Satan’s words to Eve about eating from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil directly contradicted what God had told her. Yet he convinced her there would be no repercussions to her disobedience. Satan still uses the same lie to deceive us today—that God’s Word can’t be trusted and that sin has no consequences. Learn to resist his deception and obey God. For more messages from Charles Stanley, including this week’s broadcast, go to www.intouch.org/watch
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Satan has all kind of tools watch this
it doesn’t make any difference which to
the uses you cannot deny the principle
of Almighty God that principle is there
are wages consequences to sin Satan says
there’s not a whole lifetime of humanity
says their consequences the same
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four decades ago we started in touch
ministries to lead people worldwide into
a growing relationship with Jesus Christ
throughout the years we’ve seen God’s
greatness his love and his blessings in
such awesome ways that we just want
everyone to know him so let’s open God’s
Word and seek Him together next on
InTouch the great deception the title of
this message is the great deception that
to deceive somebody is to lie to them
mislead them misinformed them that is to
lead them astray so ask yourself the
question and I haven’t been mislead not
have been deceived if I haven’t been to
trade because all of us at some point in
their life had been lied to maybe even
misled someone else betrayed someone
else or even some false information
whatever it might be and it’s
interesting that when you open the Word
of God right up front right up front God
intends for us to learn a very very
important lesson and you would think
well these lessons should be somewhere
else in the Word of God right up front
you have the account of the creation and
then we come to the creation of man and
woman and then we get into a deception
that is affected every single one of us
and will affect us all the days of our
life and it happens to be one of Satan’s
tactics that brings into our life guilt
fear shame and loss as for deception
does very important a message
because it’s very clear in Scripture
what the Bible says about the ception
and to deceive someone else and so in
the second chapter of Genesis beginning
in the 16th verse and just going through
a couple of verses here 16th verse says
the Lord God commanded the man saying
from any tree of the garden you may
freely eat but from the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil you shall not
eat of it for the day that you eat from
it you will surely die so the question
is this what is the great deception
don’t miss this the great deception is
this you can sin without any
consequences
you can sin without any consequences is
the great deception and it works in
everybody’s life at some time of the
elbe believing that we can send against
God and they have no consequences you
see it in the life of Adam and Eve and
all through the Scriptures and if you
think about all the rest of these pages
in the world of God they’re witness to
the fact that you cannot sin against God
without consequences no one can their
consequences to sin and the devil’s lie
is oh that’s not what God meant that’s
not what will happen to you I know it’s
in the Bible and you can give me a verse
of scripture but that’s not what it’s
certainly all about so I want us to
think about who the tempter is in the
scriptures to give you know maybe a
little different aspect on it and if you
look in this 3rd chapter and verse 1 the
scripture says now the serpent was more
crafty than any beast of the field which
the Lord God had made and he said to the
woman indeed watch this now indeed
as God said you shall not eat from any
tree of the garden that’s not what he
said you see he says did you God tell
you that you can’t eat from any tree of
the garden and so Eve said this but from
the fruit of the tree which is in the
middle of the garden God has said you
shall need from it I’ll touch it or you
will die
didn’t say that you can eat from any of
it but there’s a particular one and then
listen to what Satan said the serpent
said to the woman you surely will not
die that is not really so this is a
creature they got allowed in the garden
the test and try them and of course he
got what was coming to him and is he
still around today yes he is and there’s
not this is not anything good that the
devil does because he’s a deceiver turn
if you will to Revelation chapter 12 for
a moment and look in verse 9 the
scripture says and the Great Dragon was
thrown down the serpent of old who is
called the devil and Satan who deceives
the whole world he was thrown down in
the earth and his angels were thrown
down with him and there are other verses
but I just want you to see the the devil
is not just a snake the devil was a
created being and man was tempted and
tried and he failed then and we still
fall today if we’re not very very
careful about what’s going on in that
life and so I want us to think about
this for a moment because the devil
hadn’t changed he’s the same and so
here’s the deception the deception is
you can sin no consequences that’s his
life that’s it
that’s how he operates that’s the lie he
tells you can sin no matter what you see
what you do what you hear
you can sin against God and there are no
consequences
is absolutely a lie ask God thou shall
not bear false witness and the devil is
continually doing that so we have to ask
the question okay so Satan is the
tempter and what was the temptation they
had everything that world they wanted
everything in the world they needed I
mean it was just heaven on earth and so
Satan says but there’s one thing you
don’t have you can be like God
you can no good from evil you’ll be like
God think about this when Satan tempts
us
does he not use the attempters about
something we don’t have we would like to
have or picture ourselves having and so
that’s the approach and it’s interesting
when she looked at all of this she said
you know it looks like it’s good for
food pleasant to the eyes and therefore
a wonderful experience
isn’t this the same lod that Satan tells
a day it’s good for your stomach mm-hmm
that is it’s it’s pleasing and pleasant
to look at and you can experience it
think for a moment how many different
sins follow that category how they taste
how they look and what you experience
you can go away from drinking to sex you
can take all the sins and put them into
that category and this is exactly what
Satan was doing and so the issue is
Satan says now is that really what God
said having the times you’ve you ever
been tempted that in some fashion or the
other you said well I wonder if that’s
really what God said in the Bible well
one offense I don’t know what that is in
the Bible
I’ve heard people say verse in the Bible
I’ve heard something sermon about it but
well I don’t know that God really said
that that’s exactly what the devil told
her that’s exactly what he’s saying to
people today
this way you hear people say well I’m a
Christian but I don’t know whether I
believe all the Bible or not you know
what people do when they decide they
don’t believe it all they pick the
things they choose the things they want
to believe that threaten them in no way
God is a God of love God loves his
children Oh heaven heaven heaven all of
these things when the Bible says the
soul that sinneth it shall die the wages
of sin is death
you don’t hear loss people quoting those
they talk about going to heaven and God
loves everybody and he wouldn’t dare let
anybody die and and go to hell and so
they pick and choose when it comes to
the Word of God you can’t pick and
choose you can only to your dismay and
suffering and sooner or later so the
deception that Satan used on Eve was
it’s okay to eat I know God said don’t
eat that but it’s okay to eat it it’ll
be all right she did not believe what
God said because God didn’t say that he
said the day that you eat in the fruit
of the tree ye shall surely die now let
me ask you a question do you believe
there’s any change in this any change in
this from the Bible says the soul that
sinneth it shall die it’s still the
truth therefore the great deception is
because it’s worked all these years you
sin against God there are no
consequences when every single one of us
every single one of us knows by
experience and by looking at what’s
happening around us there are
consequences the disobedience to God
there always has been since Adam and Eve
and there always will be so let’s think
about we know what the temptation is
let’s think about his tactics how Satan
works
Satan led her to question the Word of
God that’s where it all begins when you
begin to doubt God’s Word you’re headed
down a track because doubt usually is
followed by denial well that’s I don’t I
really don’t believe that and I think
that’s no problem there and so the
what happens deception really sets in
the Bible doesn’t really mean that God
wouldn’t do that he’s a God of love he’s
not gonna let that happen and then of
course what happens is a person disobeys
God
and then there’s destruction and it’s
just that simple trail over and over and
over again people live in their lives
and then they’ll still tell you well I
do believe that God is a God of love he
wouldn’t dare he wouldn’t dare do that
when the whole word of God is a
testimony to the fact that it is a
deception to believe that you can sin
without consequences the consequences of
that no matter who you are if you look
in your own life and you will be
absolutely honest you say well those
things just happen isn’t it interesting
that things just so happened I caught
him the way you did it just so happens
they’re calling the one you did it it
just so happens it’s the thing that in
your conscience keeps bothering you
the thing that you’d like to change in
life God hasn’t changed his principles
haven’t changed and it’s interesting to
me and it’s very effective that right up
in the very beginning of the word of God
with all these pages and Old Testament
New Testament all these pages they’re
witness the same thing wages of sin is
death there are consequences to disobey
Almighty God and so when I think about
what those consequences are and not
thinking about what Satan said the he
said this fruit will make you wise and
so he appeal to the natural desires and
that’s what Satan does for example you
you drop down the expressway and you see
a billboard that’s advertising whiskey
or wine or something you don’t see them
with a broken bottle you don’t see them
with with a ugly color it’s as
attractive as it can be and the same
thing is true when they are showing
people or whatever they’re advertising
they make it attract
to the eyes because if you see it and
then you think about it and you think
about it enough before long you want
whatever it is whether it’s another man
or another woman or there’s something to
drink or something to get high on or
whether it’s drugs or whatever no words
Satan has all kind of tools watch this
it doesn’t make any difference which
tool he uses you cannot deny the
principle of Almighty God the principle
is there are wages consequences to sin
Satan says there’s not a whole lifetime
of humanity says there are consequences
to sin so I want to ask you in your life
before you find yourself doing something
that you know is not right looking what
you shouldn’t look doing what you
shouldn’t do do you stop and ask
yourself the question what are the
consequences and the devil will tell you
and no consequences that everybody does
that I’ll have to ask yourself the
question God what do you think about it
do you think God would ever say it’s
okay is he gonna kill you but it’s okay
it’s not good for you no he’s made it
very clear in the Word of God how
absolutely serious it is because it’s a
trap it’s impossible to sin against God
without consequences and so you have to
ask yourself the question when you
attempted to do anything do you ask
yourself the question what are the
consequences of this you see when the
Holy Spirit is in your life he’s going
to bring you to ask yourself that
question because he’s a protector as
well as a giver of truth Lord what do
you say and if you’ve been a Christian
for a little while you know what’s right
and wrong you know what’s good what’s
evil and you see those things and you
see people who are living a righteous
life a godly life that doesn’t mean it’s
perfect but their goal is to be obedient
to God and live in that kind of life
they don’t have to wonder other thing
right or wrong or not they know whether
it’s right or wrong they know whether
it’s sin or not and God’s people need to
live holy godly lives and what happens
it makes an awesome impression not to
impress people but it says something to
people who are living in sin first of
all they don’t like us sometime and
they’ll do all kinds of things to
undermine what we believe trying to do
so but the truth is still there that sin
always brings consequence which the
Bible tells us here so let’s think about
this for a moment think about the
tragedy that really takes place for Adam
and Eve they heard the truth and what do
they do they listen to they heard the
truth listen to Satan’s lie their
innocence remember they were perfectly
innocent turned to shame
not only did they find shame instead of
joy in their life but listen they began
to experience guilt shame fear and being
found out think about in this perfect
garden fear shame guilt being found out
can you imagine what they must have
thought when they heard God coming heard
the footsteps of God we would say and
then a voice that they would never
forget Adam where are you God was not
asking for information what’s this he
could say that to you today he could
call your name and say where are you if
you’re living in sin he probably has
said that several times in several ways
but you didn’t know it was him but you
felt it in yard where are you why are
you where you are and so he asked them
he wasn’t asking for information
he wanted them to see where they were
because they were separated from God
hiding in the bushes and trying to cover
up their naked body we can’t even
imagine what kind of terror must have
gone through their mind when they heard
God coming knowing that they sent
against him and knowing that they were
naked
unlike they had been before facing a God
who had loved them enough to give them
everything imaginable and they threw it
all away over one deception you can sin
and there no consequences
and all you have to do is to sit down
and listen to some people who have taken
that route they’ve lost their family
they’ve lost their relationship they’ve
lost their job they’ve lost everything
because of deliberate willful sin in
their life and what did the devil say
yeah yeah doesn’t mean that you’ll be
okay listen to me there are consequences
to sin therefore because there are
consequences to sin and you and no
exception you think well but you know
what you let you look at all the money
you have in the position and all the
things and you how attractive you are
and how popular your God is an impressed
with any of that
there are divine consequences to sin in
a person’s life and how many times if I
heard somebody say well I can’t make I
don’t know why God did this to me well
God didn’t do it to you
it’s your action it’s your disobedience
that brought it on the wages of sin is
death the gift of God is eternal life
which do you choose
so when you look to see what happened
they want to blame each other and I’m
gonna give you a list of things that
happen to them
and so number one they lost their
innocence they were perfectly innocent
they can be absolutely naked and
everything that’s fine now they gotta
wear clothes what kind of clothes bush
clothes they had they had to find
something that they could cover up their
naked body with so first of all the loss
of innocence secondly they lost their
relationship with God that’s why they
were scared to death
when they heard him coming the third
thing they lost was their home in the
garden and notice what happened to him
they were driven out of the garden into
a world to make it on their own and I
don’t know whether you remember not but
Adam lived to be about in over 900 years
think about this he he was in the garden
with everything and when he was cast out
he lived say some nine hundred years in
a world of loss of wickedness of all the
things that were going on at that time
how many times that he stopped to think
and he must have said the we had it so
good in the garden oftentimes that’s
what people say when they walk away from
God well the next thing is this driven
out of the home in the garden they were
driven out all humanity for time and
eternity were affected you know what
we’re being affected by what they did
and then lastly we experience pain
suffering hardship shame and loss as a
result of God’s judgment
think about it so this message is just
in one statement sin against God there
are in escapable
consequences it’s a choice we make you
said there what about all the sin I’ve
already committed if you’re willing to
acknowledge that you willing to come to
the Lord Jesus and ask him to forgive
you for the mess you’ve made don’t color
it up well God I’ve made some mistakes
now you’ve done worse than making
mistakes don’t try to cover the god I’ve
sinned against you I have disobeyed you
I have objected to your laws I’ve caused
other people to fall I’m Lord I’ve just
been wicked I’ve been sinful in my life
and now I’m asking you to forgive me and
the cleanse cleaned me up and helped me
just just help me God I need you Lord
that’s really what you’re asking you
can’t come to him telling him well I
have given a lot or you know I’ve tried
to be a good citizen I’ve never been in
prison I’ve heard all kind of stuff none
of that has to do with your sin against
Almighty God you need to acknowledge it
ask him to forgive you for it
not because you’re going to do this that
or the other and you’re becoming to him
through the Lord Jesus Christ who died
on the cross shed his blood that was the
payment that Jesus made for in order for
us to be forgiven if you leave Jesus out
of the equation what’s the basis of your
salvation you could never be good enough
it’s only through the blood of Christ
shedding us letter Calvary that paid
your sin debt in mine in full and no
matter what you’ve done where you’ve
been and with whom or whatever if you’re
willing to genuinely with all of your
heart as for your forget I asked him to
forgive you
and repent what does that means and that
means that you’ve been walking this way
and repentance means you’re going to
turn around and head in the other
direction because now you’re gonna
follow Jesus it just boils down to
something simple I’m either going to
believe that he will forgive me or not
and I’m gonna know in my heart and
believe that it’s because of what Jesus
did that I’m accepted you said I’ve been
so wrong for so long I need to say this
the Apostle Paul killed Christians the
Apostle Paul put him in jail he did
everything imaginable the followers of
Jesus look what God did for him but he
knocked him down Blondin even got his
attention so I would suggest that you
don’t put God to the test because this I
know if you’re listening are you
watching are you here you’re hearing the
truth so you cannot excuse yourself
before God ask him to forgive you to
cleanse your life surrender yourself to
him
watch him do a marvelous work in your
life amen
and father we thank you that you’ve
never turned anybody down who came to
you confessing and repenting of their
sins in you and then meeting it with all
their heart so I pray that every person
who hears this message will look at
themselves not somebody else ask
themselves as some very personal pointed
questions about their life and when
they’ve finished
acknowledge their sinfulness their
unworthiness their disobedience even
their wickedness of heart
and surrender their life to you
forgiving loving God that you are we
know that you’ll forgive him in Jesus
name Amen
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