Greg Laurie’s Notes for Week of Monday, 6 January 2014

Greg Laurie’s Notes for Week of Monday, 6 January 2014

Upcoming Programs:

2013 Best of A New Beginning

HOPE FOR THOSE WHO HAVE LOST LOVED ONES

John The Death of Lazarus

11: Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill. 3 So the sisters sent a message to Jesus,[a] “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” 4 But when Jesus heard it, he said, “This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” 5 Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, 6 after having heard that Lazarus[b] was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.

7 Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” 8 The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again?” 9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day do not stumble, because they see the light of this world. 10 But those who walk at night stumble, because the light is not in them.” 11 After saying this, he told them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him.” 12 The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all right.” 13 Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was referring merely to sleep. 14 Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. 15 For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” 16 Thomas, who was called the Twin,[c] said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

Jesus the Resurrection and the Life

17 When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus[d] had already been in the tomb four days. 18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles[e] away, 19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. 21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.[f] Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah,[g] the Son of God, the one coming into the world.”

Jesus Weeps

28 When she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, and told her privately, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” 29 And when she heard it, she got up quickly and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. 31 The Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary get up quickly and go out. They followed her because they thought that she was going to the tomb to weep there. 32 When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. 34 He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Jesus began to weep. 36 So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”

Jesus Raises Lazarus to Life

38 Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. 39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days.” 40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” 41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, “Father, I thank you for having heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.” 43 When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

The Plot to Kill Jesus

45 Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him. 46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what he had done. 47 So the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the council, and said, “What are we to do? This man is performing many signs. 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy both our holy place[h] and our nation.” 49 But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all! 50 You do not understand that it is better for you to have one man die for the people than to have the whole nation destroyed.” 51 He did not say this on his own, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus was about to die for the nation, 52 and not for the nation only, but to gather into one the dispersed children of God. 53 So from that day on they planned to put him to death.

54 Jesus therefore no longer walked about openly among the Jews, but went from there to a town called Ephraim in the region near the wilderness; and he remained there with the disciples.

55 Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves. 56 They were looking for Jesus and were asking one another as they stood in the temple, “What do you think? Surely he will not come to the festival, will he?” 57 Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that anyone who knew where Jesus[i] was should let them know, so that they might arrest him.

Footnotes:

a. John 11:3 Gk him

b. John 11:6 Gk he

c. John 11:16 Gk Didymus

d. John 11:17 Gk he

e. John 11:18 Gk fifteen stadia

f. John 11:25 Other ancient authorities lack and the life

g. John 11:27 Or the Christ

h. John 11:48 Or our temple; Greek our place

i. John 11:57 Gk he

I want to talk about hope for those who have lost loved ones, but if that isn’t you, I want you to pay attention anyway. Sometimes the Lord will give us truth in our life that we store up for another day, sort of like a squirrel saving up for the winter. Store these truths in your heart because it is only a matter of time until a loved one is going to leave this world, and you will need to draw on the hope that God offers.

PRACTICAL PRINCIPLES

1. Life is filled with pain, sorrow, and the death of loved ones. Sometimes we live as though we are going to get a free pass on these things, and then they hit us out of the blue. Don’t be shocked when it happens. Jesus warned that we would have tribulation in this world.

2. God loves us. Don’t rush over that thought. God loves you very much and you must remember that whatever He allows to happen in your life as His child is motivated by His everlasting love for you.

3. Jesus weeps in our time of pain. Jesus was God, but He was also a man, and He identifies with us in our suffering. He feels our pain and sorrows, and when your heart breaks, His does too.

4. God can be glorified through human suffering and bring good despite the bad.

RELEVANT REMINDERS

 • To have hope does not mean that you have a smile permanently plastered on your face. Nor does it mean you will stop feeling pain. Hope and pain can coexist simultaneously in our hearts.

 • Sometimes God is glorified through the removal of affliction, and other times He is glorified in our perseverance through the affliction. It is through hardship that we develop hope.

 • It’s not wrong to ask why. Jesus Himself asked the question “Why?”

APPLICABLE ACTIONS

Maybe you are facing crisis now. Here is what you need to do. Like Mary and Martha you need to run to God and call out to Him, and bring your pain and sorrow to Him. Jesus is the source of hope and He will meet your need if you come to Him in your weakness.

MONDAY, 6 January 2014

Hope for Those Who Have Lost Loved Ones — III

John The Death of Lazarus

11: Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 Mary was the one who anointed the Lord with perfume and wiped his feet with her hair; her brother Lazarus was ill. 3 So the sisters sent a message to Jesus,[a] “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” 4 But when Jesus heard it, he said, “This illness does not lead to death; rather it is for God’s glory, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” 5 Accordingly, though Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus, 6 after having heard that Lazarus[b] was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was.

7 Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” 8 The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now trying to stone you, and are you going there again?” 9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Those who walk during the day do not stumble, because they see the light of this world. 10 But those who walk at night stumble, because the light is not in them.” 11 After saying this, he told them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I am going there to awaken him.” 12 The disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will be all right.” 13 Jesus, however, had been speaking about his death, but they thought that he was referring merely to sleep. 14 Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. 15 For your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” 16 Thomas, who was called the Twin,[c] said to his fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”

Jesus the Resurrection and the Life

17 When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus[d] had already been in the tomb four days. 18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, some two miles[e] away, 19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary to console them about their brother. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, while Mary stayed at home. 21 Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But even now I know that God will give you whatever you ask of him.” 23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24 Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life.[f] Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” 27 She said to him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that you are the Messiah,[g] the Son of God, the one coming into the world.”

Jesus Weeps

28 When she had said this, she went back and called her sister Mary, and told her privately, “The Teacher is here and is calling for you.” 29 And when she heard it, she got up quickly and went to him. 30 Now Jesus had not yet come to the village, but was still at the place where Martha had met him. 31 The Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary get up quickly and go out. They followed her because they thought that she was going to the tomb to weep there. 32 When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” 33 When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. 34 He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Jesus began to weep. 36 So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?”

Jesus Raises Lazarus to Life

38 Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. 39 Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, already there is a stench because he has been dead four days.” 40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” 41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus looked upward and said, “Father, I thank you for having heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this for the sake of the crowd standing here, so that they may believe that you sent me.” 43 When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

The Plot to Kill Jesus

45 Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him. 46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what he had done. 47 So the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the council, and said, “What are we to do? This man is performing many signs. 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy both our holy place[h] and our nation.” 49 But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all! 50 You do not understand that it is better for you to have one man die for the people than to have the whole nation destroyed.” 51 He did not say this on his own, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus was about to die for the nation, 52 and not for the nation only, but to gather into one the dispersed children of God. 53 So from that day on they planned to put him to death.

54 Jesus therefore no longer walked about openly among the Jews, but went from there to a town called Ephraim in the region near the wilderness; and he remained there with the disciples.

55 Now the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves. 56 They were looking for Jesus and were asking one another as they stood in the temple, “What do you think? Surely he will not come to the festival, will he?” 57 Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that anyone who knew where Jesus[i] was should let them know, so that they might arrest him.

Footnotes:

a. John 11:3 Gk him

b. John 11:6 Gk he

c. John 11:16 Gk Didymus

d. John 11:17 Gk he

e. John 11:18 Gk fifteen stadia

f. John 11:25 Other ancient authorities lack and the life

g. John 11:27 Or the Christ

h. John 11:48 Or our temple; Greek our place

i. John 11:57 Gk he

Sometimes it seems we face more than we can handle. Have you ever had a "why me, why now" moment? Pastor Greg Laurie talks about the hard roads of life and how putting our faith in God can give us hope in hopeless situations.

2013 Best of A New Beginning

ANGELS AND DEMONS, PART 1

Daniel 6: 16 Then the king gave the command, and Daniel was brought and thrown into the den of lions. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you faithfully serve, deliver you!” 17 A stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet and with the signet of his lords, so that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel. 18 Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; no food was brought to him, and sleep fled from him.

Daniel Saved from the Lions

19 Then, at break of day, the king got up and hurried to the den of lions. 20 When he came near the den where Daniel was, he cried out anxiously to Daniel, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God whom you faithfully serve been able to deliver you from the lions?” 21 Daniel then said to the king, “O king, live forever! 22 My God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouths so that they would not hurt me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no wrong.”

Time Magazine once conducted a poll that revealed 69% of Americans believe in the existence of angels. It is admirable that so many people are “spiritual,” but so many of the things that people believe about angels come from Hollywood’s depiction. Those might be entertaining, but a better source for the truth about angels and demons is the Word of God.

PRACTICAL PRINCIPLES

1. Sometimes, angels reveal God’s purposes. Sometimes, God personally communicates with His servants, but angels are also used to deliver news. Angels were there when Abraham was told of Sodom and Gomorrah’s future, and they warned Lot of the destruction to come. Similarly, an angel told Elizabeth that she would give birth to John the Baptist, and Gabriel told Mary that she would be Jesus’ mother.

2. Angels help bring us to salvation and sometimes give us guidance. In the Book of Acts, an angel came to Cornelius and directed him to visit Peter, who preached the gospel to him. Earlier in Acts, an angel pointed Philip to go into the desert, where he met with the Ethiopian eunuch and led him to Christ. It’s notable that the angels were not supposed to lead the person to Christ, only point them to the person who would.

3. Angels personally escort believers to heaven. While we are alive, angels do God’s will—guiding us, protecting us, and sometimes stopping us. But when the believer passes from this life into the next, the angel’s next job is to escort them into the presence of God. In the parable of Lazarus and the rich man (Luke 16), Lazarus is taken from this earth to the bosom of Abraham by angels.

RELEVANT REMINDERS

We do not know how many angels there are, and Scripture only identifies a few of them. One is Michael, the archangel who is like a super-angel. In Daniel 10, an angel reveals to Daniel that Michael needed to be called in to help subdue a particular evil spirit.

Not only does this show the extent of spiritual warfare going on around us, but it is a good reminder to pray fervently and persistently. Perhaps your prayer isn’t being answered because the angels and demons are battling.

APPLICABLE ACTIONS

The familiar story of Daniel and lions’ den shows us two things. One, that angels do protect us in dangerous situations. Two, no matter how bad the situation may seem, God is with us, so we do not have to despair as Christians. If you don’t have that hope, why not call out to Him today?

TUESDAY, 7 January 2014

Angels & Demons, Part 1 — I

Daniel 6: 16 Then the king gave the command, and Daniel was brought and thrown into the den of lions. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you faithfully serve, deliver you!” 17 A stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet and with the signet of his lords, so that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel. 18 Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; no food was brought to him, and sleep fled from him.

Daniel Saved from the Lions

19 Then, at break of day, the king got up and hurried to the den of lions. 20 When he came near the den where Daniel was, he cried out anxiously to Daniel, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God whom you faithfully serve been able to deliver you from the lions?” 21 Daniel then said to the king, “O king, live forever! 22 My God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouths so that they would not hurt me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no wrong.”

Are angels real, or just an invention of Hollywood? Pastor Greg Laurie says the answer may surprise you! In one of his most requested messages, Pastor Greg Laurie shows us God's plan for angels in the lives of believers.

WEDNESDAY, 8 January 2014

Angels & Demons, Part 1 — II

Daniel 6: 16 Then the king gave the command, and Daniel was brought and thrown into the den of lions. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you faithfully serve, deliver you!” 17 A stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, and the king sealed it with his own signet and with the signet of his lords, so that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel. 18 Then the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; no food was brought to him, and sleep fled from him.

Daniel Saved from the Lions

19 Then, at break of day, the king got up and hurried to the den of lions. 20 When he came near the den where Daniel was, he cried out anxiously to Daniel, “O Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God whom you faithfully serve been able to deliver you from the lions?” 21 Daniel then said to the king, “O king, live forever! 22 My God sent his angel and shut the lions’ mouths so that they would not hurt me, because I was found blameless before him; and also before you, O king, I have done no wrong.”

Pastor Greg Laurie says God's angels protect and guide His children. And when one of God's children is called home, the angels usher that newcomer right into God's presence. Pastor Greg Laurie has even more fascinating insights into the realm of angels. It's one of his most requested studies.

2013 Best of A New Beginning

ANGELS AND DEMONS, PART 2

Genesis The First Sin and Its Punishment

3: Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.’” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die; 5 for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God,[a] knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.

8 They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 He said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.” 11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent tricked me, and I ate.” 14 The Lord God said to the serpent,

“Because you have done this,

    cursed are you among all animals

    and among all wild creatures;

upon your belly you shall go,

    and dust you shall eat

    all the days of your life.

15 I will put enmity between you and the woman,

    and between your offspring and hers;

he will strike your head,

    and you will strike his heel.”

16 To the woman he said,

“I will greatly increase your pangs in childbearing;

    in pain you shall bring forth children,

yet your desire shall be for your husband,

    and he shall rule over you.”

17 And to the man[b] he said,

“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife,

    and have eaten of the tree

about which I commanded you,

    ‘You shall not eat of it,’

cursed is the ground because of you;

    in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life;

18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;

    and you shall eat the plants of the field.

19 By the sweat of your face

    you shall eat bread

until you return to the ground,

    for out of it you were taken;

you are dust,

    and to dust you shall return.”

20 The man named his wife Eve,[c] because she was the mother of all living. 21 And the Lord God made garments of skins for the man[d] and for his wife, and clothed them.

22 Then the Lord God said, “See, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— 23 therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he was taken. 24 He drove out the man; and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim, and a sword flaming and turning to guard the way to the tree of life.

Footnotes:

a. Genesis 3:5 Or gods

b. Genesis 3:17 Or to Adam

c. Genesis 3:20 In Heb Eve resembles the word for living

d. Genesis 3:21 Or for Adam

Many people tend to fall into two camps on the topic of Satan and his demons. Either they obsess about Satan’s power and influence, like a conspiracy theorist, or they dismiss the devil’s power altogether, treating him like a caricature.

The truth is in the middle—Satan isn’t as powerful as the conspiracy theorists think, but he is dangerous and needs to be accounted for. And when we understand his strategy to bring down believers, the more easily we can combat him.

PRACTICAL PRINCIPLES

1. Where do the devil and his demons come from? God did not create Satan or his demons, as some people believe. God did create an angel named Lucifer, who rebelled against God’s authority and was cast out of heaven (Isaiah 14:12), along with a third of the angels (Revelation 12:4). When that happened, Lucifier—the “Star of the Morning”—became Satan—“the accuser”—and the fallen angels became demons.

2. What are the devil’s strengths? Satan’s titles give us a good picture of what his powers are. He is the prince of this world, the mastermind and controller of this fleshly realm. He is behind the downfall and the degradation of our culture over the years. He is also the father of lies (John 8:44), using outright lies and half-truths to deceive mankind. As Beelzebub (prince of demons), he commands an army of fallen angels who work on his behalf to attack believers and keep nonbelievers in the dark.

RELEVANT REMINDERS

The story of the serpent tempting Eve says much about how Satan works to bring people down. First, Eve put herself in position to be tempted by hanging out at one tree God had forbidden her and Adam to eat from. Satan questioned God’s word (Genesis 3:1), then questioned God’s love for Eve (Genesis 3:4). With the suggestion already placed in her head, Eve was enticed by the fruit and gave in.

Satan works the same way in our lives. He finds our areas of weaknesses and entices and tempts us in those areas. And when we give in, he becomes the accuser, using our guilt to keep us from calling out to God for forgiveness. It’s the same strategy Satan has used for years and it keeps working.

APPLICABLE ACTIONS

Feeling guilty is not necessarily a bad thing, as long as it comes from the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit convicts you, He uses the Word of God in love and seeks to bring you back into fellowship with your heavenly Father. When Satan accuses you, he uses your sins in a hateful way and seeks to make you feel helpless and hopeless. If you have sinned, God wants you to come back to Him. What better time than now?

THURSDAY, 9 January 2014

Angels & Demons, Part 2 — I

Genesis The First Sin and Its Punishment

3: Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.’” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die; 5 for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God,[a] knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.

8 They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 He said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.” 11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent tricked me, and I ate.” 14 The Lord God said to the serpent,

“Because you have done this,

    cursed are you among all animals

    and among all wild creatures;

upon your belly you shall go,

    and dust you shall eat

    all the days of your life.

15 I will put enmity between you and the woman,

    and between your offspring and hers;

he will strike your head,

    and you will strike his heel.”

16 To the woman he said,

“I will greatly increase your pangs in childbearing;

    in pain you shall bring forth children,

yet your desire shall be for your husband,

    and he shall rule over you.”

17 And to the man[b] he said,

“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife,

    and have eaten of the tree

about which I commanded you,

    ‘You shall not eat of it,’

cursed is the ground because of you;

    in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life;

18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;

    and you shall eat the plants of the field.

19 By the sweat of your face

    you shall eat bread

until you return to the ground,

    for out of it you were taken;

you are dust,

    and to dust you shall return.”

20 The man named his wife Eve,[c] because she was the mother of all living. 21 And the Lord God made garments of skins for the man[d] and for his wife, and clothed them.

22 Then the Lord God said, “See, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— 23 therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he was taken. 24 He drove out the man; and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim, and a sword flaming and turning to guard the way to the tree of life.

Footnotes:

a. Genesis 3:5 Or gods

b. Genesis 3:17 Or to Adam

c. Genesis 3:20 In Heb Eve resembles the word for living

d. Genesis 3:21 Or for Adam

Pastor Greg Laurie reminds us that the devil is the master of enticement . . . and the master of destruction. It's a revealing looking into the invisible word of angels and demons and what the Bible reveals about their activities.

FRIDAY, 10 January 2014

Angels & Demons, Part 2 — II

Genesis The First Sin and Its Punishment

3: Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God say, ‘You shall not eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch it, or you shall die.’” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die; 5 for God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God,[a] knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate; and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves.

8 They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 He said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.” 11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent tricked me, and I ate.” 14 The Lord God said to the serpent,

“Because you have done this,

    cursed are you among all animals

    and among all wild creatures;

upon your belly you shall go,

    and dust you shall eat

    all the days of your life.

15 I will put enmity between you and the woman,

    and between your offspring and hers;

he will strike your head,

    and you will strike his heel.”

16 To the woman he said,

“I will greatly increase your pangs in childbearing;

    in pain you shall bring forth children,

yet your desire shall be for your husband,

    and he shall rule over you.”

17 And to the man[b] he said,

“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife,

    and have eaten of the tree

about which I commanded you,

    ‘You shall not eat of it,’

cursed is the ground because of you;

    in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life;

18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;

    and you shall eat the plants of the field.

19 By the sweat of your face

    you shall eat bread

until you return to the ground,

    for out of it you were taken;

you are dust,

    and to dust you shall return.”

20 The man named his wife Eve,[c] because she was the mother of all living. 21 And the Lord God made garments of skins for the man[d] and for his wife, and clothed them.

22 Then the Lord God said, “See, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever”— 23 therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he was taken. 24 He drove out the man; and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim, and a sword flaming and turning to guard the way to the tree of life.

Footnotes:

a. Genesis 3:5 Or gods

b. Genesis 3:17 Or to Adam

c. Genesis 3:20 In Heb Eve resembles the word for living

d. Genesis 3:21 Or for Adam

Pastor Greg Laurie says our adversary lures us into sin, and just when we've taken the bait, he condemns us for what we've done! Listen to get important counsel on how to resist the devil and his forces.

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Harvest Ministries with Greg Laurie

P.O. Box 4000

Riverside, CA 92514-4000 United States

Phone: 1(800)821-3300

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