Guidance From the Garden, Part 1 It’s easy to be on alert when things are going wrong. But when everything is good, do you find yourself letting your guard down? Believers must be vigilant even in times of peace because Satan is always looking to trip us up. Don’t fall prey to his subtle traps—keep watch and trust the Lord to protect you.
you have to be careful when everything
is good you have to be careful when
everything is right and what happens is
this when everything is just right
that’s when people drop that guy next on
InTouch dr. Charles Stanley begins his
series guidance from the garden today’s
message be careful when all as well well
it’s natural for us to strive to do the
best we can do whatever we do and
whether that’s for our health in our
occupation whatever that might be in our
relationships every aspect of our life
we we want to do our best and when you
think about the area of your life that
you don’t feel like you do your best it
may be the area that sort of frustrates
you and makes you anxious and maybe the
thing that you pray about most of all
and in that striving believe our best we
discover what our strengths are and we
discover what our weaknesses are and so
sometimes we put a lot more effort in
that area that we probably feel the
weakest and so we work harder and
sometimes we improve and maybe sometimes
we feel like we’re not getting anywhere
and yet if you’re really working at it
you probably making more progress than
you think you are so you reach your
goals and after you reach some of your
goals in life you relax a little bit you
take it easy
and then after a while maybe after
taking it a little bit easy you begin to
be less sensitive to the things that
made you very sensitive to make you a
success at whatever you were doing and
sometimes that being less sensitive
means we relaxed about our attitudes
relaxed about where we are who we win
what we do what our goals are in life
and
so especially is that true in our
spiritual life and so I’m titling this
message be careful when all is well we
have to be careful when all is well
because everything is going good you’re
making enough money and you do well in
your job and you got Alexa money level
extra time and so you know life’s
treated you well and so just relax and
enjoy it and so we have to be careful
when everything is going our way
sometimes that can be the beginning of
disaster so I want you to turn to the
second chapter of Genesis and so you
know that the first chapter primarily is
about the creation of the earth and all
the good things that God did and
starting the second chapter I want to
salute the beginning if you will in
verse 7 then the Lord God formed man of
the dust from the ground and breathed
into him into his nostrils the breath of
life and man became a living being the
Lord God planted a garden till the east
indeed we call it the Garden of Eden
there he placed the man whom he had
formed out of the garden the Lord God
caused to grow every tree that is
pleasing to the sight and good for food
listen that every tree beautiful to look
at good to taste good for food the Lord
he says the Tree of Life also in the
midst of the garden and then the tree of
the knowledge of good and evil now a
river flowed out of Eden to water the
garden and from there and divided and
became four rivers the name of the first
is fish on it flows around the whole
land of havilah and where there is gold
I thought that was interesting that you
got identified place where there’s goal
the goal of that land is good the Delian
and onyx are there the name of the
second rivers Gahan
those around the whole land of cush the
name of the third river is Tigris it
flows east out of Assyria and its fourth
River is the Euphrates you say well why
he got to put all that in the Bible
because he wants us to know where it is
so then the Lord God took the man put
him into the Garden of Eden to cultivate
and to keep it the Lord God commanded
the man saying from any tree of the
garden you may eat freely but from the
tree of the knowledge of good and evil
you shall not eat for in the day that
you eat from it you will surely die so
God has created this awesome beautiful
place to live and so he says having
created all those beautiful things then
he put two trees in the garden
the you now might think well why didn’t
you just leave it like it was you gotta
put a pear tree there apple tree orange
trade lemon tree lime tree but this tree
you put there was the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil why did you
have to put that in the garden so we’ll
talk about that in a moment so I want us
to look at Adam and look at him in this
light first of all his residence where
he lived which we’ve been talking about
the Bible says it’s pleasing in the
sight of those who could look at it
absolutely beautiful trees good for
fruit that it satisfies their hunger so
he’s living in this awesome beautiful
garden everything about it is absolutely
perfect now there is a tree that’s sort
of strange over there but we don’t know
how long Adam and Eve lived in the
garden together when everything was
beautiful and they were obedient to God
so when you think about that and you
think about how perfect everything was
and then it’s interesting that God gave
Adam a responsibility in this awesome
place in which he live and the scripture
says that he told Adam that youth you
too
keep the garden that is year to manage
it so it was a garden that grew and I
don’t know what to managing that garden
would have been in the Garden of Eden
had a responsibility and that
responsibility was to keep that garden
the way God had made it and so
everything was just right he said good
for food their words there were no needs
you can think of a single need or desire
that Adam would have had so when you
think about that and you think about
well what’s this all about well it’s all
about this God had one restriction he
said all of this all the food everything
is perfect perfect wife perfect husband
he said there’s one restriction and that
restriction has to do with a tree and
that tree is the tree of the knowledge
of good and evil but from the tree of
the knowledge of good and evil you shall
not eat for in the day that you eat from
it you will surely die
now what’s that word surely because
remember what Satan said to her you
might surely die God said you’ll surely
die watch this and Satan said he won’t
Cheerilee die now watch this exactly the
way the devil still works well you won’t
really get caught
nobody’s really gonna find out about it
she won’t know he won’t know they won’t
know and if you take a little it’s okay
because all kind of folks do all kinds
of things in other words the devil has
not changed it worked with Adam and Eve
is still working and the purpose of this
message is to warn you lest you drop
your guard
and become less sensitive that what’s
going on around you because things look
so well and finds yourself losing out on
God’s blessing on your life and so
he said one thing you have to remember
the tree in the midst of the garden is
deadly so let’s ask a question at two
trees there the Tree of Life and the
tree of the knowledge of good and evil
why would you why would you put that
tree there so he could tempt man no but
think about this suppose for example
there were only one other woman in the
world one of a man in the world and you
want to get married she’s your only
choice he’s your only choice that’s it
so where is love in other words if Adam
and Eve had not had a choice they hadn’t
been like robots and that is why do I
love her I don’t have insurance
what do I love them I don’t have a
choice in other words if he created them
and placed them in the garden and gave
them no choices then is that love or is
it not and I believe that one of the
reasons he gave them that opportunity to
make a choice
what’s this is not to choose evil and be
harmed by but to listen to love him
enough to choose right he gave us a
choice to love him another loving and
that makes our relationship with him far
more precious and rewarding and
fulfilling we have a choice – loving or
not loving and so let’s look at the
Adams response for a moment here he is
this awesome beautiful indescribable
place and his response well what was his
response well he kept the garden
everything was fantastic and then God
had given him Eve and she decided that
she would try the fruit because the
devil’s offer was then you’ll be like a
God think about this they were already
like
they had all the knowledge that they
could possibly need everything they
could possibly want in life total
satisfaction and Satan says he’s keeping
something from you now you can be like
God all you have to do is take a bite
and it’s interesting that I don’t know
how long that conversation went on is
very brief in the Bible but finally she
decided to take a bite now watch this
according to the scripture she handed
Adam let’s just say it was an apple she
handed Adam the Apple he took a bite he
didn’t say Eve don’t you remember what
God said we are not to eat of the fruit
of the tree in the midst of the garden
both of them fell and all of a sudden
the Bible says they discover that they
were naked and so they have to go hide
and then you know the story God comes
walking in the cool of the day it says
Adam where are you and he had to say you
know we had to find us a tree big enough
to hide behind and because we knew you’d
show up Sandra later now what I want you
to see in this is this in your walk with
God everything’s going good I mean he’s
blessing you you’re making it us money
your family is good you drive a nice
automobile living in a nice house as far
as you’re concerned everything’s just
going fine we have to live in this world
on guard we have to live on guard we
can’t come to the place at any point
where we say well you know what
everything is fantastic just relax
because the devil always has an offer
that is absolutely
diametrically opposed to what God has
for you
and I am certain that when Satan made
the offer to Eve it was a very deceitful
lying offer but instead of thinking
about what she had thinking about where
she was thinking about what God had said
and how absolutely perfectly
they lived she decided because he said
now if you want to be like God
take a bite she decided she wanted
something that watch this that was
forbidden when she had everything
something that was forbidden because
Satan said well if you really want to
enjoy the garden do you read if you
really want to enjoy life you’ll have a
life just take one bite but that was
Satan’s lie that was his trap Satan is
still lying he’s still killing people
you need this well if you’re really
going to live you ought to have some of
this or if you really want life you need
to be married to her instead of her or
him instead of him
and you name it Satan’s full of lies he
hadn’t changed he uses the same tactics
he’s always use lying about the truth
denying what God has said is true he
said in the day that you eat of this you
will surely die and that’s exactly what
they did so think about this all the
pain all the sorrow all the heartache
all the death all the misery that has
happened in this world began in a
perfect garden between two people who
disobeyed God in any family if one
family if one person disobeys God
specifically very clearly what happens
everybody in the family hurts everybody
in God’s awesome family from the
beginning of time until this moment we
have all hurt we have all been injured
we have all felt the weight in the
burden and the yield of sin you have to
be careful when everything is good you
have to be careful when everything is
right and what happens is that when
everything is just right that’s when
people drop their guard that’s when
people begin to think well you know how
well they’re doing well before you were
doing so well you were praying to God if
you were obedient to God you asking God
to give you direction and guidance for
your life and you’re asking him to meet
your needs and healed your body or
whatever it might be and now that
everything is going so good and you
decide they will I’ll try some of this
or some of that I’m telling you that’s
the devil’s trap that’s Satan’s trap
over and over and over again what we
find going on all around us is Satan’s
trap a little bit of this won’t hurt you
listen a little bit of sin will hurt you
because a little bit of sin usually
multiplies and a whole lot of sin and a
lot of disobedience to God but
everything is looking good
be careful who you listen to be careful
who you look at and the way you look at
it and the way you respond to other
people and the way you choose your
friends so the last thing I would
mention the size Adams response is Adams
regrets look what happened expelled from
the garden first of all the shame they
had to hide try to hide from God they
had they had to cover their bodies
because all of a sudden they never they
never experienced shame all of a sudden
they were shamed to being naked ashamed
to be in the presence of God afraid that
God would find them and that’s what he
did fear of what was going to happen
because all of a sudden
they could hear it like an echo and the
day that you eat of the fruit of this
tree you shall surely die too late too
late
inside if I wish I had I wish I had not
too late you have to be careful who you
listen to what you look at who you see
what you want what you desire what your
future looks like
because remember this the soul that’s in
it that you’ll die that law of God has
not changed you reap what you sow more
than your soul later than yourself has
not changed the wages of sin is death
has not changed and so we have the
privilege of living obediently before
God we have the Holy Spirit living
within us to give us warnings they’ll
say watch this watch that and we we
can’t really excuse ourselves for the
things that we do not right because God
warns us and we have a whole Bible for
the warnings Adam and Eve had they had
the voice of God crystal clear in the
ether in the David you definition Shula
died now we have from Genesis to
Revelation a Bible full of proofs the
day that you sinned against God
something happens to you you down inside
listen to me carefully that many people
who have died every day on the inside
and college something else the wages of
sin there’s only one healing for that
God hasn’t changed his laws
and if you’ll think about Adam and Eve
they had everything what’s this how long
did it take them to lose everything and
they lost it all so I would simply ask
you a question are you careful about who
your friends are
are you careful about what your husband
or wife brings home are you careful
about reading the Word of God every day
are you careful about talking to the
Heavenly Father every day are you
sensitive about your relationship to God
every day are you tempted having watched
other people up here to have such a good
time and maybe in your circumstance you
not having a very good time but you’re
paying God are you tempted to want
something that will end up absolutely
destroying you remember this cannot
change the laws of God the soul that
sinneth it shall die the wages of sin is
death you cannot change it
therefore as followers of Jesus we have
to be listen still with his spirit
obeying the promptings of the Holy
Spirit sensitive to when he shows us
something that does not belong in our
life that a you and I are able to say no
no no no don’t worry what about what
your friends think people who are living
with the Lord Jesus Christ are dying a
little bit every day so
when everything is going well we have to
be careful to listen clearly to the
voice of God when he gives us a warning
and then not argue with it I have a
discussion with him but obeying well if
you’ve never trusted Jesus as you save
you listen to this you like Adam and Eve
hiding behind the tree you’re lost and
the only hope of salvation is accepting
Jesus phrase as your personal Savior
trusting him for the forgiveness of your
sins but the indwelling of the Holy
Spirit to enable you to be the person
who God wants you to be does that mean
you’ll never be tempted no does it mean
you’ll never sin no but it means that
you have the Lord Jesus Christ living on
the inside to warn you the Holy Spirit
to empower you to say no to sin and yes
to the Living God and I trusted you be
wise enough to do that if you’re here
this morning you’ve never trusted Jesus
as you save you if you willing to ask
him right where you sit god that sounds
just like me I’ve sinned against you
I’ve known better I knew the truth but
if I violated it I’m asking you this
morning to forgive me of my sins I’m
asking you to forgive me right where I
sit I’m trusting use my personal Saviour
giving my life to you how will God
respond forgive you of your sins save
you right where you sit if you ask him
he will do it and that’s my prayer for
you and father we thank you that you
placed in the word this simple account
of why we are where we are today and I
prayed that you have spoken to anybody
here who is on the verge of who has
tasted of who has fret no’s with who is
being tempted to to be reminded that
your law doesn’t
and even after we are saved and we
choose to send against you something
dies on the inside of us and I pray it’s
seated right here if they’re those Lord
and that surely must be a you and have
me preach this message though being
tempted for making choices for listening
to the devil saying you are not surely
die or whatever line he said Grantham
wisdom old God to say no to the devil
and yes to the holistic is my prayer in
Jesus name Amen
if you’ve been blessed by today’s
program please visit us at intouch.org e
in Dutch leading people worldwide into a
growing relationship with Jesus Christ
and strengthening the local church this
program is sponsored by InTouch ministry
and it’s made possible by the grace of
God and your faithful prayers and gear
[Music]
Really informative blog.Really thank you! Great.
Im thankful for the post.Much thanks again. Want more.