punch in, however, you do it at your work, I come back, and then all of a sudden I get a wage. 00:24:26.559 --> 00:24:32.000 They pay me according to what I've earned. 00:24:33.839 --> 00:24:41.519 And what scripture says is there is a wage, there's a payment according to what we've earned, and it's actually death. 00:24:43.200 --> 00:24:47.200 Death biblically, and just in reality, just means separation. 00:24:51.039 --> 00:25:00.480 When Adam and Eve first took that bite on their own accord to get good without God, first and foremost, it brought death spiritually. 00:25:04.160 --> 00:25:05.680 Separation from God. 00:25:05.839 --> 00:25:14.400 We were intended and designed to flourish in the presence of God, to walk with Him, to know Him, to be in personal relationship with Him. 00:25:14.559 --> 00:25:22.319 And that is what so many of us are walking around wondering what we can't fix and the ache and the hole in our lives. 00:25:23.759 --> 00:25:27.519 You wonder why you feel like you're just existing but not really living. 00:25:27.759 --> 00:25:29.759 Why you feel like sometimes, you know what? 00:25:29.920 --> 00:25:33.039 I just feel like I'm sleepwalking through life. 00:25:33.200 --> 00:25:37.119 And what you need is you need an awakening to new life that only God can bring. 00:25:37.279 --> 00:25:37.680 Why? 00:25:37.839 --> 00:25:42.319 Because you're spiritually dead, you're physically alive, but you're spiritually dead. 00:25:43.440 --> 00:25:46.960 But sin brings death relationally, doesn't it? 00:25:47.440 --> 00:25:49.039 It brings separation. 00:25:49.519 --> 00:25:52.640 If I lie to you, it brings separation. 00:25:52.799 --> 00:25:58.799 If I gossip about you, it brings separation, it brings destruction to our relationships. 00:26:00.160 --> 00:26:02.400 It brings death emotionally. 00:26:05.119 --> 00:26:08.880 Separating you from your true self. 00:26:10.720 --> 00:26:15.680 And we talked about this before, like the core of spiritual formation. 00:26:16.079 --> 00:26:22.319 Spiritual formation is just the way we talk about how do we grow and become more like Jesus. 00:26:22.960 --> 00:26:27.680 The core of spiritual formation is not behavior modification. 00:26:27.920 --> 00:26:29.519 How do I stop sinning? 00:26:29.759 --> 00:26:31.680 Stop asking that question. 00:26:32.880 --> 00:26:42.400 The core of spiritual formation is aligning and coming to understand what's already true of you in Christ Jesus, your identity. 00:26:42.960 --> 00:26:52.319 When you understand your identity, that I'm a son, I'm a daughter of the King Most High, every spiritual blessing is mine in Christ Jesus. 00:26:52.480 --> 00:27:05.759 I am fully forgiven, I am adopted, and so I have a new last name, and as a result, I have access to everything that my father has, and he has given me the very Spirit of God to live and dwell inside of me. 00:27:05.839 --> 00:27:12.559 And so I walk today, empowered, son of the King Most High, and my identity as beloved. 00:27:12.880 --> 00:27:14.480 Now I step into this day. 00:27:14.720 --> 00:27:18.000 That is when you begin to see the transformation. 00:27:21.839 --> 00:27:23.200 But we settle. 00:27:34.240 --> 00:27:36.400 Separation of our body, doesn't it? 00:27:38.559 --> 00:27:42.880 Death, the great equalizer, whether you're rich or poor, we all will experience it. 00:27:45.359 --> 00:27:48.079 And the great violator, too, isn't it? 00:27:48.480 --> 00:27:50.319 It's so unnatural. 00:27:51.599 --> 00:27:53.599 Because you were made for eternity. 00:27:54.799 --> 00:27:56.720 I was made for eternity. 00:27:57.920 --> 00:28:01.119 See, sin isn't just something we've done. 00:28:01.279 --> 00:28:02.799 Here's the other part about sin. 00:28:03.039 --> 00:28:05.440 Sin is actually something we carry. 00:28:06.480 --> 00:28:07.759 It's in us. 00:28:08.799 --> 00:28:09.759 It infects us. 00:28:09.839 --> 00:28:14.319 It's like cancer that is at work within us that is just constant. 00:28:14.400 --> 00:28:21.359 It may be in the background, it may be just working on the inside, it may be dormant for a little bit, and then it suddenly explodes. 00:28:21.440 --> 00:28:26.319 But it is something that we carry, and eventually it brings about death. 00:28:28.640 --> 00:28:30.079 In every facet. 00:28:32.720 --> 00:28:33.759 Well, welcome to church. 00:28:33.839 --> 00:28:34.880 I'm so glad you joined us. 00:28:34.960 --> 00:28:35.759 Have a great Sunday. 00:28:35.920 --> 00:28:37.200 We'll see you next week. 00:28:37.599 --> 00:28:38.960 Be encouraged. 00:28:42.160 --> 00:28:44.160 The diagnosis, our problem. 00:28:47.359 --> 00:28:53.119 Is if we miss the diagnose of the problem, we'll never get the cure. 00:29:01.680 --> 00:29:02.880 Only Jesus can. 00:29:13.039 --> 00:29:14.160 We hate this. 00:29:14.400 --> 00:29:17.119 We're too smart to be told we can't. 00:29:17.440 --> 00:29:20.480 We're too sophisticated to be told we can't. 00:29:20.960 --> 00:29:21.839 Gosh darn it. 00:29:22.000 --> 00:29:25.359 Yes, I said, gosh darn it, I'm really getting feet heated up here. 00:29:25.519 --> 00:29:26.720 We have AI. 00:29:27.599 --> 00:29:30.079 Can't we fix, can't we solve everything? 00:29:30.240 --> 00:29:31.440 And the answer is no. 00:29:31.599 --> 00:29:35.359 The fundamental human condition is you can't. 00:29:35.759 --> 00:29:41.279 And until you understand that, embrace that, you will stay stuck. 00:29:41.759 --> 00:29:55.279 And you'll constantly look for solutions that will look shiny, that will offer a promise, but it will not satisfy, and it will leave you in worse condition than when you first begun. 00:29:58.720 --> 00:30:02.880 See the problem, we don't like that word sinner, and I'm a sinner. 00:30:03.039 --> 00:30:06.160 And the truth is, isn't we want to be a mistaker? 00:30:06.319 --> 00:30:16.319 No, I'm a mistaker, and I can fix a mistake, but you cannot fix the condition that we live in, that we breathe in, that we walk in. 00:30:16.559 --> 00:30:18.480 That's why the apostle Paul said it this way. 00:30:18.640 --> 00:30:22.960 You see, at just the right time when we were still what? 00:30:24.319 --> 00:30:24.880 Try it again. 00:30:24.960 --> 00:30:25.680 That was a little weak. 00:30:25.759 --> 00:30:27.839 I don't mean to shame you, but that was a little weak. 00:30:28.079 --> 00:30:29.440 While we're still what? 00:30:30.559 --> 00:30:31.680 Powerless. 00:30:33.599 --> 00:30:38.720 Unable to change the condition you're in. 00:30:39.279 --> 00:30:42.640 While we're still powerless, Christ died for who? 00:30:44.799 --> 00:30:46.799 I know it's not fun to say. 00:30:48.160 --> 00:30:50.960 I am powerless to change. 00:30:51.119 --> 00:30:53.119 By the way, that's where all AA begins. 00:30:53.279 --> 00:30:54.559 That's where all healing begins. 00:30:54.720 --> 00:30:55.839 That's where you begin. 00:30:56.079 --> 00:30:57.920 I am powerless to change. 00:30:58.000 --> 00:31:01.119 I need a power greater than myself. 00:31:02.559 --> 00:31:10.160 And by the way, I recognize I'm ungodly, which just means I think I can do better without God. 00:31:10.240 --> 00:31:11.599 That's all it means. 00:31:11.920 --> 00:31:16.799 Which I've taken thousands of millions of times in my life. 00:31:18.319 --> 00:31:23.680 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person, someone might possibly dare to die. 00:31:23.839 --> 00:31:26.559 Yeah, I'll die for my kids, but I ain't dying for you. 00:31:28.720 --> 00:31:31.599 But God demonstrates his own love for this. 00:31:31.759 --> 00:31:41.200 In this, while we're still sinners, while we're still enemies, while we're still in a condition that we can do nothing, we have nothing to offer. 00:31:41.519 --> 00:31:43.680 He died for you. 00:31:44.319 --> 00:31:46.480 He died for me. 00:31:49.680 --> 00:31:53.200 He took on our greatest problem. 00:31:55.359 --> 00:31:55.680 Sin. 00:31:56.880 --> 00:31:58.880 Nailed to the cross. 00:31:59.279 --> 00:32:03.759 The cross that I should have died on, we should have died on. 00:32:04.960 --> 00:32:10.240 And he defeated our greatest foe, death, and Satan himself in the grave. 00:32:10.319 --> 00:32:11.839 And the grave could not hold him. 00:32:11.920 --> 00:32:14.400 No, we celebrated that last week, didn't we? 00:32:14.960 --> 00:32:19.599 He's alive, and as a result, I'm forgiven, and heaven's gates are open wide. 00:32:21.359 --> 00:32:33.839 When I was in college, I um I woke up and I had this just excruciating pain in my stomach. 00:32:34.000 --> 00:32:35.839 I didn't know exactly what it was. 00:32:36.000 --> 00:32:40.079 I thought maybe it was food poisoning, maybe it was the stomach flu. 00:32:40.960 --> 00:32:46.640 I it's hands down, probably the most painful time of my life I've gone through. 00:32:46.720 --> 00:32:48.880 I've never been pregnant, so I don't know that pain. 00:32:48.960 --> 00:32:50.559 That's a whole nother pain. 00:32:53.920 --> 00:32:57.839 All night long I'm just like trying to figure out how to solve this. 00:32:57.920 --> 00:33:00.160 I don't know what's going on, but it hurts so bad. 00:33:00.319 --> 00:33:01.039 It's so bad. 00:33:01.119 --> 00:33:02.960 I'm trying to find some comfort. 00:33:03.119 --> 00:33:12.960 I've taken whatever I can take, and uh, I'm like literally laying on the ground of the dorm showers, the nasty floor of the dorm showers with the hot water. 00:33:13.039 --> 00:33:19.920 That's all I can do is just curled up trying to get something that would just like take the pain away. 00:33:20.799 --> 00:33:24.400 And I I don't really know how I ended up at the hospital. 00:33:24.559 --> 00:33:36.799 I remember someone saying, gosh, you probably need to go to the doctor, and you know, you're like 1920, you don't know what to do, you're on your own, and it's middle of the night, and finally it's early in the morning and it's downtown Chicago. 00:33:36.880 --> 00:33:42.319 Maybe somebody drove me, we didn't have cars, maybe it was a cab, I don't know, but I ended up at Northwestern Hospital. 00:33:42.559 --> 00:33:43.839 Wonderful hospital. 00:33:44.000 --> 00:33:48.400 And here's the amazing part I couldn't fix me, and I didn't know what was wrong with me. 00:33:48.480 --> 00:33:53.119 But the minute I stepped into that hospital, gosh darn it, yeah, there it goes again. 00:33:53.279 --> 00:33:57.119 Gosh darn it, they knew exactly what was wrong with me. 00:33:57.279 --> 00:33:59.599 They saw me and instantly knew, oh, we know what's wrong. 00:33:59.680 --> 00:34:02.240 They ran two tests and they rushed me to the OR. 00:34:03.279 --> 00:34:05.839 Because I had a acute pendixitis. 00:34:08.880 --> 00:34:11.519 I'm telling you, this moment is etched in my brain. 00:34:11.599 --> 00:34:22.800 I don't remember a whole lot, but I remember laying on that gurney waiting to be, you know, uh operated on in that nervousness as a young college kid, and like I'm all on my own and no family, nobody around. 00:34:23.039 --> 00:34:25.599 And in walks this doctor. 00:34:25.840 --> 00:34:31.440 It was as if he came out of like um the old school days. 00:34:31.679 --> 00:34:40.639 He had the leather doctor's bag, he had the long overcoat, the hat, and he walks in and he puts his arm on my hand. 00:34:40.960 --> 00:34:42.960 He says, It's gonna be okay. 00:34:44.239 --> 00:34:45.519 I got you. 00:34:46.000 --> 00:34:48.079 I've done thousands of these. 00:34:50.159 --> 00:34:52.000 We're gonna help you get well. 00:34:52.719 --> 00:34:56.960 And he explained what I had appendicitis, and then I'm gonna take it out. 00:34:57.519 --> 00:35:07.199 I was in a moment that I couldn't fix me, but there came a doctor who had to take out of me the very thing that was killing me. 00:35:13.440 --> 00:35:20.480 We're gonna celebrate baptisms in just a second, and as people who recognize the reality, I can't. 00:35:21.920 --> 00:35:23.199 I need help. 00:35:24.239 --> 00:35:35.599 I'm tired of the ache, I'm tired of the pain, I can't fix my marriage, I can't fix my addiction, I can't fix that internal world that is just chaos, I can't fix the loneliness. 00:35:35.840 --> 00:35:37.280 Jesus, would you help? 00:35:37.440 --> 00:35:40.159 Would you come and do surgery in my life? 00:35:40.239 --> 00:35:44.800 And would you take out the brokenness and would you fill me up with your spirit? 00:35:45.039 --> 00:35:50.800 That is his invitation, that is what he longs to do in each and every one of us. 00:35:53.199 --> 00:36:03.599 And so if you're here and you've never said yes to Jesus, I want to invite you to experience his healing, his life. 00:36:04.239 --> 00:36:07.360 Would you just pray after me this prayer? 00:36:08.400 --> 00:36:10.559 Jesus, I can't. 00:36:13.519 --> 00:36:14.800 I can't. 00:36:16.000 --> 00:36:18.000 I can't fix myself. 00:36:19.679 --> 00:36:21.519 And I'm tired of trying. 00:36:23.760 --> 00:36:28.960 And honestly, I have tried to get better and happier and good without you. 00:36:33.360 --> 00:36:35.039 And I realize I need you. 00:36:36.159 --> 00:36:38.480 I believe that you came for me. 00:36:39.440 --> 00:36:40.960 You died for me. 00:36:43.039 --> 00:36:56.559 You took my sin, my shame, my pain on the cross, and you rose to life that I might have life with you. 00:36:56.960 --> 00:37:02.719 Would you come into my life and make me new? 00:37:05.119 --> 00:37:15.679 And as we just keep our heads bowed, would you if you prayed that prayer, you stepped into a new relationship with Jesus, would you just raise your hand just so I can know and just pray with you? 00:37:16.000 --> 00:37:17.039 Just raise it up high. 00:37:17.119 --> 00:37:17.679 Amen. 00:37:18.800 --> 00:37:19.440 Amen. 00:37:25.760 --> 00:37:33.360 And Jesus, Father, we can be saved, and yet we still go back to trying to fix our life. 00:37:33.519 --> 00:37:37.920 Today in this moment, would you freshly affirm I can't? 00:37:38.639 --> 00:37:40.480 Jesus, would you step in? 00:37:40.719 --> 00:37:42.639 Jesus, would you bring healing? 00:37:42.800 --> 00:37:45.440 Jesus, would you meet me in my heart? 00:37:45.599 --> 00:37:49.360 Jesus, would you bring uh life to my marriage? 00:37:49.519 --> 00:37:52.320 Would you bring life to that relationship? 00:37:58.000 --> 00:37:59.599 In Jesus' name. 00:38:04.880 --> 00:38:07.199 We hope you are blessed by this message. 00:38:07.360 --> 00:38:11.760 Please subscribe to our podcast for access to every episode as they're uploaded. 00:38:12.000 --> 00:38:14.079 And hey, we'd love to connect with you. 00:38:14.239 --> 00:38:20.159 Take a next step by filling out our virtual connection card at awakeningchurch.com slash card.