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

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