WEBVTT 00:00:00.239 --> 00:00:07.679 So the other day I came home from work and my wife Christy and my mom were in the kitchen and they were sitting there and kind of milling about. 00:00:07.759 --> 00:00:08.960 I think Christy was doing a few things. 00:00:09.039 --> 00:00:15.359 My mom was sitting there and they were talking and I put my stuff up, put my wallet up, my phone up, keys up, backpack up. 00:00:15.519 --> 00:00:19.280 I sort of start to get settled in there to chat with them and talk with them. 00:00:19.519 --> 00:00:25.839 And my mom needs something off of a top shelf, like a high shelf. 00:00:25.920 --> 00:00:29.280 And Christy couldn't reach it, and my mom couldn't reach it. 00:00:29.359 --> 00:00:35.840 And so they asked me, hey, Russ, with your great height, can you go reach this? 00:00:36.000 --> 00:00:37.280 And so I walk over. 00:00:37.359 --> 00:00:48.799 Now at this point, I need to pause in the story to tell you that for years Christy has given me a hard time about how my mom will praise me over the smallest of things. 00:00:49.039 --> 00:00:56.159 So I walk over, I walk over to this very high shelf, extremely high. 00:00:56.399 --> 00:00:58.880 Most people could not do this feat. 00:00:59.200 --> 00:01:05.359 And I reach up with my great height and I pull a cup off of the shelf and I hand it to my mom. 00:01:05.439 --> 00:01:18.239 And my mom looks at me with such love, beaming with pride, and she says to me, You are so good at getting things off of high shelves. 00:01:22.879 --> 00:01:33.599 And Christy and I started to laugh, of course, because we've been talking about this, and then we have to explain to my mom why we're laughing, and so she thinks that's kind of funny. 00:01:33.840 --> 00:01:40.480 And so why would my why would my loving mother do this? 00:01:40.640 --> 00:01:41.439 I'm 38. 00:01:41.519 --> 00:01:42.640 I'm 38 years old. 00:01:42.719 --> 00:01:43.599 I'm not five anymore. 00:01:43.680 --> 00:01:44.319 I'm 38. 00:01:44.400 --> 00:01:45.359 Why would she still do this? 00:01:45.439 --> 00:01:47.920 Well, good motherly love, of course, right? 00:01:48.079 --> 00:01:53.680 But also underneath that, we praise like this for a particular reason. 00:01:53.760 --> 00:01:54.879 And I do it at night. 00:01:55.120 --> 00:01:56.159 I do it every single night. 00:01:56.400 --> 00:02:08.240 I do it during the day, but I do it at night, especially when I tug my girls into bed and I snuggle up close to them and I say, You are so wonderful and you are so lovely, and you just dote on them. 00:02:08.479 --> 00:02:11.120 I mean, we did it yesterday at a soccer game. 00:02:11.199 --> 00:02:14.159 I mean, there are five and six-year-old little girls out there. 00:02:14.319 --> 00:02:18.080 They don't have a clue mostly what's going on. 00:02:18.319 --> 00:02:25.120 The ice cream man pulls up and it's like we can't get them focused again. 00:02:25.599 --> 00:02:40.159 One girl, I'm pretty sure she tripped before she she blocked a shot on the goal, and we all praised her like it was the best soccer play that have ever been played before. 00:02:40.319 --> 00:02:41.360 We're all standing. 00:02:41.599 --> 00:02:46.000 We do this all game for all the girls, not just for one or two, for all of them, right? 00:02:46.240 --> 00:02:48.479 Just constantly praising them. 00:02:48.639 --> 00:02:50.319 Why are we doing this? 00:02:51.039 --> 00:02:54.560 Well, we do this not because they're perfect, right? 00:02:55.439 --> 00:03:04.639 We do this because we want them, just like my mom wants me, we want them to live out of their belovedness. 00:03:05.520 --> 00:03:06.560 That's what we're doing. 00:03:06.800 --> 00:03:20.800 Like, like we're just going, man, I hope this person knows they're loved and they can live out of that, because there's gonna be a whole bunch of other stuff in their life, trying, trying, trying, trying to get them to live out of it. 00:03:20.960 --> 00:03:24.479 Because we are, we know we're sinners, we know we're imperfect, we know that. 00:03:25.360 --> 00:03:26.080 That's not hidden. 00:03:26.240 --> 00:03:28.240 If you're not aware of that, ask a few people around you. 00:03:28.319 --> 00:03:30.159 It'll become clear very quickly. 00:03:30.400 --> 00:03:31.199 We know that. 00:03:31.360 --> 00:03:32.479 It's all there. 00:03:32.960 --> 00:03:37.840 And what we've been learning in Genesis chapters 1 through 3 is what we're going through, chapters 1 through 3. 00:03:37.919 --> 00:03:46.080 And what we learned, especially in that first chapter, that great poetry, that we were created out of a dance of love. 00:03:47.120 --> 00:03:53.039 Every other creation story, every other creation story is a story of chaos, creation coming out of chaos. 00:03:53.120 --> 00:03:56.000 And here comes the Christian story. 00:03:56.479 --> 00:04:01.680 And it's a story about us being created out of love. 00:04:04.400 --> 00:04:08.159 So, identity is always God's first declaration, right? 00:04:08.240 --> 00:04:10.560 That's the first declaration over us in the Bible. 00:04:10.800 --> 00:04:11.599 Chapter 1. 00:04:11.840 --> 00:04:13.520 You are created out of love. 00:04:13.919 --> 00:04:15.120 You are beloved. 00:04:15.439 --> 00:04:19.279 That's the first declaration put upon you. 00:04:19.439 --> 00:04:24.480 And then immediately, immediately, all these other declarations start in on you, right? 00:04:24.720 --> 00:04:31.439 To get you to question who you belong to or who you are or what it will be that will make you up to be who you are. 00:04:31.680 --> 00:04:33.759 Like, who are you before performance? 00:04:34.639 --> 00:04:35.759 Failure or success? 00:04:35.920 --> 00:04:37.519 Well, you're Genesis 1. 00:04:38.079 --> 00:04:40.720 You are the beloved, created out of a dance of love. 00:04:40.800 --> 00:04:43.759 That's who you are before Genesis 3 happens. 00:04:43.920 --> 00:04:46.160 What Sam read, what we're going to look at. 00:04:48.000 --> 00:04:49.920 We begin just to hear messages, right? 00:04:50.000 --> 00:04:58.160 Like with the declaration of God's been given to us, but then there's all these other declarations coming at us, tempting us to believe other things, right? 00:04:58.319 --> 00:05:05.120 And we can perhaps begin to believe that we belong to God based on our performance, or he's displeased with us in some particular way. 00:05:05.360 --> 00:05:07.920 This week I come home from work one day, I get the mail. 00:05:08.079 --> 00:05:10.720 There's five catalogs in the mail. 00:05:11.279 --> 00:05:18.399 Four of them were furniture, bedding, clothing, clothing, and the fifth one was like humanitarian aid. 00:05:18.560 --> 00:05:18.879 Okay? 00:05:19.199 --> 00:05:22.399 It's a pretty good percentage of what we get in the mail. 00:05:22.720 --> 00:05:24.560 And so I sit down with these catalogs. 00:05:24.639 --> 00:05:25.600 I like catalogs. 00:05:25.759 --> 00:05:28.480 And so I sit down with the catalogs and I look through them. 00:05:28.720 --> 00:05:34.079 And you know at the end of it, I didn't think to myself, Chrissy, let's give a bunch of money to Puerto Rico. 00:05:34.399 --> 00:05:36.160 You know what I thought at the end of it? 00:05:36.399 --> 00:05:38.639 We might should buy some new bedding. 00:05:39.759 --> 00:05:42.720 New bedding is what I need in my life. 00:05:43.040 --> 00:05:52.720 I saw some fantastic pictures of some bedding that could change the way I feel about myself in my home and in my life. 00:05:53.279 --> 00:05:53.680 Right? 00:05:53.759 --> 00:05:54.560 That's my reaction. 00:05:54.720 --> 00:05:55.600 That's the temptation. 00:05:55.759 --> 00:05:57.040 That's always the temptation. 00:05:57.199 --> 00:06:11.199 Like, oh, if I only had that, if I only thought that, if I only went there, if I only saw that, if I only did that with that person or did that or had that or controlled that, then I would be whatever. 00:06:11.279 --> 00:06:12.959 So where does all this come from? 00:06:13.120 --> 00:06:14.800 Why aren't we doing any better? 00:06:15.040 --> 00:06:16.480 Why aren't you doing any better? 00:06:16.639 --> 00:06:18.720 I've been a Christian for 20 years. 00:06:18.959 --> 00:06:22.399 Twenty years! Why am I not doing any better? 00:06:22.639 --> 00:06:24.480 Maybe I am doing better in some ways. 00:06:24.560 --> 00:06:26.399 I'm not really that aware of it. 00:06:26.560 --> 00:06:30.000 Paul didn't think he was doing a lot better toward the end of his life. 00:06:30.240 --> 00:06:38.720 After all of our advances in education and progress in the world, technology, why is the world not doing any better? 00:06:40.240 --> 00:06:46.000 I mean, the church has been around 2,000 years, transforming cities. 00:06:46.319 --> 00:06:47.920 Here to transform the city. 00:06:48.079 --> 00:06:50.240 Why aren't cities being transformed? 00:06:50.560 --> 00:06:52.879 Why is there still problems in cities? 00:06:53.120 --> 00:06:59.439 Every city that has a church, and the church is there to transform the city, the city still has problems. 00:06:59.920 --> 00:07:01.759 The city will still always have problems. 00:07:01.920 --> 00:07:02.240 Why? 00:07:02.399 --> 00:07:03.920 Why is that going on? 00:07:04.240 --> 00:07:08.240 I mean, I'm I'm created in God's image as God's beloved. 00:07:08.560 --> 00:07:11.199 I know I'm redeemed by the work of Jesus. 00:07:11.360 --> 00:07:17.360 I'm attempting on some level, on some level, to abide in Christ on a daily basis. 00:07:17.519 --> 00:07:24.720 And yesterday, on our way to that very important soccer game where we're going to praise five-year-olds, we're at a red light. 00:07:25.120 --> 00:07:28.079 We're about 15, 10 cars back. 00:07:28.240 --> 00:07:29.519 We're at this red light. 00:07:29.759 --> 00:07:33.600 Busy red light, lots of turn lanes, stuff going on. 00:07:35.199 --> 00:07:36.720 We miss our turn. 00:07:37.040 --> 00:07:39.040 It didn't give us a green light. 00:07:40.240 --> 00:07:41.839 Does that ever happen to you? 00:07:42.000 --> 00:07:44.560 Like, not like the guy at the front forgot to go. 00:07:44.720 --> 00:07:46.639 Like it never turned green. 00:07:46.800 --> 00:07:52.720 And so at first, I'm mad at like the computer box over on the side, you know, where it controls everything. 00:07:52.800 --> 00:07:56.480 And like, who is processing this and who's in control of that? 00:07:56.560 --> 00:07:58.959 Because this is a busy intersection. 00:07:59.040 --> 00:08:02.240 We're going to be another five minutes, a solid five minutes here. 00:08:02.399 --> 00:08:05.519 And then, you know, I'm looking up, like, what's you know, who's at the front? 00:08:05.600 --> 00:08:07.920 I know there's a sensor underneath that asphalt. 00:08:08.000 --> 00:08:09.439 I'm trying to figure this out. 00:08:09.600 --> 00:08:14.240 And then I realize there's a motorcycle at the front, and he's not in the center of the lane. 00:08:14.399 --> 00:08:16.000 He's over toward the side. 00:08:16.240 --> 00:08:17.920 He's not on the sensor. 00:08:18.319 --> 00:08:20.879 I'm starting to get a little upset. 00:08:21.279 --> 00:08:22.720 He should know this. 00:08:23.600 --> 00:08:28.879 And then the guy behind him, I guess he's so scared he's going to knock over the motorcycle. 00:08:28.959 --> 00:08:30.079 He's way back. 00:08:31.120 --> 00:08:33.519 He's so far back, he's not on the sensor. 00:08:33.679 --> 00:08:35.200 Nobody's on the sensor. 00:08:35.360 --> 00:08:38.240 We're never going to get a green light, is what I've started. 00:08:38.480 --> 00:08:46.720 And I'm getting more and more upset, and very quickly, it doesn't take long, takes maybe about 30 seconds, for me to realize they're both morons. 00:08:47.120 --> 00:08:49.200 I'm much smarter than them. 00:08:49.519 --> 00:08:51.919 I don't like anything about their lives. 00:08:54.080 --> 00:08:56.080 I am much more righteous. 00:08:56.799 --> 00:09:00.480 Even then, in all of my anger and issues, I'm more righteous than them. 00:09:00.720 --> 00:09:01.039 Right? 00:09:01.200 --> 00:09:02.799 Where does all that come from? 00:09:02.960 --> 00:09:06.159 Like where does all that self-absorption come from? 00:09:06.240 --> 00:09:07.679 Like I've never forgotten something. 00:09:07.840 --> 00:09:10.399 Like I've never done something. 00:09:11.360 --> 00:09:12.320 But where does that come from? 00:09:12.879 --> 00:09:13.440 Where's the anger? 00:09:13.519 --> 00:09:14.159 Where's greed? 00:09:14.240 --> 00:09:15.360 Where does lust? 00:09:15.519 --> 00:09:17.039 Where does it come from? 00:09:17.200 --> 00:09:20.960 Well, Genesis 3 is the Christianity story for that. 00:09:21.519 --> 00:09:22.320 Where does this come from? 00:09:22.480 --> 00:09:23.519 How does it work? 00:09:23.919 --> 00:09:28.159 So let's reread this passage that Sam read for us, verses 1 through 5. 00:09:28.480 --> 00:09:33.200 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. 00:09:33.279 --> 00:09:38.960 He said to the woman, Did God actually, did he actually say, You shall not eat of any tree in the garden? 00:09:39.200 --> 00:09:43.279 And the woman said to the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden. 00:09:43.360 --> 00:09:50.639 But God said, You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it lest you die. 00:09:50.879 --> 00:09:53.919 But the serpent said to the woman, You will not surely die. 00:09:54.080 --> 00:10:00.720 For God knows that when you eat of it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. 00:10:00.960 --> 00:10:02.799 Now, it's a strange story. 00:10:03.039 --> 00:10:05.600 Maybe you've heard it so many times you don't think it's strange. 00:10:05.840 --> 00:10:07.200 It's very strange. 00:10:07.440 --> 00:10:07.759 Okay? 00:10:08.000 --> 00:10:11.039 Let's just can we just come on out and be honest? 00:10:11.279 --> 00:10:13.279 There's a serpent talking. 00:10:13.840 --> 00:10:14.159 Okay? 00:10:14.879 --> 00:10:16.159 That's strange. 00:10:16.639 --> 00:10:19.679 Maybe you've just heard it since you're three and you don't think about it. 00:10:19.919 --> 00:10:20.720 It's strange. 00:10:20.960 --> 00:10:25.519 There's been a lot of debate over the years by Christians and non-Christians. 00:10:25.840 --> 00:10:28.320 You know, is this serpent literal? 00:10:28.559 --> 00:10:31.200 Is this serpent uh a metaphor? 00:10:31.519 --> 00:10:33.759 There's lots of interesting thoughts there. 00:10:34.000 --> 00:10:35.759 Lots of interesting thoughts there. 00:10:36.000 --> 00:10:38.879 But it's not that's not really the meaning of the text. 00:10:39.200 --> 00:10:41.120 That's not the meaning of the text. 00:10:41.679 --> 00:10:46.240 The meaning of the text, it takes on questions like how does evil and temptation work? 00:10:46.879 --> 00:10:48.879 You have evil and temptation in your life right now. 00:10:49.600 --> 00:10:53.120 This is a story for where it started and how does it work? 00:10:53.360 --> 00:10:58.480 How is God's shalom, how is God's peace in your life disrupted? 00:10:59.759 --> 00:11:08.559 Why do I believe lies about myself that I already know aren't true? 00:11:10.240 --> 00:11:12.559 So, four points to lead us as we think about these things. 00:11:12.639 --> 00:11:18.080 Point number one, all evil begins with thought, not action. 00:11:18.879 --> 00:11:21.120 All evil begins with thought, not act, not action. 00:11:21.519 --> 00:11:25.200 Verse one, did God actually say, just to get you thinking, right? 00:11:25.279 --> 00:11:26.720 Just to twist the thoughts a little bit. 00:11:26.799 --> 00:11:29.360 This is why what you think matters. 00:11:29.679 --> 00:11:31.200 Truth matters. 00:11:31.440 --> 00:11:33.679 What is true matters. 00:11:34.000 --> 00:11:34.320 Right? 00:11:34.639 --> 00:11:41.679 In verse one, it's sort of like he's saying, like, sure, you think you know the truth, but but are you sure? 00:11:41.919 --> 00:11:42.799 Are you sure what he said? 00:11:42.960 --> 00:11:43.519 Could he say this? 00:11:43.600 --> 00:11:44.320 Could he meant this? 00:11:44.399 --> 00:11:45.039 What about this? 00:11:45.200 --> 00:11:51.759 Just twisting it just a little bit because what you think will eventually affect what you do. 00:11:52.080 --> 00:11:57.200 Evil always begins with what you think, but what you think will eventually affect what you do. 00:11:58.000 --> 00:11:58.960 That's point number one. 00:11:59.039 --> 00:12:01.679 Point number two, evil does not deny God. 00:12:02.720 --> 00:12:05.039 Evil denies the goodness of God. 00:12:05.840 --> 00:12:06.159 Right? 00:12:06.240 --> 00:12:08.720 We see here, there's never a question whether God exists. 00:12:09.039 --> 00:12:11.360 The question is just whether he's good or not. 00:12:12.879 --> 00:12:20.320 To distrust what God has already said about you, declared upon you, and has for your life. 00:12:20.559 --> 00:12:26.480 So if we backtrack to verse 4 and then read all the way through verse 7, but the serpent said to the woman, You'll not surely die. 00:12:26.960 --> 00:12:32.399 For God knows that when you eat of it, your eyes will be open, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. 00:12:32.720 --> 00:12:45.759 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. 00:12:46.159 --> 00:12:53.120 Then the eyes of both were open, and they knew that they were naked, and they sowed fig leaves together and made themselves loinclaws. 00:12:53.440 --> 00:12:55.759 So here we see two things arrive into the garden, right? 00:12:55.919 --> 00:12:56.639 Sin entered. 00:12:56.879 --> 00:13:00.159 A way of a living apart from God's provision. 00:13:00.399 --> 00:13:02.480 It entered the world. 00:13:02.639 --> 00:13:04.320 It entered our lives. 00:13:04.559 --> 00:13:06.399 And shame came with it. 00:13:06.720 --> 00:13:13.919 And shame is to be living in the thought that you are not enough without something else. 00:13:14.159 --> 00:13:16.320 It all began right here. 00:13:16.559 --> 00:13:18.960 And we live with it all the time. 00:13:19.360 --> 00:13:22.080 I just need some new bedding, right? 00:13:22.159 --> 00:13:26.559 Like if I just add some new bedding or something, something else, right? 00:13:26.639 --> 00:13:27.919 That's what the serpent is saying. 00:13:28.159 --> 00:13:28.720 There's more. 00:13:28.960 --> 00:13:30.480 God's withholding from you. 00:13:30.720 --> 00:13:32.080 Provide for yourself. 00:13:32.320 --> 00:13:33.360 Take more control. 00:13:33.679 --> 00:13:34.639 He may be real. 00:13:34.799 --> 00:13:38.159 He may be real, but he isn't really good. 00:13:38.320 --> 00:13:39.440 Like he's withholding. 00:13:39.759 --> 00:13:43.039 Like obedience, obedience, that's kind of like holding you back. 00:13:43.120 --> 00:13:44.080 It's holding you back. 00:13:44.240 --> 00:13:47.440 You need something else, so break away from it. 00:13:48.320 --> 00:13:52.559 And with that lie comes the destruction of sin and it comes the horror of shame. 00:13:53.039 --> 00:14:00.080 And it does not create the promise of freedom that it's saying it's going to give. 00:14:00.320 --> 00:14:04.639 Point number three: evil is always in the conditional. 00:14:05.279 --> 00:14:06.799 Evil is always in the conditional. 00:14:07.120 --> 00:14:08.080 Here's what I mean by this. 00:14:08.480 --> 00:14:11.200 Say you're in a conversation with your brother. 00:14:11.519 --> 00:14:12.960 And it starts out pretty friendly. 00:14:13.039 --> 00:14:15.759 You start talking about immigration, friendly conversation. 00:14:17.200 --> 00:14:19.039 Then you talk about Trump. 00:14:19.360 --> 00:14:23.679 Then you talk about whether an NL player should be allowed to take a knee or not. 00:14:23.919 --> 00:14:26.799 Or should he be forced to stand up for the national anthem? 00:14:27.360 --> 00:14:29.200 And so you're having a good conversation. 00:14:29.279 --> 00:14:35.360 It gets a little heated because your brother is opinionated and he has opinions. 00:14:35.440 --> 00:14:36.960 He's strong, he's dominant. 00:14:37.120 --> 00:14:40.480 His points get a little longer each time he talks. 00:14:40.639 --> 00:14:44.320 And then when you try to share your opinion, he starts to interrupt you. 00:14:45.279 --> 00:14:49.279 And what you see at this point is the structure of the conversation changed. 00:14:49.440 --> 00:14:52.320 At first it was the structure a certain way, it was a give and take. 00:14:52.399 --> 00:14:53.840 It's about 50-50. 00:14:54.000 --> 00:14:57.200 But then over time, his opinions are lasting longer and longer and longer. 00:14:57.279 --> 00:14:59.440 He's interrupting you, he's getting louder and louder and louder. 00:14:59.519 --> 00:15:01.440 The whole structure has changed. 00:15:01.600 --> 00:15:03.120 You tell him to cool off a little bit. 00:15:03.279 --> 00:15:05.519 Hey, hey, cool off a little bit. 00:15:05.679 --> 00:15:14.240 And you know, the odd thing about the whole thing is you and him actually are pretty close to each other in the content of what you actually believe in this conversation. 00:15:14.480 --> 00:15:24.639 But the structure has changed it so much that what he's doing is he's reminding you of what he's always done, and that is that he thinks he's smarter than you. 00:15:24.960 --> 00:15:25.519 Right? 00:15:25.919 --> 00:15:28.080 See, a conversation has content. 00:15:28.320 --> 00:15:32.399 Every conversation has content, but every conversation also has structure. 00:15:32.720 --> 00:15:34.159 And this is Genesis 3. 00:15:34.240 --> 00:15:39.759 Genesis 3 has a conversation that has content, but this conversation also has structure. 00:15:39.919 --> 00:15:42.960 And Minister Paul Walker, he's a minister in Charlottesville. 00:15:43.120 --> 00:15:48.320 If we lived in Charlottesville, we would shut down our church and we would go listen to this guy preach every week. 00:15:48.559 --> 00:15:56.799 And what he says is he says that sometimes the overall structure of the conversation is as important as the content. 00:15:57.919 --> 00:16:05.919 Meaning, the serpent speaks in what Walker would say is full conditional sentences, right? 00:16:06.000 --> 00:16:07.360 It's like a promise. 00:16:07.759 --> 00:16:08.080 Right? 00:16:08.240 --> 00:16:13.919 The first clause expresses the condition, the second is the main clause expressing a consequence. 00:16:14.080 --> 00:16:15.120 So it's like this. 00:16:15.360 --> 00:16:19.440 If it's sunny out today, you will get sunburned. 00:16:20.720 --> 00:16:31.759 If I drive a 1961 Porsche 356 Speedster, I would be as cool as Dylan McKay from 90210. 00:16:33.120 --> 00:16:35.440 It's a conditional thought. 00:16:35.679 --> 00:16:44.080 If I eat of the tree, if I eat of the tree, I'll have more control over my life and be more fulfilled. 00:16:45.039 --> 00:16:46.799 See, that's how the serpent speaks. 00:16:47.039 --> 00:16:51.919 That's how evil, devil, enemy, Satan, however you want to say it, that's how it works. 00:16:52.080 --> 00:16:59.679 Not just in the details, but also in the language that plays out in our thinking that it's harmful to us. 00:16:59.840 --> 00:17:02.879 And it starts in our thinking and then it results in our behavior. 00:17:03.120 --> 00:17:06.400 So in the evenings, I like to sit on my porch sometimes. 00:17:06.559 --> 00:17:12.880 I sit out there and I love it, but sometimes when I sit out there, little mosquitoes come by and they like my ankles, right? 00:17:13.039 --> 00:17:14.400 They start working on my ankles. 00:17:14.480 --> 00:17:15.119 And you know what? 00:17:15.200 --> 00:17:17.599 And I also can't watch a football game when I'm out there. 00:17:17.759 --> 00:17:21.200 I can stare at a big oak tree, but it's my front porch. 00:17:21.279 --> 00:17:22.480 It's not screened in. 00:17:22.640 --> 00:17:24.160 There's no TV out there. 00:17:24.319 --> 00:17:32.400 And I think to myself, if I only had a screened-in porch, my life would be better, along with my new bedding. 00:17:32.559 --> 00:17:34.880 These things would make my life better. 00:17:35.039 --> 00:17:36.960 And this is a big problem for me. 00:17:37.200 --> 00:17:38.240 That's what my mind says. 00:17:38.400 --> 00:17:39.599 This is a big problem. 00:17:40.240 --> 00:17:51.839 I need this screen porch with a fireplace and a mounted TV so the mosquitoes can get to my ankles, I'll be happier, I could rest more, I could be more relaxed, and therefore I'd be a better person and more fulfilled in my life. 00:17:52.000 --> 00:17:54.400 Because I've seen people on their screen porches in the fall. 00:17:54.480 --> 00:17:55.359 That's part of the problem. 00:17:55.519 --> 00:17:56.400 They look really happy. 00:17:56.480 --> 00:17:57.599 That's part of the problem. 00:18:00.880 --> 00:18:01.519 Right? 00:18:02.319 --> 00:18:04.319 The evil is not the porch. 00:18:04.720 --> 00:18:04.960 Right? 00:18:05.200 --> 00:18:07.200 It's not the porch in this situation. 00:18:08.160 --> 00:18:18.319 The evil is to not live satisfied in God and in who he says you are and in the way he wants you to live. 00:18:19.359 --> 00:18:30.000 What he's already declared upon you, not satisfied in any of that, because you are busy living in the next thing that you think will be your savior. 00:18:30.720 --> 00:18:31.839 That's evil. 00:18:32.079 --> 00:18:34.640 That's conditionality, and it's evil. 00:18:34.880 --> 00:18:38.799 If my family or life looked like his or hers, then I'll be happy. 00:18:38.880 --> 00:18:48.640 If I was with her, if I was with her, if I was with him, oh, if I if I watched this more, if I had that, then I'll be fulfilled, then I'll be happy. 00:18:48.720 --> 00:18:52.079 If I had that job or that grade or that bank account, then I'll be happy. 00:18:52.160 --> 00:19:01.680 If I had more control, just control more and more and more, then if I was a little more perfect, and then I'll be happy. 00:19:02.079 --> 00:19:10.000 Or maybe just underneath it all, if I if I was lovable, then I could be loved. 00:19:10.640 --> 00:19:14.559 And it's very easy to exist in just this horrible way of life. 00:19:14.799 --> 00:19:15.519 That's evil. 00:19:15.599 --> 00:19:16.880 That's an evil way of life. 00:19:17.039 --> 00:19:20.240 It's evil thinking that creates horrible behavior. 00:19:21.039 --> 00:19:26.799 And the entire time, Adam and Eve and you have all you need. 00:19:27.039 --> 00:19:29.839 It's already been declared upon you that you are his beloved. 00:19:30.079 --> 00:19:31.039 And this is the last point. 00:19:31.200 --> 00:19:32.000 Point number four. 00:19:32.160 --> 00:19:45.279 While the grammar of evil is conditional and has been from the beginning, while the grammar of evil is conditional and has been from the beginning, the grammar of God is declarative and it has been from the beginning. 00:19:46.000 --> 00:19:48.079 All of this has already been handled. 00:19:48.559 --> 00:19:53.440 Your sin, this temptation, the evil around us, the brokenness of the world. 00:19:53.680 --> 00:19:59.920 We just have to awaken to the truth that's already been ours, given to us from the beginning. 00:20:00.720 --> 00:20:09.359 We see it in the person of Christ on the cross, who took our sin, our failures upon himself, and he gives to us our righteousness. 00:20:09.440 --> 00:20:10.720 So we're beloved before God. 00:20:10.880 --> 00:20:11.599 We know it. 00:20:11.759 --> 00:20:14.160 We can know it and rest in his word. 00:20:14.480 --> 00:20:17.519 So temptation and despair do not win in your life. 00:20:17.680 --> 00:20:23.039 And here's the thing: your winning doesn't even depend on your winning. 00:20:23.359 --> 00:20:23.599 Right? 00:20:23.680 --> 00:20:28.400 Your winning or in the Christian service, your victory would be like a big word in Christian service. 00:20:28.640 --> 00:20:35.680 Your victory, as we like to call it, and your life being perfect, that doesn't even, that's not even the truth for your winning. 00:20:35.839 --> 00:20:53.920 Your winning is because Christ died on a cross for you, because you were declared before whether you win or lose and anything in this game of temptation along the way, from the very beginning, before our failure even begun in Genesis 3, you were declared God's beloved. 00:20:54.240 --> 00:21:02.480 And there in the beginning, as we talked about, we had Elohim, and we had the Spirit, and we had the Word, we had the Christ. 00:21:02.799 --> 00:21:29.440 And we get to see in the New Testament, as the story plays itself out in history, we see this Christ incarnate into Jesus the Christ, who lives and teaches and dies for us and resurrects so that we can know there's always victory, even in the midst of a world and a life where we deal constantly with temptation. 00:21:30.160 --> 00:21:36.240 The last two verses for today, verses eight and nine, we see resurrection right here. 00:21:36.319 --> 00:21:38.720 There's resurrection just right here in these verses. 00:21:38.880 --> 00:21:42.160 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day. 00:21:42.400 --> 00:21:44.480 I mean, at this point, the storyline's death. 00:21:44.559 --> 00:21:48.400 I mean, at this story, at this point, they're going, you know, does God turn his back on us? 00:21:48.559 --> 00:21:50.720 I mean, you know, is he even interested anymore? 00:21:50.880 --> 00:21:52.720 They're ashamed, they're covering themselves. 00:21:52.799 --> 00:21:56.240 This is the beginning of humanity, covering ourselves with anything. 00:21:56.720 --> 00:21:59.119 Here comes God showing back up. 00:21:59.440 --> 00:22:04.960 And the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 00:22:05.519 --> 00:22:09.039 But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, Where are you? 00:22:09.920 --> 00:22:12.880 So, my brothers and sisters, even from the very beginning, right? 00:22:13.039 --> 00:22:24.160 Like right after our first mistake, God never hesitated to come toward us and love us and redeem us. 00:22:24.400 --> 00:22:26.480 You are and always have been his beloved. 00:22:26.720 --> 00:22:28.000 Let's pray together. 00:22:28.480 --> 00:22:39.440 God, thank you for the great gift of Jesus that makes us your beloved, not by our work, but by his, not by our winning, but by the reality you have already won. 00:22:39.680 --> 00:22:46.880 The cross stands for the great act of love that is greater than all evil, all temptation. 00:22:47.119 --> 00:22:50.880 Forgive us for all the ways we look for other saviors in our lives. 00:22:51.440 --> 00:23:01.119 Would you give us more faith that we might trust more and be satisfied greater in your goodness and your word and declaration upon us? 00:23:02.640 --> 00:23:04.319 Would we catch ourselves? 00:23:04.880 --> 00:23:10.799 Spirit, would you would you help us catch ourselves when we begin with those evil thoughts? 00:23:11.039 --> 00:23:21.119 If I only had that, if I only did that, if I only thought that, if I just keep. 00:23:42.240 --> 00:23:42.880 Amen.