WEBVTT 00:00:01.040 --> 00:00:05.759 So for the last several weeks, we've been exploring a story that you all know. 00:00:05.919 --> 00:00:08.080 And so in some ways you could say, well, this is a waste of time. 00:00:08.400 --> 00:00:10.800 We're diving into something that we already know. 00:00:10.880 --> 00:00:16.239 It's the story of Adam and Eve, the Garden of Eden, the forbidden fruit, that whole thing, you know, the serpent, the temptation. 00:00:16.399 --> 00:00:20.719 Even if you're someone who has never been in a church in your life, you probably know this story. 00:00:20.800 --> 00:00:23.039 It's one of the most basic stories we have. 00:00:23.199 --> 00:00:26.719 It's actually one of the oldest stories in human history. 00:00:26.960 --> 00:00:29.920 Like, forget about just our faith in human history. 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:32.240 This is one of the oldest stories. 00:00:32.560 --> 00:00:33.439 And it's amazing. 00:00:33.520 --> 00:00:36.880 I said this last week, but I was talking with a friend a few days ago and reflecting on this. 00:00:36.960 --> 00:00:42.240 It's amazing how this story is still so completely relevant to our lives today. 00:00:42.560 --> 00:00:43.840 And it shouldn't be. 00:00:43.920 --> 00:00:45.520 Like we can acknowledge this. 00:00:45.759 --> 00:00:46.880 A, it's it's old. 00:00:46.960 --> 00:00:50.880 If you found a medical journal from a hundred years ago, you should disregard most of what it says. 00:00:51.039 --> 00:00:51.280 Right? 00:00:51.359 --> 00:00:55.759 You'd be like, I found this really old medical journal at a yard sale, and I'm doing everything it tells me to do. 00:00:55.840 --> 00:00:57.520 It'd be like, no, don't do that. 00:00:57.600 --> 00:01:00.159 Like, we've learned a lot in the last century. 00:01:00.640 --> 00:01:09.920 You know, if you found, like, maybe a psychological journal that was about how the mind works and it was a certain, at a certain age, people would say, no, it's all outdated. 00:01:10.000 --> 00:01:12.400 Like, we that's all outdated, don't listen to that. 00:01:12.719 --> 00:01:14.480 That's the way that things typically work. 00:01:14.719 --> 00:01:19.280 Information tends to become less relevant as time goes on. 00:01:19.680 --> 00:01:21.519 Truth doesn't, though. 00:01:22.319 --> 00:01:40.480 And it's just odd that this ancient story of two naked people living in a garden, hanging out with God, and there's a talking serpent and some really cool trees, should that shouldn't really speak to us today. 00:01:40.879 --> 00:01:51.040 That shouldn't speak to our lives, and yet, as we explore it, as we kind of put the magnifying glass on it, we find that this story so perfectly describes the human dilemma. 00:01:51.280 --> 00:02:00.000 It so perfectly describes the things that we deal with, even all of us today in our world, this many years later, it understands us. 00:02:00.079 --> 00:02:03.120 And that's the that's the amazing power of Scripture. 00:02:04.959 --> 00:02:16.960 God knows us, He knows our hearts, He knows how we're wired, and He has this ability through His Word to speak into our lives in a way that it doesn't matter how old the story is, it's fresh and it's new. 00:02:17.039 --> 00:02:19.599 And so we've been exploring this story that we already know. 00:02:20.000 --> 00:02:23.840 Just asking God to show us some takeaways, give us something that we need. 00:02:23.919 --> 00:02:25.039 And here's where we're at. 00:02:25.199 --> 00:02:32.719 If you're just joining us, um, God's made people, he put them in this garden, he gave them total freedom, except for this one one guideline. 00:02:32.800 --> 00:02:35.759 He's like, hey, there's this one tree, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 00:02:35.840 --> 00:02:36.560 Don't eat from that tree. 00:02:36.639 --> 00:02:38.080 If you eat it, it won't go well for you. 00:02:38.159 --> 00:02:39.360 In fact, you'll die. 00:02:39.520 --> 00:02:46.719 And things seem to be going great until this serpent comes along and just kind of undoes what God has said. 00:02:46.879 --> 00:02:52.800 The serpent's crafty and clever and says, Hey, did God actually say you're not allowed to eat any of this stuff? 00:02:52.960 --> 00:02:56.159 He kind of starts there and he gets a conversation going. 00:02:56.319 --> 00:02:59.919 You find when you find yourself having a conversation with a serpent, you know you've already made a mistake. 00:03:00.080 --> 00:03:03.840 Like, you're this is when, if that ever happens to you, just like, why am I talking to you? 00:03:04.080 --> 00:03:05.280 I should, this is bad. 00:03:05.360 --> 00:03:06.639 This can only end poorly. 00:03:06.879 --> 00:03:09.759 So, you know, this whole dynamic plays out. 00:03:09.840 --> 00:03:10.960 We looked at it a little bit last week. 00:03:11.039 --> 00:03:13.360 We'll examine it a little bit more today. 00:03:13.680 --> 00:03:20.800 But eventually, they're tricked, Adam and Eve are tricked into eating from the very tree that God told them not to eat from. 00:03:20.960 --> 00:03:33.520 And they thought that in doing that, they would become more like God, that that would be the result, but the immediate result is actually that they feel complete shame and brokenness and find themselves actually hiding from God. 00:03:34.719 --> 00:03:38.879 And now we get to the part in the story where God shows up. 00:03:40.080 --> 00:03:43.599 And I, this is just sort of my personal way of looking at it. 00:03:43.759 --> 00:03:46.960 For me, it's like God goes into like full dad mode. 00:03:47.520 --> 00:03:52.240 A few nights ago at dinner, my oldest did an impression of me at the dinner table. 00:03:52.479 --> 00:03:55.039 And it's the first time I've ever experienced that. 00:03:55.520 --> 00:03:57.280 And it was awesome. 00:03:57.759 --> 00:04:07.840 And and what what my son said, he said, you know dad is about to like lecture you or ask you a random series of questions, because that's what I tend to do. 00:04:07.919 --> 00:04:11.680 I don't know if anyone else is like that, but like I start just rapid-fire questions, like, what are you doing? 00:04:11.759 --> 00:04:12.319 Why are you doing that? 00:04:12.400 --> 00:04:12.879 What are you thinking? 00:04:13.039 --> 00:04:13.599 What's wrong with you? 00:04:13.680 --> 00:04:15.120 You know, like those kind of questions? 00:04:15.360 --> 00:04:19.600 Um, he's like, You know, dad's about to do that when he raises his eyebrows and looks at you. 00:04:19.759 --> 00:04:20.800 And so I'll kind of do this. 00:04:20.879 --> 00:04:22.639 He said, dad, that'll look up and go. 00:04:25.600 --> 00:04:28.480 And everyone at the table laughed. 00:04:28.720 --> 00:04:31.920 I wanted to be offended, but it was just too good. 00:04:32.399 --> 00:04:32.879 Right? 00:04:33.040 --> 00:04:33.920 And what do they say? 00:04:34.160 --> 00:04:37.600 Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so you know, there you go. 00:04:37.759 --> 00:04:41.199 But I have been super self-conscious of my eyebrows all week long. 00:04:41.439 --> 00:04:42.240 Like it's true. 00:04:42.319 --> 00:04:51.439 So there are a few times this week where like I did need to like, you know, coach one of my kids on something, but I tried really hard to like not ra it's hard not to raise your eyebrows when you're mad. 00:04:53.920 --> 00:05:05.680 But I do this thing where when when when I catch my kids doing something, when something's wrong, I I either go into a long spiel, as you can imagine, or I just start asking questions. 00:05:05.920 --> 00:05:07.439 And so, I'll give you an example. 00:05:07.600 --> 00:05:13.439 A few days ago, I'm at home alone with my youngest, Eli, my wild child, and I love him so much. 00:05:13.600 --> 00:05:18.959 But this boy is just, pray for us, guys, he is so interesting, he's interesting. 00:05:19.360 --> 00:05:20.240 So here's what happened. 00:05:20.319 --> 00:05:20.879 Here's the scenario. 00:05:20.959 --> 00:05:28.000 I walk in a room and it's really quiet, and I notice on the floor a bunch of pencils. 00:05:28.720 --> 00:05:32.079 And just a bunch of them, but no erasers on the pencils. 00:05:32.319 --> 00:05:35.360 And then I look at Eli and he has a pencil in his mouth. 00:05:35.920 --> 00:05:38.879 And so I raise my eyebrows, obviously. 00:05:39.439 --> 00:05:42.160 And I look at him, and he looks at me and just kind of stops. 00:05:42.319 --> 00:05:43.920 And I'm like, what's going on? 00:05:44.079 --> 00:05:45.040 That was question one. 00:05:45.120 --> 00:05:46.160 What's going on? 00:05:47.120 --> 00:05:49.040 Why is there a pencil in your mouth? 00:05:49.360 --> 00:05:55.360 Question two, are you eating the erasers off of our pencils? 00:05:57.600 --> 00:06:01.519 And when I asked the third question, this is no joke, he he said no. 00:06:02.000 --> 00:06:03.519 He didn't say it, he had a pencil in his mouth. 00:06:03.680 --> 00:06:06.639 He went like this, and then he obviously swallowed. 00:06:06.959 --> 00:06:07.839 He went. 00:06:09.360 --> 00:06:11.439 And then stuck his tongue out, like, see? 00:06:11.839 --> 00:06:12.879 And I'm like. 00:06:13.600 --> 00:06:15.759 And then the fourth question was, what is wrong with you? 00:06:15.839 --> 00:06:16.879 That was my fourth question. 00:06:17.120 --> 00:06:17.759 Right? 00:06:18.879 --> 00:06:20.399 Who raised you? 00:06:20.560 --> 00:06:22.560 That's the that's the question I should ask. 00:06:22.879 --> 00:06:23.920 Is this me? 00:06:25.279 --> 00:06:28.240 You know, I go into dad mode and I just have rapid fire questions. 00:06:28.319 --> 00:06:36.000 And in the story we're we're looking at right now, this first story of Adam and Eve in the garden, God shows up and we see dad mode sort of come out. 00:06:36.720 --> 00:06:38.879 And he asked, he asks people four questions. 00:06:38.959 --> 00:06:41.519 He asked them, as soon as he shows up, they're hiding. 00:06:42.240 --> 00:06:45.600 And we get these four rapid-fire questions from God. 00:06:45.759 --> 00:06:48.959 The first one I think is so interesting, Genesis chapter 3, verse 9. 00:06:49.120 --> 00:06:52.160 Then the Lord God called to the man, Where are you? 00:06:52.639 --> 00:06:58.240 That's the first question that we have recorded, God asking a person, Where are you? 00:06:58.319 --> 00:06:59.439 And I love it. 00:07:00.319 --> 00:07:02.560 Because number one, like he knows. 00:07:04.399 --> 00:07:11.839 But so many of us were brought up to believe that if you want to have a relationship with God, you better find him. 00:07:12.399 --> 00:07:14.160 You better seek him out. 00:07:15.199 --> 00:07:18.720 And if you work hard enough and you do all the right things, maybe you'll find God. 00:07:19.920 --> 00:07:29.439 And maybe it wasn't said in those terms, those explicit words, but that is the sort of general idea that religion, no matter what name it goes by, gives us. 00:07:29.600 --> 00:07:32.879 If you want to know God, you do the seeking, and maybe you'll find. 00:07:33.120 --> 00:07:34.800 And look, it's good to seek God. 00:07:34.959 --> 00:07:37.279 If you're seeking God, good for you. 00:07:37.600 --> 00:07:38.639 Jesus makes us promises. 00:07:38.800 --> 00:07:41.759 He said, Hey, you're blessed when you seek, because if you seek, you'll find. 00:07:42.399 --> 00:07:49.040 But it's important for us to know that even if we are someone who would say, Yeah, I'm seeking after God, he's seeking you more. 00:07:49.439 --> 00:07:51.120 And he sought you first. 00:07:51.839 --> 00:07:56.240 That our God looks for us, he searches for us, he seeks us out. 00:07:56.319 --> 00:07:59.839 And Jesus is the perfect ultimate illustration of that, right? 00:07:59.920 --> 00:08:03.040 It's God coming to us to be with us. 00:08:03.439 --> 00:08:07.279 So if you ever feel far from God, number one, you're not. 00:08:08.240 --> 00:08:10.560 But know that God is not hiding from you. 00:08:11.279 --> 00:08:15.360 In fact, many times we find that maybe we're hiding from him or avoiding him. 00:08:17.120 --> 00:08:20.000 He wants to know you, and he's seeking you. 00:08:20.879 --> 00:08:21.600 Always. 00:08:21.920 --> 00:08:22.959 That's how much he loves you. 00:08:23.040 --> 00:08:24.720 So I love that that's the first question God asks. 00:08:24.879 --> 00:08:28.959 Now, questions three and four are very dad mode questions. 00:08:29.199 --> 00:08:31.199 Question two is the one we're gonna focus on the most today. 00:08:31.279 --> 00:08:33.840 So I didn't skip it, I was just skip it ahead and we're gonna come back. 00:08:34.000 --> 00:08:37.519 Question three and four, uh, he says, Did you do what I told you not to do? 00:08:37.600 --> 00:08:38.639 That's the third question. 00:08:38.879 --> 00:08:41.279 Did you eat from the tree I told you not to eat from? 00:08:41.440 --> 00:08:44.960 And I wonder if they stuck their tongues out to prove, like they swallowed. 00:08:45.600 --> 00:08:45.919 No? 00:08:48.399 --> 00:08:50.720 And then question number four is, What have you done? 00:08:50.879 --> 00:08:58.480 And it's like God realizing, now I have to, now I've got to do some things that I maybe never wanted to do. 00:09:00.399 --> 00:09:02.080 He's in dad mode. 00:09:02.399 --> 00:09:07.440 But question two is the one I want us to put the magnifying glass on today. 00:09:08.080 --> 00:09:12.000 This is one of my favorite questions that God asks all throughout scripture. 00:09:12.080 --> 00:09:16.559 And it's really cool, by the way, just to study the questions that God asks. 00:09:17.519 --> 00:09:22.320 Because when someone who knows everything asks a question, you should pay attention to it. 00:09:22.639 --> 00:09:24.480 They're not seeking information. 00:09:24.799 --> 00:09:25.120 Right? 00:09:25.440 --> 00:09:26.960 God knows the answer. 00:09:28.320 --> 00:09:31.200 He's trying to help us understand something. 00:09:31.440 --> 00:09:32.879 And so let's look at the second question. 00:09:32.960 --> 00:09:36.720 We'll go back to Genesis 3, 9 again, because it comes right after. 00:09:36.799 --> 00:09:38.639 Then the Lord God called to the man, Where are you? 00:09:38.879 --> 00:09:42.879 He replied, I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. 00:09:43.600 --> 00:09:45.919 I was afraid because I was naked. 00:09:46.080 --> 00:09:50.480 Translation, I was worried you would reject me in my current state. 00:09:50.720 --> 00:09:56.159 I was worried that you would be ashamed of me in this way, in this manner that I am. 00:09:56.879 --> 00:10:00.559 And God asks, Who told you that you were naked? 00:10:01.759 --> 00:10:02.960 Who said that? 00:10:05.200 --> 00:10:06.720 Who told you that? 00:10:07.360 --> 00:10:09.440 It's like God's way of saying, says who? 00:10:12.639 --> 00:10:17.519 That's a vital question for us as people to ask on a regular basis. 00:10:17.759 --> 00:10:26.960 When it comes to the thoughts in our head, or the things that we hear, the things that are being spoken over us and to us, says who? 00:10:27.840 --> 00:10:28.639 Who said that? 00:10:28.720 --> 00:10:29.440 Who told me that? 00:10:29.600 --> 00:10:30.960 Whose voice is that? 00:10:32.799 --> 00:10:35.120 The voice that you listen to matters. 00:10:35.360 --> 00:10:43.360 The voices you pay attention to, they matter greatly because whoever you listen to the most will probably be the person you become the most like. 00:10:44.159 --> 00:10:44.799 Right? 00:10:45.600 --> 00:10:51.919 Whoever you listen to the most, you have a high likelihood of becoming like that person. 00:10:53.919 --> 00:11:00.399 And if we want to be people who live the life that we were created to live, God has to be the one that we listen to the most. 00:11:01.679 --> 00:11:07.919 Now, sometimes phrases like the life we were created to live, I can say those phrases and they're very vague. 00:11:08.000 --> 00:11:14.000 They just sort of have this like vague, positive sort of like idea that, oh, it's a good life or whatever. 00:11:14.080 --> 00:11:14.799 But what does that actually mean? 00:11:15.039 --> 00:11:17.200 What is the life you were created to live? 00:11:18.320 --> 00:11:21.840 Genesis 1 actually, I think, gives us a lot of that answer. 00:11:22.159 --> 00:11:25.200 Then God said, Let us make human beings in our image to be like us. 00:11:25.279 --> 00:11:28.639 You were created to be like God, to be godly. 00:11:29.519 --> 00:11:34.960 That doesn't mean you have all of God's power, but there's so many things about us that make us unique as people. 00:11:35.279 --> 00:11:36.559 You know, like we're creative. 00:11:36.720 --> 00:11:42.639 We can we can come up with things, we can invent things, we can have ideas that no one's ever thought of before. 00:11:43.200 --> 00:11:44.720 And there's nothing else like that in the world. 00:11:44.799 --> 00:11:49.600 Like, I love animals, animals are great, but they they do everything out of instinct. 00:11:50.080 --> 00:12:00.080 We actually have some beavers that live uh close to our church, you know, and we have a little creek back there, and beavers build dams, but there's never been a beaver that's like, you know, I have a new way to build a dam. 00:12:00.399 --> 00:12:04.639 I went to Lowe's and I found these other materials that, like, this is so much better. 00:12:04.720 --> 00:12:05.759 No, beavers just build dam. 00:12:06.159 --> 00:12:07.039 It's just what they do. 00:12:07.200 --> 00:12:07.519 Right? 00:12:07.600 --> 00:12:09.600 We we can think of things, we can come up with things. 00:12:09.759 --> 00:12:16.000 God puts something inside of us, his spirit inside of us, that makes us like him, creative, because he's the creator. 00:12:16.399 --> 00:12:20.240 So part of your purpose in life is to be like God. 00:12:21.200 --> 00:12:29.039 And then it says, they will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and small animals that scurry along the ground. 00:12:29.120 --> 00:12:31.039 So God created human beings in his own image. 00:12:31.200 --> 00:12:43.200 In the image of God, he created them, male and female, he created them, and then God blessed them and said, Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and govern it, reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, and all the animals that scurry along the ground. 00:12:43.360 --> 00:12:46.639 God created us to, it says reign. 00:12:47.840 --> 00:12:50.720 We might say he created us to manage life. 00:12:52.000 --> 00:12:53.840 You are meant to manage life. 00:12:53.919 --> 00:12:54.480 What does that mean? 00:12:54.559 --> 00:13:07.279 It means that life is not simply supposed to happen to you, although sometimes it does, but that we actually have the capacity, because of how God has made us, to manage life. 00:13:08.639 --> 00:13:11.600 Now, some of you, it's very obvious what you have to manage, right? 00:13:11.679 --> 00:13:13.919 Some of you manage entire companies. 00:13:14.159 --> 00:13:18.399 Some of you manage divisions and teams within the places that you work. 00:13:20.000 --> 00:13:22.240 Some of us manage a home. 00:13:23.200 --> 00:13:26.879 Some of us, a lot of us, have have children, and we manage our children. 00:13:26.960 --> 00:13:32.720 We're trying to raise them in such a way that they become healthy adults that don't eat erasers ever for any reason. 00:13:32.960 --> 00:13:33.600 Right? 00:13:35.679 --> 00:13:40.879 You know, you're you're many of you are really young and you're in school and you're managing your education. 00:13:41.039 --> 00:13:46.559 You're managing your future right now by investing in things that will help you become the best version of yourself that you can be. 00:13:46.720 --> 00:13:49.039 Some of you have a talent, and you have to manage that talent. 00:13:49.200 --> 00:13:51.120 You have to manage that ability. 00:13:51.519 --> 00:13:58.080 And if you don't manage it well, it'll never grow into the finely honed skill that it could be that will set you up for success. 00:13:58.240 --> 00:14:00.159 Many of us are managing relationships. 00:14:00.320 --> 00:14:02.480 We have relationships, we want them to be healthy. 00:14:02.559 --> 00:14:06.240 We have dynamics in those relationships that we have to manage. 00:14:07.440 --> 00:14:08.720 We have homes. 00:14:09.519 --> 00:14:13.840 These little parts of our world that actually we have authority over. 00:14:14.080 --> 00:14:18.799 And we're supposed to manage those in a way that's healthy and good. 00:14:19.039 --> 00:14:26.159 God gave us life to manage, but the only way we can manage life is to listen to God. 00:14:27.919 --> 00:14:35.759 And so the good news is if you ever feel like you're not managing life very well, if it ever feels like life is not being managed like it should, I feel that way. 00:14:35.919 --> 00:14:38.480 Good news is all you gotta do is listen to the voice of God. 00:14:39.039 --> 00:14:40.799 Because He will help you manage. 00:14:41.840 --> 00:14:48.559 But here's the challenge there's a lot of other voices vying for your attention. 00:14:49.519 --> 00:14:57.120 There's a lot of voices shouting, yelling, screaming, or maybe it's a little bit more subtle than that. 00:14:58.080 --> 00:15:02.399 But you know, God's voice was not the only voice active in the garden. 00:15:02.879 --> 00:15:03.200 Right? 00:15:03.279 --> 00:15:04.320 We talked about that last week. 00:15:04.639 --> 00:15:05.360 There's a serpent. 00:15:05.519 --> 00:15:06.720 We have an enemy. 00:15:08.000 --> 00:15:09.759 And he's a smooth talker. 00:15:11.279 --> 00:15:24.799 So, how do we as people grow in our ability to discern the voice of God versus the voice of someone else who doesn't want us to manage life, who doesn't desire us to be in a place of health in our relationships and our endeavors? 00:15:25.679 --> 00:15:29.120 How do we discern the voice of God versus all the other voices? 00:15:29.519 --> 00:15:31.360 I want us to explore that a little bit. 00:15:31.600 --> 00:15:35.840 And obviously, this is a subject we could talk about for hours and hours and hours and not cover at all. 00:15:35.919 --> 00:15:44.879 So I want to hyperfocus on one consistent thread that I, at least in my life, and what I see in scripture, which is way more important than what I've experienced in my life. 00:15:45.440 --> 00:15:50.559 A constant thread in the voice of our enemy. 00:15:51.679 --> 00:15:57.360 That if we understand it helps us discern that's not the voice I should be listening to. 00:15:57.759 --> 00:16:10.639 And it's really simply this any voice, any thought, okay, that fuels either insecurity or pride is not the voice of God. 00:16:12.080 --> 00:16:16.559 Any voice that fuels either insecurity or pride. 00:16:17.039 --> 00:16:19.840 Insecurity and pride are two sides of the same coin. 00:16:20.080 --> 00:16:24.000 They're both an unhealthy and unbalanced focus on self. 00:16:24.720 --> 00:16:28.000 We live in a very self-focused society. 00:16:28.399 --> 00:16:29.519 We just do, right? 00:16:29.600 --> 00:16:31.759 We're the we've come up with selfies. 00:16:32.000 --> 00:16:33.919 We take pictures of ourselves. 00:16:34.720 --> 00:16:39.840 Like the number of pictures that my children will have of me, it's like that's too many. 00:16:40.080 --> 00:16:41.919 Don't need that many pictures. 00:16:42.240 --> 00:16:51.279 I mean, many of us grew up in a generation where, like, if you had a picture of your great-grandfather, you know, and that those pictures back then, they weren't smiling. 00:16:51.440 --> 00:16:53.440 They were like, life has been hard. 00:16:53.679 --> 00:16:56.159 And I want this picture to communicate that. 00:16:56.480 --> 00:16:57.120 You know? 00:16:57.840 --> 00:17:05.039 One day my great-great-grandchild will be playing Nintendo, and I want them to look at my picture and know I suffered for you to have the life that you have. 00:17:05.200 --> 00:17:05.519 You know? 00:17:05.759 --> 00:17:06.960 See those pictures I'm talking about? 00:17:07.039 --> 00:17:08.000 You look at them like, how old are they? 00:17:08.079 --> 00:17:08.480 Like 70? 00:17:08.640 --> 00:17:10.799 Like, oh no, they're 27 years old in that picture. 00:17:11.359 --> 00:17:12.559 Oh, okay. 00:17:12.880 --> 00:17:14.079 Life was hard. 00:17:14.319 --> 00:17:14.640 Okay. 00:17:16.240 --> 00:17:20.240 But like they had like a picture of their whole life. 00:17:20.319 --> 00:17:20.720 That was it. 00:17:20.799 --> 00:17:22.000 That's the one that captured it. 00:17:22.079 --> 00:17:24.319 We have like a bazillion pictures. 00:17:24.559 --> 00:17:26.960 Because we live in an egocentric society. 00:17:27.680 --> 00:17:35.759 And that focus on self, it's easy to talk about it from the stance of pride, being too into yourself, and we'll get to that later, but just for a minute. 00:17:36.079 --> 00:17:40.640 But it's amazing how much a focus on self fuels an insecurity inside of us. 00:17:40.799 --> 00:17:43.200 And our enemy, that's where he lives. 00:17:44.000 --> 00:17:49.839 I mean, think about the interaction that he has in the garden with Eve. 00:17:50.000 --> 00:17:52.799 He begins, we looked at this last week, we'll jump back into it a little later. 00:17:52.880 --> 00:17:55.839 He begins, though, by saying, hey, did God really say? 00:17:57.279 --> 00:18:01.920 And he drops some hints that basically say, God's holding out on you. 00:18:02.240 --> 00:18:04.000 God hasn't been truthful with you. 00:18:04.079 --> 00:18:12.960 And Eve goes from being very secure about where she stands with God and where she is in the world and her purpose and the way God has ordered things to all of a sudden, like, oh no, what if what if it's wrong? 00:18:13.119 --> 00:18:13.839 What if I'm missing out? 00:18:13.920 --> 00:18:15.359 What if God is holding out on me? 00:18:15.599 --> 00:18:16.799 What if I misheard him? 00:18:17.039 --> 00:18:18.240 I mean, there's all these different things. 00:18:18.400 --> 00:18:19.599 She's insecure. 00:18:21.680 --> 00:18:25.279 Insecurity is a massive, massive tool of the enemy. 00:18:25.359 --> 00:18:34.960 And when you hear a voice, whether it's external or internal, that minimizes who you are, and how do you know who you are? 00:18:35.119 --> 00:18:36.960 Who God has said that you are. 00:18:38.160 --> 00:18:42.480 That is not the voice of God, and it's a voice that you have to reject. 00:18:42.640 --> 00:18:44.880 Let's look at some examples in Scripture. 00:18:46.079 --> 00:18:48.960 1 Samuel chapter 17 tells a very classic Bible story. 00:18:49.039 --> 00:18:50.319 It's the story of David and Goliath. 00:18:50.480 --> 00:18:54.240 It's another one of those stories that you know even if you've never been in church before. 00:18:54.640 --> 00:19:00.160 And Goliath is this massive warrior, and he's taunting the people of Israel. 00:19:00.240 --> 00:19:03.599 He's saying, hey, if anyone in your army wants to come fight me, we'll just settle it like this. 00:19:03.680 --> 00:19:06.240 Instead of us having a big war, let's just go one-on-one. 00:19:06.799 --> 00:19:08.799 I'll fight whoever you send to me. 00:19:08.960 --> 00:19:15.440 And no soldier in the entire Israeli, Israelite, whatever, that army. 00:19:16.480 --> 00:19:17.920 Doesn't really matter, it's just a word. 00:19:18.160 --> 00:19:20.000 No one wants to fight him because he's huge. 00:19:20.079 --> 00:19:22.960 But David shows up and he's young at this point in time. 00:19:23.119 --> 00:19:23.920 He's not a soldier. 00:19:24.000 --> 00:19:25.440 He's not even a soldier in the army. 00:19:25.599 --> 00:19:26.799 And he's like, what's going on? 00:19:26.880 --> 00:19:28.960 Why is everybody like so tense? 00:19:29.200 --> 00:19:32.880 And they're like, oh, there's this guy, Goliath, and none of us are gonna fight him. 00:19:32.960 --> 00:19:34.799 And so David's like, I'll do it. 00:19:35.440 --> 00:19:40.720 And so he has a conversation with the king, a man named Saul, in 1 Samuel 17. 00:19:40.960 --> 00:19:42.799 Don't worry about this Philistine. 00:19:42.960 --> 00:19:44.880 David told Saul, I'll go fight him. 00:19:45.039 --> 00:19:46.720 Don't be ridiculous, Saul replied. 00:19:46.799 --> 00:19:49.279 There's no way you can fight this Philistine and possibly win. 00:19:49.440 --> 00:19:51.200 You are only a boy. 00:19:51.599 --> 00:19:53.680 And he's been a man of war since his youth. 00:19:53.839 --> 00:19:55.680 You are only a boy. 00:19:57.039 --> 00:19:59.359 David is so much more than that. 00:20:00.160 --> 00:20:02.240 And Saul's about to find out. 00:20:02.799 --> 00:20:08.720 And in fact, the reality that David was much more than just a boy becomes a pretty big problem for Saul. 00:20:09.039 --> 00:20:13.599 Because David's actually been anointed by a prophet named Samuel to be the next king. 00:20:14.400 --> 00:20:18.640 And David has the favor of God on his life in a way that is undeniable. 00:20:18.799 --> 00:20:20.799 He is so much more than a boy. 00:20:20.960 --> 00:20:23.920 Even more than that, David has courage and he has faith. 00:20:24.240 --> 00:20:29.039 And so if you go back and you read the story, I love the story of David and Goliath, by the way. 00:20:29.200 --> 00:20:30.480 Like anyone else enjoy that story? 00:20:30.559 --> 00:20:31.440 It's like a classic. 00:20:31.839 --> 00:20:33.759 Alright, real quick, real quick, kind of Bible test. 00:20:34.400 --> 00:20:35.839 How does Goliath die? 00:20:38.000 --> 00:20:38.400 Stone. 00:20:38.559 --> 00:20:39.200 I don't know. 00:20:39.279 --> 00:20:39.839 That's how David. 00:20:40.160 --> 00:20:41.359 The stone, this is what I love about it. 00:20:41.440 --> 00:20:44.559 We have kids in the room, I'm sorry, but you're in big church and you could have gone to kids' church. 00:20:44.640 --> 00:20:47.680 But like, so we always say like the stone, right? 00:20:47.759 --> 00:20:50.400 The stone is how Goliath got knocked down. 00:20:50.559 --> 00:20:56.000 After the stone hits, David goes and picks up Goliath's own sword and just chops his head off. 00:20:56.720 --> 00:20:57.599 That's awesome. 00:20:57.759 --> 00:20:58.400 I'm sorry. 00:20:58.559 --> 00:20:59.200 That's great. 00:20:59.359 --> 00:21:00.000 I love that. 00:21:00.400 --> 00:21:02.240 It's brutal, it's gross, I know. 00:21:02.400 --> 00:21:06.559 I'm not condoning it, but it's like 3,000 years ago. 00:21:06.640 --> 00:21:08.079 That's how they did stuff, okay? 00:21:08.160 --> 00:21:09.039 It was efficient. 00:21:09.200 --> 00:21:16.880 And so like David is so not just a boy. 00:21:17.359 --> 00:21:19.200 And Goliath learned that the hard way. 00:21:19.599 --> 00:21:23.440 When they fight, Goliath is offended that David would be the one that they would send. 00:21:23.519 --> 00:21:25.039 He's like, What are you doing? 00:21:25.680 --> 00:21:28.960 And he basically says, I'm gonna murder you, I'm gonna kill you in front of all these people. 00:21:29.119 --> 00:21:32.319 And then David says, No, you don't know who you're dealing with. 00:21:32.960 --> 00:21:37.839 He says, You have you've not come against me, you've come against my God. 00:21:39.599 --> 00:21:51.599 See, when you live your life connected to God, when you live your life with faith in God, and you have courage to actually stand in that faith, you are so much more than just in anything. 00:21:52.079 --> 00:21:55.200 You are more than a man, you are more than a woman. 00:21:55.680 --> 00:22:02.720 And if there's ever a voice that tells you you're only a whatever that would Be, that is not the voice of God. 00:22:03.200 --> 00:22:07.680 That is the voice of your enemy trying to minimize who you're created to be. 00:22:08.079 --> 00:22:13.119 Jesus said that apart from God, we're not capable of doing much of anything, but with God, all things are possible. 00:22:13.279 --> 00:22:29.920 And so if you live your life connected to God through faith, if you're if you're close with him, doesn't mean you're perfect, you have a perfect track record, but it means that you trust in him above all else, you are so much more. 00:22:30.799 --> 00:22:34.240 So don't listen to a voice that says you're only anything. 00:22:34.400 --> 00:22:36.960 Jesus experienced this as well in Matthew chapter 13. 00:22:37.119 --> 00:22:46.480 He went back to his hometown, and rather than being like received and a parade thrown in his honor, because he was from the middle of nowhere and he's the most famous person ever, they get mad. 00:22:46.960 --> 00:22:49.759 They don't like that he's so successful, they can't understand it. 00:22:49.839 --> 00:22:54.559 It says, Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. 00:22:54.799 --> 00:22:57.200 Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers? 00:22:57.279 --> 00:22:57.759 They asked. 00:22:57.920 --> 00:22:59.839 Isn't this the carpenter's son? 00:23:00.000 --> 00:23:01.680 He's just the carpenter's son. 00:23:02.559 --> 00:23:08.079 Isn't his mother Mary and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas, aren't all his sisters here with us? 00:23:08.240 --> 00:23:09.680 Where did this man get all these things? 00:23:09.759 --> 00:23:11.839 And they took offense at him. 00:23:11.920 --> 00:23:13.519 They're offended at him. 00:23:14.000 --> 00:23:18.559 And they they begin the teardown of Jesus by saying, He's just the carpenter's kid. 00:23:18.640 --> 00:23:21.680 He's just the son in that family over there. 00:23:22.720 --> 00:23:23.920 That's not the voice of God. 00:23:24.079 --> 00:23:27.359 God would never look at you and say, you're just your family. 00:23:28.720 --> 00:23:30.160 Some of us are like, thank God. 00:23:30.319 --> 00:23:30.640 Okay. 00:23:30.799 --> 00:23:31.440 You know. 00:23:32.319 --> 00:23:34.079 But no, you're so much more than that. 00:23:34.160 --> 00:23:38.240 You're so much more than where you've come from when you live your life connected to God. 00:23:38.480 --> 00:23:42.480 You are not bound by the past. 00:23:44.720 --> 00:23:45.039 Right? 00:23:45.200 --> 00:23:54.799 You're not stuck just based on whatever your father, your grandfather, your mother, whatever, whatever's happened in your past, if you live connected to God, you are more than that. 00:23:54.880 --> 00:24:01.920 And anyone who ever tries to tell you that you're only this, that's not the voice of God. 00:24:02.720 --> 00:24:04.400 That's fueling insecurity. 00:24:04.480 --> 00:24:05.920 That's that's minimizing who you are. 00:24:06.000 --> 00:24:10.000 And the the question you should ask, if you ever hear that voice, is says who? 00:24:11.759 --> 00:24:13.599 You're only a boy, says who? 00:24:14.160 --> 00:24:15.680 The king, but not God. 00:24:17.279 --> 00:24:19.680 You're only the carpenter's son, says who? 00:24:20.240 --> 00:24:22.400 The people in Jesus' hometown, not God the Father. 00:24:22.559 --> 00:24:24.720 God the Father said, actually, he's my son. 00:24:25.359 --> 00:24:27.039 And I'm pleased with him. 00:24:27.680 --> 00:24:30.799 Jesus was really good at listening to the voice of the Father. 00:24:31.039 --> 00:24:35.200 And it gave him a confidence that most of us have just never experienced. 00:24:35.279 --> 00:24:39.039 And the only way to have that confidence is to listen to the right voice. 00:24:39.359 --> 00:24:40.880 There's another story. 00:24:41.200 --> 00:24:42.160 Luke chapter 7. 00:24:42.240 --> 00:24:43.279 This one's a little bit longer. 00:24:43.440 --> 00:24:49.440 It says, When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee's house and he reclined at the table. 00:24:49.680 --> 00:24:51.519 And we're seeing a lot of customs in this story. 00:24:51.599 --> 00:24:57.680 Like there's some things that, as Americans, we're like reclining at tables, we're going to see this thing with anointing of feet, and we're like, what is going on? 00:24:57.839 --> 00:25:00.240 And it's just the thing that they did back in those days. 00:25:00.400 --> 00:25:05.759 It says, A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee's house. 00:25:05.839 --> 00:25:08.720 So he came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. 00:25:08.880 --> 00:25:16.319 And as she stood behind them at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears, then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and poured perfume on them. 00:25:16.480 --> 00:25:19.680 This is something that you would do for like a king. 00:25:20.240 --> 00:25:21.839 This is not normal. 00:25:22.319 --> 00:25:23.759