Fighting Sin and Temptation

Grace Fellowship Church

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This sermon is from Grace Fellowship Church in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. To access other sermons, or to learn more about us, please visit our website at graceedmonton .ca.

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We find ourselves in Genesis chapter 3, now turning the page, as it were, in this story of the creation of the world and of man.

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I want to begin first by looking back, not just to the cross, or to Christ, or the apostles, but even beyond, to the 5th century before the

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Lord Jesus Christ. In the 5th century BC, there was a Chinese general and a military strategist named

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Sun Tzu who wrote a famous book entitled The Art of War.

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In this now famous book, the author provides his readers with a compendium of strategies and tactics to combat and gain advantage in wars against other armies.

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He emphasizes in his book the need for preparation and adaptability, the requisite knowledge that is needed to defeat one's enemies.

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And he instructs on important things like leadership, decision -making, and fortitude of the will on the battlefield.

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And despite having been written some 2 ,500 years ago, before the advent of the cannon, or the tank, or the automobile, or the airplane, or even the rifle, despite having been written long, long ago,

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The Art of War has greatly influenced the strategies of some of the most successful military leaders in the modern world.

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You might recognize names like Douglas MacArthur, a five -star general and the commanding officer over the

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United States military during World War II. He went to the Art of War to determine his own battle plans and to wage his own war.

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Likewise, another man, maybe less familiar to some of you, Storm and Norman Schwarzkopf, relied upon the

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Art of War in his offensives in the Gulf War. And the most oft -cited quote of this book that has informed the decisions of so many of these powerful military leaders in the history of the world, the most oft -cited quote is this.

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It reads, If you know the enemy and you know yourself, you need not fear the results of a hundred battles.

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If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will suffer a defeat.

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If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in battle every time.

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Now, don't be mistaken. I'm not commending this book to you. If you're a reader, and I hope you are, there are a myriad of other books that I would have you read before picking up and reading this book.

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And yet, I want us to look for a moment at why it is that this book and this quote has been picked up on again and again, time and time again.

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And I think the reason for that, the reason for the timelessness of this quote is that it is ultimately true.

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Because ultimately, all truth is God's truth. Even a broken clock is right two times a day.

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That we must know the enemy, and we must know ourselves. For those who find themselves in any kind of war, these are the two things that we must absolutely know if we are to conquer and not to be conquered.

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To know the enemy and to know ourselves. We must know the strengths and the strategies and the schemes and the disguises of our enemy.

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And likewise, we must be keenly aware of our own resources, our own resiliencies, our own vulnerabilities, our own peculiar constitutions that God has given each one of us.

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And yet, I will say this, long before we turn to the art of war or any other source to discover the knowledge of our enemy and the knowledge of ourselves,

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I think that we should turn to Genesis chapter 3. To know just these things.

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To find the very origins of temptation and of sin in our lives.

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Brethren, we are engaged in a war. Whether we like it or not.

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Whether we realize it or not. Whether we feel like fighting in a war or not.

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We are engaged in a very real cosmic battle that has been being waged, is that what

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I'm trying to say? Since the beginning of time itself. And it's not principally a war with Russia or with China or with communism or with wokeism or any other ism for that matter.

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But we are involved in a war with principalities and powers in the unseen world against the rulers and authorities and cosmic powers over this present darkness.

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Against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Against, as the

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Apostle John would call him in Revelation chapter 12, that ancient serpent who has been waging war against God and his people since the advent of time.

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We are in a war. Make no mistake about it. And what

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I want to bring you today from Genesis chapter 3, what I think the Lord has for us in Genesis chapter 3, in these first five verses, is in some part to teach us about ourselves and about our enemy.

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He has given us this text, I believe, to recount how it is that we came to be in this fallen and sinful world.

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And then showing us the very root of the problem. He gives us instruction on how we are to fight.

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Oh brethren, I want to equip you today to go to battle.

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To fight the battle of your life. To wage a great resistance against our ancient foe.

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And today we will look at how to wage war against sin and temptation. And the very powers of darkness that are at the root of every evil in this world.

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Now maybe some of you think I am not the fighting type. I am not the warring type. I am not the first one at the front of the line rushing into battle.

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But let me ask you, how many of you struggle tooth and nail with sin?

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And you see sin waging war. The devil himself waging war against you.

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And you find yourself frequently losing. And lamenting, oh sinful man that I am.

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Who will save me from this body of sin and death? Today in Genesis chapter 3, it is not going to give us the whole story.

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But it is going to give us, I would suggest, a battle plan. For fighting sin. And for fighting our great enemy.

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So turning in our Bibles to Genesis chapter 3. What I want to do is to introduce three key elements in our text.

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In these five verses, verses 1 through 5. Today we are going to look at our ancient foe.

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Who is our ancient foe? We are going to look at our tactics for war.

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That is number two. And we are going to look, number three, at our conquering king. So first looking at our ancient foe.

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Let's find him for ourselves in Genesis chapter 3 and verse 1. Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field.

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That the Lord God had made. We are going to stop there.

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In a manner that is rather abrupt. If you are just reading this organically. Chapter 1, chapter 2, chapter 3.

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In a rather abrupt manner. Here in verse 1 we are introduced to, almost casually, the very face of evil in this world.

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And while it is not explicitly mentioned. In fact, we don't find the word Satan in our Bibles until the book of 1

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Chronicles. We can look at passages like Revelation chapter 12 and Revelation chapter 20.

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That speak of that ancient serpent referring to Satan himself.

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And it is interesting to see how he is characterized in this first verse of chapter 3.

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Rarely do we find characters of the Old Testament introduced in such explicit language.

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But here he is described clearly as more crafty than any other beast of the field.

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And there are many things that we would do well to take note of as we are studying this passage together. Not only is

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Satan here described as crafty, as shrewd, and as cunning.

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Which he most certainly is. But there is some interesting word play that is happening if we look carefully at this passage.

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At the end of chapter 2 in verse 25. Just one verse ahead of the verse that we are currently in.

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We read these words. And the man and his wife were both naked and were unashamed. Now if we were to read this text in the original

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Hebrew. Remove the added chapter division. And just read verses 25 of chapter 2 and then verse 1 of chapter 3.

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What we would see is this. That word naked in chapter 2 and verse 25 is the

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Hebrew word arom. Hear that with me. Arom. And then if we were to continue into chapter 3 and verse 1.

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What we would find is that when we read that the serpent was now more crafty than any other beast. That word crafty in the

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Hebrew word is arum. And so we have naked arom and crafty arum.

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Now why would the inspired author have two words so closely connected one verse after the other?

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As is often the case in word play like this in the scriptures. We find that there is a comparing and a contrasting that is happening between verse 25 in chapter 2 and verse 1 of chapter 3.

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And I want you to think very carefully about this for a moment. In contrast to the nakedness and the accompanying innocence of Adam and Eve in the garden.

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We find the craftiness and the accompanying wickedness of the serpent.

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Everything that Adam and Eve are at this very moment can be described as very good.

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Oh they are very good as image bearers of God in this very moment. And at the very onset of this interaction it might be accurately stated that while man was altogether good, altogether honest.

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We are introduced here to Satan and the very first introduction we see is this that he is altogether evil.

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He is the altogether opposite of that which is good and altogether opposite of that which is honest.

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He is evil and he is a liar. And many of us read chapter 3, we read of the serpent, we immediately assign

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Satan to that serpent and we carry on in our reading. But let's slow down just a moment and ask ourselves why is it that Satan came in the form of a serpent?

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Again I think this is noteworthy. Historians have noted that pagan nations in the ancient near east revered the serpent as the life -giving goddess of the earth in the words of one commentator.

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Serpents were in the ancient near east not symbols of death as we would think of them today but as symbols of life and of wisdom.

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And believe it or not, some of you might think that's rather odd to think of a serpent as the depiction of life.

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Think about the last time you saw an ambulance go by with that blue, I believe they call it the star of life.

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And if you can picture that star of life on the side of that ambulance for a moment, think about what is usually vertical in the center of that star of life.

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There is a physician staff and then around that physician staff, what?

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A snake, a serpent. That's the symbol we say of Asclepius or Asclepius I think is how it's said.

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In direct contrast however to folk tales and to these pagan symbols that we still see employed today,

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Satan comes to man not as a man but as a serpent. As a pagan symbol as it were of life.

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He comes as one who promises life or at least life in greater abundance but delivers only death.

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Now what a contrast we see now between this passage, this chapter, this verse in chapters 1 and 2.

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Something has happened to God's very good creation since Genesis chapter 1 and verse 31.

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If you turn there with me for a moment. In Genesis chapter 1 and verse 31 we see that God saw everything that he had made.

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I will highlight that word, everything that he had made. And looking at everything that he had made, he said, behold it was very good.

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And there was evening and there was morning. Now Moses, the inspired author, does not tell us about the origins of this serpent.

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But I would suggest brethren that if we are going to wage war and know our enemy, we must study this figure more carefully.

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Contrary to popular opinion, this Satan did not come into sin.

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He did not fall from grace prior to the creation of the world. At some distant time in creation passed.

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But it occurred sometime after the sixth day of creation as we see recounted in Genesis chapter 1 and verse 31.

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At that time when God made everything, we mean everything, everything was in perfect harmony in the world.

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It was exactly as God had made it without defect. Everything was good.

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And so what happened? Here I want to take us to the origins of Satan himself.

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And we will not start just in Genesis chapter 3 but actually near the very end of our

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Bibles in the book of Jude in verse 6. There is one chapter in Jude and this is in Jude verse 6.

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There we read that Satan is, if you want to know children, if you want to know who

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Satan is, he is not an animal, he is not a human, but he is a fallen angel.

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Who along with many of his fellow angels sought to rebel against God's kingship and take a more exalted position for himself.

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Who sought to take a more exalted position. In Jude chapter 6, Jude verse 6, we read this.

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And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority but left their proper dwelling.

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He that is God has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day.

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I won't have you turn there but in 2 Peter chapter 2 and verse 24 we see almost a perfect parallel passage speaking of God casting

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Satan and these fallen angels down after having sinned. Now there is

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Jude verse 6, there is 2 Peter 2 verse 4, maybe I said 24 but verse 4.

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But these are the only references to the origins of Satan. Who is this enemy of ours? Jonathan Edwards has made a statement that I am inclined to agree with relative to at least 2 other passages that I think are worthy of our attention.

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In speaking about the fall of the king of Babylon and the fall of the king of Tyre. He says that these 2 kings and their fall are typological in pointing to the downfall of Satan.

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Now there is some disagreement about whether this is a full description or a typological description.

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I am inclined to a typological description and I will explain why in a moment. But I invite you to turn with me to Isaiah 14.

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Sorry, I am taking us a few places that I want us to see with our own eyes. Isaiah 14 and verse 12.

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And here in Isaiah 14 and verse 12 we find a reference to the fall of the king of Babylon.

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And there we read in verse 12 these words. How you are fallen from heaven,

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O day star, son of dawn. Now some people will read this and say this deals only with the fall of the king of Babylon.

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This deals only with a man. But I want to stop just at the end of that first verse. How you are fallen from heaven.

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I don't know about you brothers or sisters. I have experienced moments of pride, moments of arrogance. But I have never fallen from heaven itself.

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When Jonathan Edwards looked at these words he saw that mention of day star as a mention to the highest of all of God's creatures.

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This morning star language is likely a reference to the planet Venus. Which if you like watching the night or the sky at night or in the early morning is usually one of the first celestial bodies that comes up over the horizon in the morning.

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And this planet of course, the planet Venus was named after the goddess of love, beauty, sex and fertility.

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It is translated in the Latin Vulgate as Lucifer. Which has made it into many of our

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English translations as well. But Isaiah 14 as he continues reads like this.

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How you are cut down to the ground. You who laid the nations low. You said in your heart,

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I will ascend to heaven above the stars of God. And I will set my throne on high.

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I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds.

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I will make myself like the most high. But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit.

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If we are to take this to describe that king of Babylon in history. But typologically as Edwards and as many scholars have seen.

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Referring to Satan as one who is cast down from heaven as the day star. As Venus, as Lucifer from the

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Latin Vulgate. Then what we see is that somewhere after chapter 1 in verse 31.

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Satan in his relationship with God grew proud and arrogant. And sought himself to be like God.

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To ascend to be in some way in competition with God. Which we will see arise in one of the very next temptations that arises.

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That will be mirrored in his own words in Genesis chapter 3. I believe

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Satan, we know for certain Satan is a fallen angel. And that the reason why Satan was cast down.

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Is because of his desire to compete with God himself. For his authority, for his status, for his glory.

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But similarly in Exodus chapter 28. If we would go there together for another moment.

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In verse 12, leaning again on Jonathan Edwards. He says that here the king of Tyre is a type of devil that fell from grace.

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In Ezekiel 28 in verse 12 we read this. And maybe for the sake of time

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I was going to loop back and look at each word. But I will just point them out as we go. And you can tell me, does this refer ultimately to a person?

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Or does it refer to an angel? Exodus 28 in verse 12. Son of man, raise a lamentation over the king of Tyre.

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And say to him, thus says the Lord God. You were the signet of perfection.

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Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. I have never known a kingdom or a king to be able to be described as the signet of perfection.

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To be full of wisdom. And yet here the king of Tyre is described in this way.

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Now we continue. You were in Eden, the garden of God. Every precious stone was your covering.

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Sardius, topaz, diamond, beryl, onyx, jasper, sapphire, emerald, and carbuncle.

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And crafted in gold were your settings and your engravings. Now maybe some of you have seen those clips where the president -elect

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Donald Trump speaks about how he is. And this is not anything against him or for him.

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It's just factual. Speaks about how he is the best. No one loves Israel like this.

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No one loves the Bible more than him. No one loves whatever it is more than him. But Donald Trump cannot say,

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I was in Eden. In the garden. On that day. It says on the day that you were created, you were prepared.

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You were anointed guardian cherub. I placed you. You were on the holy mountain of God.

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In the midst of the stones of fire you walked. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created.

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Again, why is this human king? If it's referring strictly to a human king being regarded as the guardian cherub.

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Like the cherub that were set up outside of Eden. After the fall. To guard its way.

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To be the guardian cherub. To guard the very throne of God. And that to be blameless in it.

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You were blameless in your ways. From the day you were created.

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Until unrighteousness was found in you. In the abundance of your trade you were filled with violence.

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In your midst and you sinned. So I, and this we see right out of 2 Peter chapter 2 and verse 4.

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So I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God. And I destroyed you.

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Again, oh guardian cherub. From the midst of the stones of fire. Your heart was proud because of your beauty.

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You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. I cast you, there it is again, to the ground.

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I exposed you before kings to feast their eyes on you. By the multitude of your iniquities and the unrighteousness of your trade.

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You profaned your sanctuary. So I brought fire out from your midst. It consumed you.

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And I turned you to ashes on the earth. In sight of all who saw you.

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All who know you among the peoples are appalled at you. You have come to a dreadful end and shall be no more forever.

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Now all of this language can speak in a figurative sense to a human king.

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But see with me that it points to something else. Not something greater, but something worse.

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Something far more evil. Something that is beautiful. Someone that is wise. Someone or was wise.

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But someone who was cast down from heaven as a guardian cherub. Is this reference then to the human king of Tyre alone?

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This I would suggest is a reference to the enemy of God and his people. The one who is called

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Satan. The devil. The evil one. That ancient serpent. And dear brethren, his activities are diverse.

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And many. And destructive. The enemy of your soul.

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At this very moment. As he scans the earth to wreak havoc and to destroy lives.

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And to rob Christians not only of their joy, but of everything they have. This devil himself that we see in the garden is the same devil that is alive today and moving.

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He is called the father of lies. He is called the prince of the power of the air.

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Who leads many of his sons to wrath. He is the ruler of this world. We are told in John 14.

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He is the God of this world. 2 Corinthians 4 says. Who has blinded the eyes of unbelievers.

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Blinded the minds of unbelievers. He is a slave master. Who masters those who are slaves of unrighteousness.

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He is the accuser of the brethren. Revelation chapter 12. He captures men.

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We are told in 2 Timothy. In his snare. To do his will. And this devil is very much real.

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And we look. As we look through the pages of scripture. That our foe. If we are to know him well.

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Is a foe who possesses real power. In Job chapter 1.

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We are told. That he has power over the wind. That he has the ability to move animals.

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In Matthew chapter 8. That he can oppress and influence man. Including implanting thoughts in the human mind.

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As we see in Matthew 17. That he can afflict men with diseases. As we see in Job chapter 2.

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In Luke 13. Where it says in John chapter 5. 1 John chapter 5.

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In verse 19. The whole earth lies in the power of the evil one.

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Now I'm not trying to be sensational. Nor am I seeking to exalt Satan.

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He is wicked. He is our foe. He is to get no glory whatsoever. But we must recognize this reality.

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That we are in a war. And we are in a war. With real forces of darkness.

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And evil in the world. The very same devil. Who used Hitler. And Stalin.

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And Mao Zedong. And Pol Pot. As instruments of pure evil in his hands.

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Is the same devil that is prowling the earth. Looking for a means of destroying your soul. He is the same devil.

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That is behind kidnaps and killings. And slavery. And every grotesque crime. That is imaginable or unimaginable for that fact.

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I remember hearing just recently. And we don't talk about this too much in Reformed circles.

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Because frankly, we're scared of the excesses. We're terrified of the excesses. So we step back and we don't touch it.

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But this is a reality. I heard a story from one brother. Michael Horton.

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Some of you might be familiar with him. He is, I believe, he's a Presbyterian theologian.

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In Southern California. At Westminster Seminary. Where he was there at any point. At one time.

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And he tells the story. Of going to the capital of Hinduism in India.

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And spending 24 hours. Just an overnight period. In this capital city of Hinduism.

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In India. And the experiences that he had. And on one particular occasion. He and a faithful pastor.

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I imagine it was a Presbyterian pastor. Were out visiting some of the sites. As they were going about their day.

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And they came to a particular area. Where there was a Hindu temple. And shaman.

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Who were engaged in this ritual act. And as they were burning. The bones of the bodies of the people.

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That were being brought to them. For burning. There was one shaman in particular.

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Who was covered all in white. And the local pastor. Said to Michael Horton. I would just advise you.

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Don't look at them. Just don't pay them any attention. And he said.

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What that man is wearing on himself. Who is garbed in white. He said. That is the powder of the bones.

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That have been burned. As part of the ceremony. And he recounted how. Another American Presbyterian.

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Another reformed brother of ours. Went with him. And he gave this man the same counsel.

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And he said. Whatever you do. Don't look at them. Don't make eye contact. Don't approach them. And he thought. I am a cessationist.

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I don't really believe in this. This is poppycock. And he went up. And began speaking to the shaman.

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And the shaman looked him in the eyes. And this faithful. I trust. Trustworthy pastor.

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He looked him in the eyes. And this Indian pastor recounted. He said. He told that man. Everything about his life.

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The names of his children. And his family members. And things that no one else in the world knew.

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Now some of you will say. That sounds ridiculous. To which I would take you.

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You don't have to turn there. But to Acts chapter 16. Where we find that spirit oppressed girl.

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Who was used as a fortune teller. And what are we told in Acts chapter 16. But that she brought her masters.

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Very much profit. Now why is that? Because she was an effective fortune teller.

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Because the devil is real. And so are the powers of evil. And we must be very careful.

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Not to go and look. For demons under every rock. And every circumstance.

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And every temptation that we encounter. But equally we must be prepared. To acknowledge that there is a devil.

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That there is an enemy. And he is coming for us. And this changes things.

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When we experience temptation. In the world. Because sure temptation does come.

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From our own perverted desires. In our hearts. But it also comes from an enemy. Who would seek to kill our very souls.

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And we are not playing games. Day by day. But we have a real enemy.

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We are engaged in a real battle. We must know that enemy. If we need not fear 100 battles.

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We must know that enemy. We must know that he exists. And we must be. To at least some extent.

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Some small extent. Students of this enemy. That we would know his ways.

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Now let's do that. And become students of that enemy. For a moment. And we'll look number two.

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At our tactics for war. In Genesis 3.

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In verse 1b. We read. He said to the woman. Did God actually say.

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You shall not eat of any tree. In the garden. And the woman said to the serpent.

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We may eat of the fruit of the trees. In the garden. But God said. You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree.

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That is in the midst of the garden. Neither shall you touch it. Lest you die. But the serpent said to the woman.

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You will not surely die. For God knows. That when you eat of it. Your eyes will be opened.

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And you will be like God. Knowing both good and evil. So number two.

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Our tactics for war. Let me just say. If you find yourself.

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In the cool of the day. Walking out and about. And a serpent approaches you. And speaks to you in a known tongue.

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You ought to immediately. Avoid said serpent. We don't know why Eve. Was speaking with the serpent.

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But here we find a dialogue. Strictly between woman. And Satan. In the form of a serpent.

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And I want you to see this with me. And to see it. Seriously.

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The three times. That Satan. Brings a temptation. Before the woman.

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All three times. The word of the Lord. Is quoted. In some fashion.

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But never rightly. Never appropriately. Never in a way.

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That was spoken by God himself. In the spirit and in the intent. In which it was spoken.

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On one occasion. God's word is questioned. In a misleading way.

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When Satan asks. In verse 1b. Did God actually say.

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Secondly. It is paraphrased. Or maybe I should switch this.

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Secondly it is flatly denied. That you shall not surely die.

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Now God did in fact say that. But here Satan completely rejects that. And then in a third way.

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It is paraphrased. But with many changes. And so the word of God.

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Is quoted by Satan himself. All three times. Questioned. Denied.

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Changed. Let's look at these together. First in verse 1b.

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Satan questions. God's command in a misleading way. And he does this. And he will do this.

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In your life as well. He questions God's command. And he maligns.

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The character of God. So that your mind is filled. With not a true knowledge of God.

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But of a mischaracterization. Of who God is. In his person. In his character.

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In his kindness. In his grace. And he asks the question. Did God really.

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Actually say. You shall not eat. Of any tree in the garden. Did God say that?

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You may not eat of any tree. In the garden. Let's look at Genesis chapter 2.

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Again in verse 16. And we will see it directly. From the mouth of God. And the

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Lord God commanded the man. You may surely eat. Of every tree.

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In the garden. What is

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Satan trying to do here? He asks this question. He misquotes God. And in doing so he seeks.

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To besmirch. God's character. What a kindness it was.

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That the Lord not only created. One tree. But that he created many trees. And of the many trees that he created.

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He prohibited eating only from one tree. And he said of every. Other tree in the garden.

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You may eat. And enjoy its fruits. To see that it is.

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A delight to the eye. And a delight to the taste buds as well. Here God.

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Has given man. Food in abundance. And what does

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Satan do? But he says. Did God actually say? And in misquoting him.

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He calls into question. The generosity. And the kindness of God. How often.

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Brethren. Have we been in a situation. When we are suffering. Or we are experiencing some kind of difficulty.

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Or we see that the Lord answers. Nine out of ten of our prayers. And we go back to that one.

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Issue of unmet need. And we say why? Oh why did God not give me this?

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I remember on one occasion. Before my wife and I had children. We were driving in the car.

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And I was lamenting. That I had at that time. As a brand new Christian.

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No purpose in the world. It seemed I had no purpose in life. And I said. Why is

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God like this? Let me ask you. Where did that question come from?

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Did it come from a recognition. Of the sovereign grace. The loving kindness of God.

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The abundance that he had lavished on me. All the days of my life. Until the day that he saved me.

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And then made me to be a disciple of Christ. Or did it come from a questioning.

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Of God's character. When Satan comes to you.

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With temptations. He will make you think. That surely. If God understood.

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If God was good. If God was gracious. If God was kind. If God knew the plight of man.

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He would understand this. But he doesn't. And so I must take it into my own hands.

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He will come. Maligning God's character. But more than that. How else does he come?

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He comes flatly denying God's word. He says in verse 4.

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But the serpent said to the woman. You will not. Surely die.

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Now again. If we go back to Genesis. Chapter 2. And verse 17.

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What do we read? But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. You shall not eat. For in the day you eat of it.

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What? You shall surely die. In the Hebrew. The word order is this.

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He says not. You shall surely die. With that emphasis on the idea of not.

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That absolutely not. You will not die. If you take of the fruit of the tree.

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Of the knowledge of good and evil. But is that what the Lord said? It is in fact the exact opposite.

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He quotes the Lord perfectly. Except with that word not. At the beginning of the sentence.

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Here one commentator says. The word of the Lord. In the preceding chapters. Brought life and order.

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While the words of the serpent. Bring chaos and death. And yet God's word. Though it being older than Satan's lies.

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Satan's lies. Are so shrewdly expressed. That they are most often. Effective.

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How often do we read scripture. It says one thing and we say. Surely not.

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It must surely not mean that. Again if the Lord knew. I recall again to recount.

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From my early experience. Sitting in a parking lot. Reading 2 Timothy chapter 2. My wife.

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You'll be glad for this. Has only preached one sermon. She preached it. I don't know. 15, 20 years ago almost.

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And I remember sitting in the parking lot. Reading 2 Timothy chapter 2. About how women are not to teach.

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Sitting there in the parking lot. As my wife is in the church. Practicing for her sermon. That she is going to preach that day.

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And I thought surely not. This is not true anymore. We do this all the time.

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With a myriad of other things. We read God's word. And we say surely not. We must take

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God's word. At face value. Lean not on our own understanding.

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But trust in the Lord. With all our hearts. It will come.

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And then thirdly. We see the third temptation. That comes. As he says in verse 5.

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For God knows that when you eat of it. Your eyes will be opened. And you will be like God.

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Knowing good and evil. Now here he paraphrases.

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And changes it. Now the tree is called. The tree of the knowledge.

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Of good and evil. In chapter 2 in verse 17. But at any point does it say.

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That it will make one like God. Again it does not. When Satan.

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Comes to tempt us. He will not only. Misquote scripture. And malign the character of God.

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He will not only. Flatly deny or seek to. Persuade us to flatly deny.

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That which God has plainly said. But he will also come. Implanting in us.

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A vain desire. Or a desire for vainglory. That we.

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Would get a share of the glory of God. That I would come up and preach on the

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Lord's day. And that people rather than seeing. The glorious God who made me. And who inspired this word.

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Would see me. And they would glory in me. They would see that act of kindness.

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That you engage in. Before man. To be seen by them. And so have your reward.

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To pray. Not at all in private. And then to come pray long prayers.

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In public. I need to find my place here.

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And see Eve's response. Now Eve I believe does not sin here.

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But she errs here. And she stumbles as a result. In verse 2. One commentator points out that she minimizes.

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The provision of the Lord. As she is interacting with Satan. We remember don't we. That the

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Lord God gave them every tree. From the garden to eat. Except that one tree.

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But what does she say in Genesis 3. In verse 2. And the woman said.

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We may eat of the fruit of the trees. In the garden. Neglecting to mention every tree.

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In the fruit of the garden. We see it beginning to narrow. In its focus. In verse 3 she adds the prohibition.

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Not only may we eat from the tree. Of the knowledge of good and evil. But we may not touch it. We see her.

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In some ways being persuaded. Not only not to eat but not to touch. And then in verse 3 again.

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She weakens the penalties for sin. Where we read in chapter 2. In verse 17 that God said.

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You shall surely die. In verse 3 what does she say. You shall not touch it.

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Lest you die. Satan was actually much closer.

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To the wording of God's prohibition. Than she was when he said. Not you shall surely die.

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One scholar writes. There is no violation in free paraphrasing. Of the words of God.

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However if the precise wording. Of the original commandment is weakened. The appeal to sin.

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Grows stronger. We will come to places.

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And think surely. This is a small sin. And it will not lead to death.

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And so what tactics are we to have. In face of this enemy. I want to give you 4.

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I think that respond to these 3. That we see from Satan. I will enumerate them quickly. We are to give no opportunity to the devil.

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Give no opportunity. To the devil. We read explicitly from Ephesians.

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Chapter 4 and verse 27. Eve had no business.

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Speaking to that serpent. In the garden. And I like what one Puritan said.

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William Spurstow. He said. If you let the serpent's head. Into your house. His whole body will follow quickly.

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Who here would welcome. We don't live in this kind of climate. But some here are familiar.

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With that kind of climate I trust. Where you could open your back door. And there is a poisonous viper. On your back step.

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Who here. Amongst my Canadian audience. And my other brethren who are familiar with this.

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Would open the door. And let the viper into your house. To wreak havoc on your life. So that every time you open the cupboard door.

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You wonder if that viper is going to come. And strike you in the face. Yet this is what we do.

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When we leave an opportunity. For the devil to enter into our lives. James chapter 4 and verse 7 says.

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Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil. And he will flee from you.

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We must have. Such a disdain for sin. Such a distaste. For anything resembling sin.

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That it is cast away. Like that poisonous viper. The door is slammed shut. That it is not allowed into our lives.

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And how many of us toy with sin. We play with sin. We coddle that sin.

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That we love. We must kill it. Like brethren that I knew from Indonesia.

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They would go out with hoes. They are far more brave than I am. And they would lop the heads off cobras.

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As they came into their backyards. Lop the head off that sin. Kill it. Do not let it live in your life.

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We must meditate. Number two. On the goodness of God. One commentator says.

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An appreciation of God's goodness. Is essential to keeping the law.

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So often we. Don't we. We focus on the prohibitions. And Satan comes and says.

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Is it true that you cannot eat. From any of the fruit of the trees.

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And we must say. That God has given us. An abundance. He has given us all that we need.

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For life and godliness. He has given us all that we need. For an abundant life.

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In the Lord Jesus Christ. In those areas. That he has left off limits for us.

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We will honor. We will respect. We will submit.

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Reverently to God. Why? Because he is good. And he knows what is good for us.

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What is best for us. Thomas Brooks. To quote from another

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Puritan. He says. Satan promises the best. But pays with the worst.

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How many of us. Know that for a fact in our lives. The thing which looks good.

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Which looks desirable. Yet we take hold of it. And in it we find death.

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Satan promises the best. But pays with the worst. He promises honor. But pays with disgrace.

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He promises pleasure. And pays with pain. He promises profit.

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And pays with loss. He promises life. And pays with death.

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You see so many occasions now. Where men in ministry. Are experiencing moral failures.

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And you ask the question. Why in the world? You have everything. You have everything that you have worked for.

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You have studied for decades. For this. You have poured your life.

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Into the service of Christ. In this ministry. Why would you do it? Because they have failed to meditate.

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On the goodness of God. And they have believed the lies of the enemy. And that which is promised to be best.

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They find is worst. And that which they see promised as honor. They find to be a disgrace.

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We must not be fools. And believe Satan. Rather than God. Number three.

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We must have. An accurate.

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Acquaintance. With God's Word. Like Paul when he describes

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Timothy. In 2 Timothy 3 verse 15. He says we must be. As Timothy was.

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Acquainted with the sacred writings. Which are able to make us. Wise for salvation.

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Through faith in Jesus Christ. We must be rich in. The Word of Christ.

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Dear saints. To be effective. Men and women. In the army of God.

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We must have our swords of the spirit. Ready and at will. Sharpened.

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Glistening in the light of the sun. Prepared for battle. We must master our English Bibles.

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And frankly for all of us in this room. There is no excuse. We have so many resources.

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That the men and women of old. Would have loved. So that we can get up.

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And I can go to my bookshelf. And I decide. Do I want to read the

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ESV. Or the KJV. Or the NASB. Or the

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LSB. Or the CSB. Or the NIV. Or my Greek Bible.

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Or my Hebrew Bible. Or my French Bible. Or every Bible that I have on Logos. And every paraphrase of that.

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We have so much. At our disposal. And yet we have so little of it.

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Assimilated into us. That God has given us.

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His inerrant word. And just as precious as the promises. That Adam and Eve found in the garden.

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So we find these precious promises. In this word that is before us. And yet we leave it closed.

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You can get on your bicycle. Or in your car. And download an audio

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Bible app. And just sit. And be saturated. By God's word.

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On your way to work. But instead we listen to garbage. In the

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Screw Tape letters. Uncle Screw Tape. Counsels his young apprentice Wormwood. And he says this.

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Our plan is very simple. We will create so much noise. In the world.

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That man can no longer hear. The voice of his God. Is that not.

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Exactly what has happened. Written some 70 years ago. Our world is so noisy.

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We have allowed our world. To become so noisy. That not only do we no longer hear the voice of God. We no longer seek to hear.

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The voice of God. We must take up our

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Bibles and read. To read it richly. To hear it.

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To memorize it. You'll notice. Our brother announced it. That we have a review of memory verses.

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If you have started that. And then fallen off the train. Then this is a great time.

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We're going to give you 25 days. There are 25 verses. We're going to give you 25 days to catch up.

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Write the word of God. Unto your hearts. And then number four.

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We must not minimize sin. And it's consequences. We cannot say like Eve.

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We ought not to do this. Lest we die. We must say. When faced with sin in our lives.

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I must not. I cannot. I will not.

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Entertain this treasonous act. Against God. Himself.

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For his commandment is clear. And if I sin against God. In this way. His law exclaims to me.

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I will surely die. And it is true.

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That though the redeemed in Christ. Have been saved from the death of soul. We must never.

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As we so frequently do. Presume upon. The grace of God.

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And forget the sure promise. That the wages of sin. Is death. How sensitive is your conscience.

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As it relates to sin. Or are you like the false teachers.

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And the false professors. Who have allowed. Your conscience to become seared. So that sins that you once felt.

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Five years ago or ten years ago. Or two years ago. They no longer bother your conscience at all.

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Let me urge you. To carefully calibrate your conscience. To scripture. Foster a scripture.

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Shaped conscience. That is so appropriately. It is so appropriately. Sensitive that it becomes.

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Immediately inflamed. It sounds the alarm bells. At the first sight of sin in your life.

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We live in a seared. Conscience world. Your saints. Protect that conscience.

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Protect it with your life. Seek to foster that. So that God himself.

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And no one else. Owns your conscience. Live your life.

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Coram Deo. In the sight. Before the face of God. With an appreciation.

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That God sees and knows. Every sinful action. Every sinful thought.

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Every sinful meditation. Even every sinful motive. A lot of people.

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Download. And I commend it to you. I am not discounting this at all. But download software.

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That will watch your computer and your phone. And notify your friends. You should get that.

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If you are able to. But understand that. If you do not own that software.

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I tell you. There is more powerful software in the universe. That sees every single thing that you do.

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And the person who is notified. Is not your friend. It is God. There is a remarkable example of this.

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In the life and ministry of Jonathan Edwards. He was once presiding over. A large prayer meeting.

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In a prayer meeting. Of 800 people. In this case. And I would just add the interlude.

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Oh that God would make our prayer meetings like that. And so as it was.

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The format. Rather than everyone sharing. Because we know sharing a prayer request. Can consume a whole prayer meeting.

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People would share notes with their prayer requests. And someone shared a note with their prayer request. And it was to this effect.

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Pray for my husband. Because he has become. An unloving, prideful.

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And difficult man. And Edwards taking this. Before the congregation.

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In their prayer. He reads the prayer request. And then in a moment of boldness. Boy this is bold.

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He asks the question. If I can ask. Who is the man.

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That this prayer request. Is describing. And thinking that he might find the man.

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Who was the subject of that prayer request. And the congregation thinking. That they would see that man. Who is the subject of this prayer request.

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What did they see? But they were shocked. As 300 men in the congregation stood. These men heard those three adjectives.

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Unloving, prideful. And difficult read aloud. And their consciences burned within them.

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With such vehemence. That even before the congregation. They stood and they accepted it.

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Oh Lord give us consciences like that. And then lastly.

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Our conquering king. Now. You will invariably ask.

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For this third point. Oh Shane where is. Our conquering king. In verses 1 -5.

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Is this one of those. Those cheap tricks. That the preachers pull at the end of their sermons.

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Where to steer everything towards Christ. They get the shoe horn. They wedge him in there.

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There he is. Gospel centered sermon. Amen. Where is Christ? Where is our conquering king?

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Well I will say this. Scripture explicitly tells us. That he is typified here.

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In our first parents. Adam and Eve. All types. This is a good lesson.

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In terms of hermeneutics. All types are types. Apart from the witness of scripture. But here we have an explicit witness from scripture.

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In 1 Corinthians 15. In verse 45. Thus it is written. The first man

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Adam. Became a living being. The last Adam. Became a life giving spirit.

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Sometimes people will say. That Christ is the second Adam. Allow me to gently correct you.

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He is not the second Adam. He is the last Adam. The last Adam who will ever be.

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He is the true Adam. And what do we see in this passage? I would take us to a parallel.

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Almost a carbon copy. Of this garden. Of this garden temptation. There are actually two.

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But I'm just going to take you to one today. And that is in Matthew chapter 4. As Jesus was led.

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By the spirit into the wilderness. He was led there for what purpose? Does it say in Matthew chapter 4.

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In verse 1. He was led by the spirit. Into the wilderness. To be tempted.

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And after fasting. 40 days and 40 nights. He was hungry. Interestingly.

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How were Adam and Eve tempted? Was it with food? Hear Christ.

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After 40 days and 40 nights. Which probably is itself a depiction. Of the wilderness wanderings of Israel. Which might be also a depiction.

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Of Elijah's 40 days of fasting. Is here hungry. And Satan comes to tempt him with what?

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But with food. He says. If you are the son of God.

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See already the questioning. If you are the son of God. Command these stones to become.

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Loaves of bread. But he answered. Christ answered. It is written. Man shall not live by bread alone.

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But by every word that comes from the mouth of God. Then the devil took him to the holy city. And sent him on the pinnacle of the temple.

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And said to him. If you are the son of God. Throw yourself down. For it is written.

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He will command his angels concerning you. And on their hands they will bear you up. Lest you strike your foot against the stone.

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Jesus said to him. Again it is written. You shall not put the Lord your God. To the test.

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And again the devil took him to a very high mountain. And showed him all the kingdoms of the world. And their glory.

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And he said to him. All these things I will give you. If you will fall down and worship me. Then Jesus said to him.

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Be gone Satan. For it is written. Are you starting to see a theme here? You shall worship the

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Lord your God. And him only shall you serve. Then the devil left him.

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And behold angels came. And were ministering to him. If you don't see the striking resemblance.

01:01:29

Between this garden temptation. With Adam and Eve. Eve in particular. And this temptation of our

01:01:35

Lord Jesus Christ. In the wilderness. I don't know how to help you. What do we see?

01:01:41

But Satan himself questioned. Again. The goodness of God. And the very identity of the

01:01:47

Lord Jesus Christ. Then what does he do? But he misquotes scripture. This time from Psalm 91.

01:01:53

Tempting Christ to misapply the passage. Not to trust God for his protection. But to test

01:01:59

God for his protection. And then when all else fails. Just as he flat out denied the word of God.

01:02:05

In his temptation in the garden. Here he tempts Christ like Adam and Eve. To an exalted God like status.

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In the world. I will give you. Your worship. I will give you everything.

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That you are looking forward to. As Hebrews chapter 12 tells us. And I'll give it to you without the cross.

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And I will give it to you on your timeline. And not on God's. It is written.

01:02:31

It is written. What does Christ do? He does not succumb to the attacks of Satan.

01:02:37

As it relates to his identity. He does not. Remain ignorant to the misquotations.

01:02:42

From scripture. Because he knows the Bible. In and out. And rather than taking the fast track to glory.

01:02:50

He submits to his own. God ordained station at that time. And God's ordained timeline.

01:02:58

Where our first parents stumbled. At every point. Jesus Christ. The great last

01:03:03

Adam. Prevailed mightily over Satan. Why?

01:03:09

To show us our example for next week. 1 John 3 .8

01:03:14

says. The reason the son of God appeared. Was to destroy. The works of the devil.

01:03:22

It was necessary. That Christ be made like us. In our humanity. That he might come.

01:03:28

And defeat Satan once and for all. We see in Hebrews chapter 2.

01:03:35

In verse 14. He himself likewise partook. Of the same things that through death.

01:03:41

He might destroy the one. Who has the power of death. That is the devil. And deliver all those who through fear of death.

01:03:48

Were subject to life long slavery. Hebrews chapter 4. He was tempted in all things.

01:03:55

In every respect as we are. And yet. Without sin. And having humbled himself.

01:04:04

Coming to this world as a man. Enduring every temptation. We catch a glimpse.

01:04:12

Of this in the wilderness. We catch a glimpse of this in the garden. Not Eden. But the garden of Gethsemane.

01:04:19

And as he went to the cross. He cancelled our record of debts. Along with its legal demands.

01:04:27

Nailing them to the cross. And in doing so. Paul says in Colossians 2. He disarmed the rulers and authorities.

01:04:34

And put them to open shame. Triumphing over them. In him. It was necessary.

01:04:43

For the seed of the woman. That he should come. In the person of Jesus Christ. That he might crush.

01:04:51

The serpent's head. And saints he has. He has.

01:05:00

And so while we have a great enemy. We have a greater king. A conquering king.

01:05:08

And while the battle is still being waged. The war is won. And so dear saints.

01:05:18

We should live cautiously. Understanding we have an enemy. We should live cautiously. Understanding his schemes.

01:05:24

But make no mistake about it. We should live triumphantly. That the war is won.

01:05:31

And we are simply waiting. Waiting for the declaration of that victory. I love the way that this has played out.

01:05:40

In various. The lives of various brethren. In the case of Martin Luther. It influenced the way that he prayed.

01:05:47

You know there is this debate. About whether Satan himself can hear our prayers. Or not. And if you go online.

01:05:54

And you just Google. Can Satan hear our prayers? You will get a list of Reddit articles.

01:06:01

And blogs. And all kinds of things. That say that we should be praying. Silently in our closets.

01:06:07

Looking over our shoulders. No Satan. Okay I can pray. And as long as we pray silently.

01:06:13

Satan cannot hear us. He cannot get into our heads. He cannot thwart any of our purposes. And so we will be safe.

01:06:20

Is that the way Martin Luther prayed? And Martin Luther said. In Lutheran fashion.

01:06:27

He said. I want even the devil. To hear me pray. Because he wanted him to know.

01:06:34

What it was that he was praying. He wanted him to hear. His prayers of praise. His expressions of thanksgiving.

01:06:41

That once he was a child of that devil. But now he was a child of the living God. He wanted to hear that devil.

01:06:48

As he called down. Reinforcements from the king of king. The conquering king.

01:06:53

And so he wrote in one of the hymns. That we frequently sing. In a mighty fortress is our

01:06:58

God. For still our ancient foe. Doth seek to work us woe.

01:07:04

His craft and power are great. And armed with cruel hate. On earth is not his equal.

01:07:13

And what are we to do with this? He says. And though this world. With devils filled.

01:07:19

Should threaten to undo us. We will not fear. For God has willed.

01:07:25

His truth to triumph through us. The prince of darkness grim. We tremble not for him.

01:07:32

His rage we can endure. For lo his doom is sure. One little word.

01:07:41

Shall fell him. And it will. Come to our next.

01:07:50

Thessalonian study. This is an advertisement for it. 2nd Thessalonians 2 .8

01:07:56

And the lawless one. Will be revealed. Whom the Lord Jesus will kill. With the breath of his mouth.

01:08:02

And bring to nothing. By the appearance of his coming. If you are an unbeliever in this room.

01:08:09

You are a child. Of that defeated foe. The Bible calls you a child of wrath.

01:08:15

You are following the course of this world. You are following the prince of the power of the air. The spirit that is now at work.

01:08:21

In the sons of disobedience. His doom is sure. And if you remain a child of his.

01:08:27

As a servant in his courts. Your doom is equally sure. And you are abiding.

01:08:33

Under the just wrath of God. I call you. I summon you on behalf of the

01:08:39

Lord. Come to the Lord Jesus Christ. Come to the victorious savior.

01:08:46

Come to the conquering king. Who went to the cross. To reconcile your soul to his.

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Repent of your sins. And believe on Christ. And be saved. Come to Christ.

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Spurgeon once said. Satan can make men dance upon the brink of hell. As though they were on the verge of heaven.

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Let me tell you. At some point. Soon. Whether the Lord comes. Or you go to him first.

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We need not care what comes first. That yawning mouth of hell will open.

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And Satan and his angels. Who are cast into the lake of fire. You too will go there. Come to Christ.

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His commandments are not burdensome. He calls you to repent. That is to turn to him. And to trust in him alone.

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And I would love to explain more. To you later. And believers.

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Romans 8. What then shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation.

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Or disgress. Or persecution. Or famine. Or nakedness. Or danger.

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Or sword. As it is written. For your sake we are being killed all the day long.

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We are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. Knowing all these things. What are we? We are more than conquerors.

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Through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death. Nor life. Nor angels.

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Nor rulers. Nor things present. Notice this. Nor angels. Nor things present. Nor things to come.

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Nor powers. Nor height. Nor depth. Nor anything else in all creation. Will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.

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Our Lord. Calvin says on this theme. He says we are conquerors.

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Even before we engage with our enemy. For our head. Christ has once for all.

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Conquered for us. The whole world. So then saints.

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Let us live as conquerors. I have preached long. So I will conclude now.

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Know your enemy. Know yourself. You will need not fear.

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The outcome of a hundred battles. But let me give you one more. Know Jesus Christ.

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Oh know Christ. In his power. In his conquering. In his kingdom. Thomas Brooks said.

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Christ. The scripture. Your own hearts. And Satan's devices.

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These are the four prime things. That should be first and most studied. And searched.

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Let us search them. Let's pray. Thank you. Thank you for listening to another sermon.

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From Grace Fellowship Church. If you would like to keep up with us. You can find us at Facebook. At Grace Fellowship Church.

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Or our Instagram. At Grace Church Y E G. All one word. Finally you can visit us at our website.

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GraceEdmonton .ca We pray that you have been blessed by this recording. God bless you.