Perhaps you're reading this and you are struggling in life as a Christian or perhaps you are an unbeliever. You're searching for more, and you know there has to be more to life than this, and there is. Hopefully these teachings will help you see and experience this abundant life. This life that only HE, Jesus Christ, can live and give.

We are going to start by teaching the 5R's.

1.Repent

3.Rest

4.Reconcile

5.Reach 

The serpent, aka Satan, deceives Eve into thinking she won't die, and she can be like God knowing all good and evil. Eve's first mistake was engaging him to begin with. Women are relational, so he was appealing to her natural tendencies. So to be God is to set our self in authority to be God, creator, king, ruler.  We want to be independent of THE GOD, and to set up our own kingdom (so we think anyway).

So they ate:

Verse 6 touches on the verse 1 John 2:16 which talks about the lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and pride of life. All three of those words, lust, lust, pride come from the same root word "to covet."  (covet: to desire for self, to demand, to take for selfish reasons.) So LUST AND PRIDE are the sins that come from SIN which is to act as God!   

Little kids sometimes show  us overtly how we grown-ups act.

One child takes the toy (lust, so takes without asking...), the other says, 'NO! THAT IS MY TOY."

(pride fully saying "give it back" as he rips it from the other's hand). Two GODS, kings, saying, "This is MY Kingdom". Marriage looks and works like that, too. WHO is going to be in charge of this kingdom?  Husband, wife, or God?

Verse 7-11

1. They saw for the first time they were naked, and they were ashamed.

2. They knew they did wrong, so they felt guilty.

3. They hid themselves, because they were afraid. 

Shame, guilt, and fear are the 3 feelings that go with all sin.

Verses 12-13

They were caught and God asked them questions and Adam blamed. He didn't just blame Eve, as the world  likes to laugh at and most Christians think, but he blamed God, too!  We men can be so prideful and arrogant! Can you imagine talking to God that way? The one who made you! 

Eve blamed the serpent. Neither wanted to take responsibility for their own actions.

It seems that irresponsibility has been going on a long time! 

Verse 14-19

God then delivers the curse, the consequence for trying to replace Him as GOD and trying to find some sort of significance apart from Him. It cannot be done!!  

God then goes down the line of authority starting with the serpent, then Eve, then Adam. Notice what God says to Adam in verse 17:

"Because you heeded to the voice of your wife..... "  He should have protected her. In 1Timothy 2:14, Paul says that the woman was deceived, not Adam.

SO LET'S RECAP:

1. SATAN DECEIVES ME INTO THINKING I CAN BE GOD AND BE INDEPENDENT FROM HIM WHICH IS SIN.

2. LUST AND PRIDE ARE SINS FROM TRYING TO REPLACE GOD AND BE GOD.

3. SHAME, GUILT, AND FEAR ARE FEELINGS THAT COME FROM SIN.

4. I BLAME OTHERS AND DO NOT TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR MY THOUGHTS AND EMOTIONAL WELL BEING. 

Think about your life: how you may be deceived, how you act as your own god by lusting and being prideful. Check your emotions: do you feel shame, guilt, and fear and/or blame God and/or others for your mental and emotional well being?

Go to God now and confess to Him what he is showing you.

If you need help, seek a Godly friend, pastor, counselor, or call our church office and get some discipleship counseling.

You may want to send a prayer request (go to the sidebar and to prayer requests).

Until our next teaching - how sin affects you and others.

    Remember from the last teaching in Genesis 3 how we want to be independent, be our own god, or play god...

   We must remember that God IS God, and that He has prerogatives that belong to Him and only Him!  ( see diagram)

God is God, and you and I are NOT!!

    So when we try to be God and do these things, we are replacing God in his rightful authority. You may say, "I don't do that." Do you ever get mad at someone? Do you hear yourself saying or thinking, "They should . . ." or "They must . . ." or "I want you to do . . ." or "You need to . . ."?  And when they don't do it, do you demand obedience to it.... and then judge them unworthy of your love?

Sometimes these can be the smallest of things. I always tell people life is lived in the small things. For instance,

1.  I set MY standard: I want the toothpaste lid back on the toothpaste every time.

2.  When Robin does not do it, I demand that she does it by yelling at her.

3.  Then I judge her to be unworthy of my acceptance and love.

Even if it is so silly and lasts only for a short second, every time we get mad, angry, or throw a temper tantrum we are trying to be GOD. 

4.  Sometimes my wife gets mad at me and yells at me, so I think, "I will get her! I won't take out the trash for a week." (Yuk!) But I got her back!! Vengeance.

5.  I worry. I am anxious and fearful about money or people and think, "Oh my, what am going to do? I must work harder, or give the kids everything so they will like me. If only...."  I am trying to control life. Women tend to try to control life and become over responsible in the family dynamics.

6.  A husband might say, "I will go hunting this weekend even though I haven't spent time with my wife or kids all week (or ever). I will leave the wife/girlfriend to raise the kids....." Men tend to do this and be irresponsible and independent.

7.  Sometimes we seek affection, approval, affirmation, acceptance, or attention from people (which includes any premarital sex or men pleasing). I believe this drives people in this day and age, especially, with all of our computers, tv, and movies. The message the world tells everyone is that you deserve to be loved and you need to love yourself more! You need more self esteem!

Has it worked so far? No. The bible tells us we already love ourselves (Eph 5:29). We love ourselves too much!!    

8. A person might say, "I need NO help. I can figure it out on my own."  This is simply pride. 

    All of these can occur spiritually (an unbeliever is being independent, asking no one, especially God, for help), mentally, emotionally, physically, maritally, parentally, or financially.  It may seem small, but it is still sin!

    Are you acting as if you are God? If you are, go to God and tell him what you are doing and be specific:

I am setting standards for myself and for others.

I am demanding obedience and judging those around me.

I am seeking revenge or trying to control life.

I am being independent of God and others.

I am seeking acceptance or affection rather than going to God who loves me. (By the way, nowhere in scripture does it say to demand or seek love from one another.  It says to give!)  

I am being prideful thinking that I don't need help in any area of my life, including spiritually.

When we try to be God and replace Him, it is sin.

Be honest with yourself and you are on your way to being truly free in Christ.

Go to teaching #3.

    Just as we talked about in teachings 1 and 2, we all sin, and sin is acting as if we are God. Sin has consequences.   ALL SIN REJECTS, BUT NOT ALL REJECTION IS SIN!  For instance, if God sends someone to hell for unbelief and rejects them, that is not sin. (By the way, God didn't send them. They sent themselves.) If we must discipline our kids, that is not sin (although we can sin in that discipline process out of anger). God told us in His word to discipline our children.

Take a look at the rejection cycle diagram.

1. "I THINK OR FEEL REJECTED AND/OR UNLOVED."  Notice it says "I."  This is my rejection cycle, and it is your rejection cycle. Take responsibility for it. Then I want you to realize that the word rejection is ANY thinking or feeling of offense.

For instance if my wife disrespects me I could put that under the umbrella of rejection. I could say, "I think and feel disrespected by my wife."

2. I oppose the rejection in my mind and think of it as being unworthy of what I really deserve which is respect! After all, I think I am God!

3. And I REACT by saying or doing things that reject others!  In other words I SIN back!

Sin brings rejection.

   Sometimes no one is around and I feel rejected or unloved.  I am seeking love and affection or acceptance and power, but I feel disrespected and dishonored...

The bible says to honor your wife and respect your husband. When we dishonor our wives, they feel the sting of that sin and feel or think they are rejected and unloved.

When husbands are disrespected by their wives, they feel or think they are unloved and rejected.

There are many feelings under this umbrella of rejection and offenses, such as feeling cheated, manipulated, deceived, or taken advantage of.

     Esau felt these in Gen 25-27. Read those verses and you will see. He was taken advantage of by his brother (Gen. 25:27-34) while he was hungry and lost his birthright. Then in 27 he lost his blessing because of his brother cheating, stealing, deceiving and tricking his father (see the sin - rejection). Then it says in 27:41, "and I will kill my brother, Jacob."  His reaction to his brother's sin was sin!  NOT FORGIVNESS!!!!!

    We all get rejected through sin, EVEN JESUS! So why shouldn't we? If Jesus, the perfect, loving, Son of God, gets rejected, should we not also?

    If you think and feel rejected now by someone or by your own standards and expectations, go to God and tell Him how you feel. Remember your reaction to the rejection is sin also! Tell Him your sin as well as the other person's!

You do not have to live in that rejection cycle.

     Repentance is the key to maturity and transformation, NOT knowledge and information alone! Many Christians have a lot of bible info in their head, but because they do not repent to God through Jesus, their lives do not reflect any transformation or fruit. In fact, knowledge and information alone leads to PRIDE (1 Cor. 8:1).

     Let's look at Ps. 32:1

  PS. 119:59 says, "I thought about MY WAYS, AND TURNED MY FEET TOWARD GOD'S WAY!"  We need to be honest, about "OUR WAY" and take an honest appraisal of ourselves. Then turn toward "God's Way" which is Himself. 

  Turn to 2 Cor.7:8-11 and read these verses. Godly sorrow leads to salvation; a salvation for the first time and a salvation of maturity - a renewing process. But a worldly sorrow is one that is not whole hearted. It's a façade, and just words. It's a ritual that is not sincere or genuine.  

 What diligence, clearing, indignation, fear, vehement desire, zeal, and vindication godly sorrow produces. And it proved the Corinthians to be clear. All toward God, they had a ZEAL, which means to embrace, pursue, and defend!!!  A zeal that we have when we go running back to God, Daddy, our Lord and Savior! 

 
As Christians, we experience death to life - once for salvation and ongoing in maturity! 

Let's look at Eph. 4:32 "...even as Christ has forgiven you"

Go to Col. 2:13 "...having forgiven ALL your trespasses..."  

And Col.3:13 "...even as Christ forgave you..."

Are you forgiven? YES!!!! SO STOP ASKING FOR SOMETHING YOU ALREADY HAVE!  

True faith claims what a person has now, not what he continues to hope for. We ARE forgiven, we ARE redeemed, we ARE accepted, and we ARE loved!!

Remember to thank God for His forgiveness that you posses now. Repentance is not about stopping sin BUT about your relationship with your God and His son's work at the cross. 

To go back to asking for forgiveness, as for instance the "Lords prayer" (which is before the cross and to the nation of Israel and to the Apostles), is as Paul said in Galatians 2:18, "to build on what has already been destroyed is to make your self a transgressor."

  We (Gentiles) never had the law to begin with. (Romans 6:14)

  So thank God, and remember repentance is the key to maturity.

Go to 2nd R Renewing and Lesson # 5

   1Thes 5:23 says, "...may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved...." Hebrews 4:12 says the word can divide the soul from the spirit.  So you see we are a tri-unity as God, Son, and Spirit are a tri-unity.
  We are a spirit, we have a soul, and we live in a body. The spirit deals with the God consciousness which includes spirit-awareness, sensitivity, understanding, and motivation. It is how the spirit relates to God.
 The soul deals with the mind, will, and emotions.  It is psychological and includes self consciousness and how we relate to others.
 The body is the physiological part of us. It is how we relate to the world/environment through our senses:  sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell.
  Now we are born with a spirit that is dead to God, and a mind and body that still relates to our environment and the data we take in as we grow up. Some of us have both parents, some one, some none. Some have a great childhood, others not so good. Some have a Christian upbringing, some nothing, or worse. This affects our soul by how we think, our attitudes, our actions, and our goals in life.
    At some point we come to receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and then The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit come into our spirit and give us life. Then we have the data of the WORD to teach and show us even more of who God is, what Christ has done, and who we are now.
    In Romans 10:8-13, we see that by faith, if we believe unto righteousness and confess with our mouth, we will be saved. So we have salvation, eternal life in God, and we are saved from eternal death. (see Diagram). In 1 John 5:13 we see that we have assurance of this salvation ("That we may know we have eternal life"). John 10:28 says, "...and they shall never perish nor shall anyone snatch them out of my Father's hand." We have security in the assurance of this salvation.
    "We are accepted in the beloved." (Eph 1:6 and 13). So God accepts us into Him and then He is totally committed to us (Hebrew 13:5).
  So in our Spirit, God, Jesus and the Spirit live; and they saved us, assured us of that, secured us in them, have accepted us and are committed to us!! WOW! And that is just the beginning!!!
Our Spirit is who we are: dead or alive, unbeliever or believer. There are only 2 types of people in this world - believers or unbelievers, live ones or dead ones.
 Now the Spirit is taken care of for the believer. You CANNOT get anymore of Christ in your spirit. You're filled up. No matter what age you are, young or old, the same amount of Spirit is in your spirit.
        SO, what's the problem? Where is the problem? Why do I sin? Why do I feel so fearful and anxious with no victory in my life? (Remember teaching #1.) Look at the second diagram of spirit-soul -body.

The problems we face are in the soul, our mind, will, and emotions.
We think and feel:
Inferior (appearance oriented). "I am so fat," "I am so ugly," "I need more muscle," "My clothes, hair, car, house.....looks so good (or bad)."
Insecure (relationship oriented), "No one loves me," "I need my husband to love me," "I want my wife to approve of me," "I need a spouse".....
Inadequate (performance oriented) "I must win," "I must be rich," "I will get the next reward at work"....      
Guilt ( Failure oriented) "I sinned," "I am a bad mom," "I cheated," "I failed".....
Worry, doubts, fears (approval oriented) "I fear no one will ever like me," "He is going to reject me," "Who will ever love me?"...... and the list can go on and on and on for all of these.
    But what is true in the spirit does not feel true in the soul, and so what comes out of that is frustration toward others including family, coworkers, and teammates.  These same insecurities and fears eventually lead to hostility toward others (see diagram in sidebar). Then in the emotional realm we get depression and anxiety, and our mind will have fantasies, paranoia, and
obsessive thoughts. All of this leads into our bodies, and this is how our body may react to all this mental and emotional turmoil in our soul:   We see headaches, migraines, nervous stomachs, peptic ulcers, hives, rashes, allergies, colon problems and heart problems, fatigue, insomnia, compulsive eating, respiratory ailments, escape into sleep and this list goes on. The medical community has said that 80% of the people that go to the hospital are there for something that was emotionally based first. Certainly these can be brought on by environmental and physical issues as well, but many are from emotional responses.
  Turn with me to John 1:12-13. Here we see that people become children of God, by the Spirit of God, by believing in His name.  And 1 John  3:1-2 again states that we are children of God, and that is who we are!  Why? Because He lavished His LOVE on us (Romans 8:14-17).  He tells us we have become His children, sons, daughters, heirs so we do not have to live in bondage to fear again! Without God we fear because we do not belong to anyone but ourselves and Satan. But with God, we belong to the creator and judge of all mankind. We are able to cry out, "ABBA, DADDY, FATHER," If we are His children, and you are if you are a believer, then we are DEEPLY LOVED. See Romans 8:35-39. Who or what shall separate us from the love of God? NOTHING!!! Not your wife, husband, kids, cancer, sickness, poverty, riches, enemies, or even Satan. And not your current circumstances in any way.
  Turn to Ephesians 1:6. He made you and you are accepted IN CHRIST!! He accepts you, approves of you, and wants to be around you. He likes your company. So we are His children, deeply loved and totally accepted in Christ.
  As we mentioned in the teaching on repentance, we are completely forgiven.  ALL SIN IS ON THE CROSS! So we are HIS CHILDREN, who are DEEPLY LOVED, TOTALLY ACCEPTED, and COMPLETELY FORGIVEN!!!!!
 Let's look at the next diagram.

 We see then that our Spirit has been saved, we have assurance of that salvation, we are secure, accepted, sealed, and He is committed to us because we, by the Spirit, are His children. WHO YOU ARE IS MORE IMPORTANT THEN WHAT YOU DO. WHO YOU ARE GIVES YOU MEANING AND PURPOSE! (look at diagram) Because we are His children we are complete in Him (Colossians 2:10), preserved in Him (1 Thes 5:23), sufficient (adequate) in Him (2 Cor 3:5), freed in Him (Gal 5:1), and we have peace in Him (Eph.2:14a) and with Him. Isn't that beautiful? That's you, if you are in Him, a believer.
 Because of the work of the Spirit in your spirit, and who you are, and by putting your soul (mind-will-emotions) on what is true in the Spirit, your body is then offered up to God a holy and living sacrifice. Your body now belongs to Him as His property. Your body is renewed and disciplined. It reflects Christ's life! Stop and look at all those verses. Dwell on them over and over so that, as it says in Gal. 2:20, it is no longer I who live, but Christ that lives in me and through me.

 

 

 

You see, when I judge someone I am acting in the wrong role and fleshly feelings will arise. Then I sin, and I am held in bondage, like in a jail cell. Bitterness follows. Hebrews 12:15 speaks of a bitter root springing up. The funny thing about the meaning of bitterness is that there must always be a hurt or offence which happens underground in our heads.  No one knows but us, at least for a second or two. Then up through the ground the roots sprout into anger, bitterness, ugliness, meanness, and malice and defile many. This includes ourselves, yes, BUT usually it also affects our spouse, kids, family, friends, church, etc. The word defile means to poison. This is what happens when we do not forgive. Sin brings rejection, and rejection brings sin.  Let's look at what to do when we are offended.
1. Bring offender before God in prayer.  Say his/her name and what they did, and that you hold them guilty for .
2. Tell God how you truly felt, saying, "I felt disrespected by        .
3. Say to God, "My sinful reactions were just as guilty as theirs, and  Lord I thank you for forgiving me at the cross."
4. Make a decision to forgive.  "Lord, I choose to forgive just as you forgave me."  The choosing is an important part because forgiving is a direct act of your will. It is not that you can't.  If you do not forgive, it is that you won't! (See diagrams below and go to "Seeking Forgiveness.")