SERMON: THIS IS A HERO?

 

20 January 2013

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to Genesis 32:24-31

 Genesis 32:24-31 (NIV)

24 So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak.
25 When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob's hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man.
26 Then the man said, "Let me go, for it is daybreak." But Jacob replied, "I will not let you go unless you bless me."
27 The man asked him, "What is your name?" "Jacob," he answered.
28 Then the man said, "Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome."
29 Jacob said, "Please tell me your name." But he replied, "Why do you ask my name?" Then he blessed him there.
30 So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, "It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared."
31 The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip.

            -- well, it happened again -- this morning we find ourselves let down as another hero has fallen -- as another person that we looked up to as a man of integrity and strength and character admits that his whole life was nothing more than a lie

            -- as I'm sure all of you know by now, Lance Armstrong -- seven-time winner of the Tour de France -- cancer survivor -- founder of the non-profit LiveStrong organization -- went on national TV this week and admitted to the world for the first time that he had taken performance-enhancing drugs throughout his professional career -- tainting forever his legacy and his accomplishments
            -- I had always been a Lance Armstrong fan -- out of all the sports heroes on the scene today, Armstrong was the only one left who appeared to be who he said he was
            -- other great sports heroes had fallen over time -- Pete Rose -- Michael Jordan -- Tiger Woods -- but Armstrong stood head-and-shoulders above them all
           -- after having been diagnosed with testicular cancer that had spread to his lungs and his brain, Armstrong fought back -- defeating cancer and starting a revolution with his LiveStrong foundation to unite, inspire, and empower people affected by cancer -- through the sale of his yellow LiveStrong bracelets, Armstrong's foundation raised lots of money for cancer research and helped the lives of thousands of people world-wide
            -- and when Armstrong began to be attacked by critics alleging that his record-setting appearances in the Tour de France was only because he used performance-enhancing drugs, he responded with grace and integrity -- he didn't respond with allegations of his own -- he didn't attack them in the media as some would have done -- he merely stood before the cameras and pronounced his innocence time and time again and pointed out that there was no evidence to support their claims of doping
            -- we all thought Armstrong was a man of integrity or character -- a man to be looked up to -- a man to be emulated -- a man we could point our children to and say, "Be like Lance -- fight the good fight -- stand up for yourself -- do what is right and you will succeed"
            -- but then the truth came out -- we had been deceived -- this man of integrity and character was a liar who had actually done exactly what his critics said -- he finally admitted to using performance-enhancing drugs throughout his career, and he was immediately stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and his bronze medal from the 2006 Olympic Games
            -- but worse was his dethronement as a man we could look up to -- as an example for us of someone who was trustworthy and honest and an overcomer

            -- why is it so hard for us to find heroes these days? -- why is it we are constantly being let down by those we hold in high esteem? -- it seems like every time we lift someone up and think they are an example in integrity and honesty and faithfulness, they fail us and we find they are not who they have claimed to be

            -- it's this kind of thing that leads us to join Bonnie Tyler in asking the same questions she asks at the start of the song, "I Need a Hero"
            -- "Where have all the good men gone -- and where all the gods?
            -- Where's the street-wise Hercules to fight the rising odds?
            -- Isn't there a white knight upon a fiery steed?
            -- Late at night I toss and turn and dream of what I need -- I need a hero"

II.  The Life of Jacob

            -- Lance Armstrong is the latest in a long line of men who have shown us that heroes are few and far between -- and it's probably safe to say you're not going to find your hero in the field of sports or politics or on this year's season of American Idol
            -- true heroes tend to come from the most unlikely of sources and, sometimes, they don't look like heroes at all
            -- take, for example, the subject of our message today -- Jacob -- the youngest son of Isaac -- the father of the 12 tribes of Israel -- remembered in the Jewish idiom: "The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob" -- called by God, "His Servant" -- and recognized in the list of heroes of the faith in Hebrews Chapter 11
            -- but, if you've been following along in your daily Bible readings, you've seen a different side of Jacob -- self-centered -- deceiver -- liar -- cheat -- thief -- hardly characteristics that describe a hero -- certainly not traits we would encourage our children to replicate
            -- so why is Jacob considered a hero of the faith to Jews and Christians alike? -- how do we reconcile the picture of Jacob that we've been given here in Genesis as a deceiver with his naming as a hero of faith later in the Bible?

            -- I wanted to take a few moments this morning to look at the life of Jacob and see if there is any way we can come to an understanding of this conundrum today

            -- now since we're going to do an overview of Jacob's life, we're going to have to look at several passages in order to get a picture of who he was and who he is and who is becoming by the time we get to this passage in Genesis 32

            -- if you would, turn back a few chapters to Genesis 25 and let's start our study of Jacob at the beginning -- Genesis 25:21-26

Genesis 25:21-26 (NIV)

21 Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was barren. The LORD answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant.

22 The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, "Why is this happening to me?" So she went to inquire of the LORD.

23 The LORD said to her, "Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger."
24 When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb.
25 The first to come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment; so they named him Esau.
26 After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau's heel; so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth to them.

            -- Isaac was the son of Abraham and Sarah -- he was the promised child -- the one whom God promised would bless the nations through his offspring

            -- Isaac was married to Rebekah -- a distant cousin from the land of Paddan Aram in the area we know as northwest Mesopotamia
            -- up to this point, Rebekah and Isaac had not been able to have children, despite the promise of God to Abraham -- so Isaac turned to the Lord for help -- for twenty years Isaac prayed that God would bless him and Rebekah with children -- and for twenty years, God kept telling Isaac, "Wait" -- finally, the moment came and Rebekah found herself pregnant
            -- apparently it was not an easy pregnancy -- we read that the babies jostled within her and she cried out to the Lord seeking answers as to why this was happening to her -- and the Lord answered in verse 23
            -- He told her that the descendants of the two sons she was carrying would become two mighty nations -- that they would be separated from each other and that one would be stronger than the other and the older would serve the younger
            -- even in the womb, Rebekah's sons struggled with each other -- and this struggle would continue throughout their lives and be carried on by their descendants
            -- and, as God had prophesied, when the time came for the babies to be born, they came out of the womb in the midst of conflict -- Esau came out first, the stronger of the two, with Jacob grasping his heel in a portrait of who he was to become
            -- from the very moment of his birth, Jacob tried to grasp that which was not his own -- and he used any means possible to do so, including lying, cheating, and deceiving -- in fact, that's what a literal translation of his name means -- "he deceives"

             -- verse 27-34

 Genesis 25:27-34 (NIV)

27 The boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob was a quiet man, staying among the tents.
28 Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob.
29 Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished.
30 He said to Jacob, "Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I'm famished!" (That is why he was also called Edom.)
31 Jacob replied, "First sell me your birthright."
32 "Look, I am about to die," Esau said. "What good is the birthright to me?"
33 But Jacob said, "Swear to me first." So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob.
34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left. So Esau despised his birthright.

            -- in these verses we read of Jacob grasping the birthright from the oldest son, his brother Esau

            -- Esau was a man of the field -- a skillful hunter -- physically larger and stronger than Jacob
            -- Jacob, on the other hand, is described as a quiet man -- a man of the tents -- today we'd probably call him "bookish" -- smaller and not as physical as his older brother -- not as good at sports or hunting -- more introverted and more likely to be found alone
            -- but the differences don't stop there -- Esau was impulsive and didn't think before he acted -- you get the sense in Scripture that he didn't care as much about tradition or family as Jacob did -- Esau was more concerned about what he wanted and getting it right now
            -- that's exactly what leads to the conflict in this passage as Esau comes back from hunting famished and gives away his birthright for a meal -- the birthright belonged to the older son -- it included the family name and titles and a chief portion of the inheritance, "but it was more than just a title to the physical assets of a family -- it was also a spiritual position" -- and in the case of the people of God, "the birthright was the one through whom the covenant promise" made to Abraham and Isaac would be realized [http://www.bible.ca/ef/expository-genesis-25-29-34.htm]
            -- but Esau didn't care about all of that -- he was the epitome of a self-made man -- as it says in verse 34, he "despised his birthright" -- he didn't want it -- he didn't care about the promise of God -- in fact, it appears that he didn't care about God at all -- in Hebrews 12:16 Esau is described as "godless"
            -- his only concern was in getting what he wanted the moment he wanted it -- and Jacob knew that -- so Jacob tricked his brother into giving up his birthright for a bowl of stew
            -- you see, Jacob was always scheming -- always planning for the future -- he knew what he wanted -- he knew where he wanted to go in life, but he was willing to wait to get it -- and so the deceiver tricked his brother with the promise of immediate gratification in order to obtain a better inheritance at a later date
            -- he does it again over in Chapter 27 when he steals Esau's blessing -- you already read this story this week in your daily readings, so I'm not going to read it again but let me just summarize it for you
            -- Isaac was about to die and wanted to pass on his parental blessing to his oldest son -- he sent Esau out to prepare a meal for him of wild game and then promised his blessing would follow
            -- Rebekah overheard this conversation and concocted a scheme to ensure that Jacob the blessing instead of Esau -- we see this happening in Scripture time and time again and we do it ourselves in our own lives
            -- remember that God told Rebekah the older son would serve the younger son -- and since Rebekah liked Jacob better than Esau, she decided she would help God out by taking matters into her own hands rather than letting God's plans come to fruition
            -- her mother-in-law Sarah had done the same thing -- God had promised to bless Abraham with children and when Sarah thought God had forgotten or was too slow in fulfilling His promise, she gave her slave Hagar to Abraham to produce a child -- but her plans didn't turn out like she hoped and ended up with animosity between the descendants of Ishmael and Isaac to this very day
            -- we do that, too -- we don't wait for God to fulfill His promise -- we don't wait for God to answer our prayers -- we are like Esau and Rebekah and Sarah -- we think we know better than God -- we know what we want and we do whatever it takes to get it and time and time again we end up suffering the consequences for trying to play God in our own lives
 
            -- Rebekah and Jacob's plan worked -- through an elaborate scheme that involved covering Jacob in goat hair and wearing Esau's clothing, Jacob ended up with the blessing from Isaac -- but he got a lot more in the bargain -- he inherited Esau's hatred and animosity and was forced to flee Canaan for his grandfather's ancestral land in Paddan Aram on the premise of seeking a wife
            -- Jacob found himself in the home of his uncle Laban -- Rebekah's brother -- where he fell head-over-heels in love with his cousin Rachel -- once again, we see Jacob willing to wait to get what he wants -- and he agrees to serve Laban for seven years in order to secure Rachel's hand in marriage
            -- but this time, the deceiver meets the trickster and Laban tricks him into marrying his older daughter Leah and serving another seven years to get Rachel as his wife -- Genesis Chapters 29-31 are filled with scheming and deception as Jacob and Laban try to get the upper hand time and time again

            -- but there's something else going on here behind the scenes that is easy to miss if you're not careful -- throughout the story of Jacob we see God's prevenient grace reaching out and touching Jacob and steering him to faith and righteousness

            -- it all began with Rebekah's prayer while Jacob and Esau were still in her womb -- God's hand was on Jacob at that very moment and He had chosen Jacob to be the one through whom the Messiah would come
            -- and even after Jacob messed up and chose the path of deception to get what he wanted, God didn't give up on him -- God continually reached out to him and guided him and steered him to where he needed to be
            -- in Genesis 28, while Jacob was on the way to Paddan Aram to find his uncle Laban, God had appeared to Jacob in a dream -- Jacob saw a stairway to heaven in his dream, with angels ascending and descending from the throne of God -- God showed Jacob that the path he was on was wrong and showed him the true path to heaven, giving Jacob the same promise God had given to Abraham and Isaac before him
            -- and when Jacob showed up in Paddan Aram and fell back into his old ways of deception and cheating to gain the upper hand with Laban, God used Laban as a mirror of deception to show Jacob the error of his ways
            -- despite Jacob's many flaws, God never gave up on him -- he continually worked in the life of Jacob to lead him to the place of decision -- to the place where he would finally choose to live a life of faith and belief and righteousness -- which brings us to Chapter 32 and Jacob's wrestling match with God

            -- turn back to Chapter 32 and let's look again at verse 24

 Genesis 32:24 (NIV)

24 So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak.

            -- Jacob is on his way home with his two wives and 11 children -- in spite of all the deception and trickery, God had blessed him in Paddan Aram and Jacob was very wealthy, with many flocks and herds of livestock and other material possessions

            -- but now Jacob has fled Laban and is headed home -- going, as he thinks, from the frying pan into the fire as he heads back to face his brother Esau
            -- however, we have to see this as a step of faith -- a baby-step, perhaps -- but a step none-the-less -- God told Jacob it was time to go back to the land of Canaan to fulfill the promise made to Abraham and Isaac -- and this time, Jacob trusted God and took that first step of faith
            -- granted, Jacob has a long way to go to become the righteous and godly man lifted up in Hebrews Chapter 11, but all great journeys begin with a single step -- and for Jacob, this was it
            -- Jacob finds himself alone on the banks of the Jabbok river -- he has divided his camp into two groups and split them in case Esau attacks and he has sent them on ahead while he spends the night alone
            -- now why is that? -- why would Jacob stay behind while his family has crossed over? -- I think Jacob was in a place of brokenness -- I think Jacob was between a rock and a hard place -- trapped between Laban and Esau -- and things didn't look good -- he didn't know what to do -- so he stays behind to call on the name of the Lord
            -- before, when he was out in the desert alone, God had appeared to him in a dream -- and I feel like Jacob has stayed behind alone to seek God once again -- another step of faith

            -- we read here in verse 24 that while Jacob was left alone, a man wrestled with him until daylight -- now who is this man? -- where did He come from?

            -- some scholars will tell you this was an angel of God sent to wrestle with Jacob, but most scholars say -- and I agree with them -- that this is a theophany -- an appearing of Jesus in the form of a man in the Old Testament
            -- God Himself met Jacob on the banks of the Jabbok River and wrestled with him until dawn
            -- what does it mean to wrestle with God? -- have you ever done that? -- I have, and I suspect most of you have, too -- when you face those times in your life when you're just hit rock bottom -- when you don't know what to do -- you don't know where to go -- you see know way out and the promises of God seem far away -- it's at those moments of brokenness that we wrestle with God -- with who He is and with who we are -- with what He is doing in our lives -- with how He is working in us and through us
            -- that's where Jacob was on the banks of the Jabbok River -- he was coming to grips with who he was and he was seeing that he was not who he should be -- as he wrestled with God on the riverbank, he was working out all his frustration -- all his character flaws -- all his deception and lying and cheating -- he was reliving what he had done to Esau and was having to make a decision as to how he was going to live the rest of his life
           -- and so he wrestled with God until dawn

            -- verse 25

Genesis 32:25 (NIV)

25 When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob's hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man.

            -- what an interesting verse -- the Man -- God -- wrestled with Jacob but could not overcome him -- what is this verse saying? -- what are we supposed to get from this? -- that Jacob was stronger than God?
            -- no, what this is saying is that Jacob was fighting God with everything he had and was refusing to submit himself to the Lord -- God was telling Jacob what He wanted Jacob to do and showing him who He wanted Jacob to become and Jacob was saying, "No -- I don't want that -- I want something else"
            -- but God had a plan for Jacob's life that was greater than Jacob -- He had a plan for Jacob's life that would affect the spiritual life of all creation for all eternity -- so He reached out and touched Jacob's hip and wrenched it out of socket
            -- God will do what He has to do to reach us and to change us into the people He wants us to be -- and if that means we have to suffer pain in our lives -- if that means we have to go through trial and tribulation in order to turn to God like Jacob or grow more mature in our faith, then God will do it
            -- He will never force His will upon us, but He will lead us to the point where our choice becomes clear -- just as He did with Jacob here in this passage

            -- verse 26-27

Genesis 32:26-27 (NIV)

26 Then the man said, "Let me go, for it is daybreak." But Jacob replied, "I will not let you go unless you bless me."
27 The man asked him, "What is your name?" "Jacob," he answered.

            -- we read that the Man told Jacob to let Him go, because it was almost daybreak -- God will not contend with us forever -- He will wrestle with us and lead us to the point of decision, but eventually we have to make a choice whether to follow Him or not

            -- Jacob reached that point when he finally submitted to God and recognized that blessings only flow from Him -- they don't come through deceit and cheating -- they don't come through our own making -- they come from God
            -- so Jacob asks God to bless him, and look at God's response -- "What is your name?" -- Jacob had been asked that question before when he sought a blessing, remember? -- Isaac has asked Jacob that very same question and Jacob had lied and said, "My name is Esau"
            -- Jacob has a second chance to get it right -- God asks, "What is your name?" and Jacob replies honestly, "Jacob"

            -- verse 28-29

Genesis 32:28-29 (NIV)

28 Then the man said, "Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome."

29 Jacob said, "Please tell me your name." But he replied, "Why do you ask my name?" Then he blessed him there.

            -- as Jacob begins to change into the person God has called him to become, God changes his name to reflect this spiritual change -- he goes from being "the deceiver" to becoming "Israel" -- one who struggles with God and who is on the way to righteousness

            -- notice that Jacob asks for God's name, but God doesn't give it to him -- the name by which we know God comes through experience -- and God didn't want Jacob to define Him only through this one event -- God wanted Jacob's walk with Him to be one of revelation and discovery, not one of tradition -- He didn't want Jacob to only know Him as the God of Abraham and Isaac, but to come to know Him as his own personal God
            -- in my own life I have known God as provider, protector, savior, king, lord, leader, creator, and many more -- it was up to Jacob to know God as God led him down the path of righteousness -- and it is up to us to know God as He leads us each down our own paths of righteousness

            -- verse 30-31

 Genesis 32:30-31 (NIV)

30 So Jacob called the place Peniel, saying, "It is because I saw God face to face, and yet my life was spared."
31 The sun rose above him as he passed Peniel, and he was limping because of his hip.

            -- Jacob recognized this site as a holy place -- as the place where he wrestled with God and saw Him face-to-face and lived -- and as the sun rose above him, Jacob crossed the Jabbok river and began a new life with God

            -- one thing to note here is that as Jacob left he limped because of the hip that was stricken -- although Jewish scholars say God eventually healed him, we are not told this in the Bible, and we have to assume that Jacob limped the rest of his life -- a physical reminder of an inward and spiritual grace that changed him forever
            -- we always bear the scars of our paths in life -- some are physical, like Jacob's, while others are hidden and emotional or spiritual scars -- but they serve as reminders to us of God's presence and of His grace that doesn't give up on us when we fall and fail
            -- Jacob may not be our image of a hero -- he may not fit the role of a hero as defined by our culture -- but he is a hero of faith, none-the-less
            -- although he began as a deceiver -- although he cheated and lied and did whatever he could to get ahead -- still God did not give up on him -- and that's encouraging to me -- because if God can reach down and change a deceiver into an overcomer like Jacob -- if He can reach down and change a murderer into an evangelist like Paul -- if He can reach down and change a denier of the faith into an apostle and elder like Simon Peter -- then He can reach down and change me into the person He wants me to be, too

            -- I want to close by leaving you with a story by Kathleen Norris that was in Christianity Today -- she writes that one morning she was at the airport and "noticed a young couple with an infant at the airport departure gate.  The baby was at the stage where she loved to look into people's faces, and it seemed that as soon as she recognized a human face, no matter whose it was, old or young, pretty or ugly, bored or happy or worried-looking, she would respond with delight.

            -- "It was beautiful to see.  But even more that that, it brought Jacob, and God's presence, to mind.  Our drab departure gate had become the gate of heaven.  And as I watched the baby play with any adult who would allow it, I felt as awe-struck as Jacob, because I realized that this is how God looks at us, staring into our faces in order to be delighted to see the creature he made and has promised to be with always. 
             -- "I suspect that only God, and well loved infants, can see this way.  But it gives me hope to think that when God gazed on the sleeping Jacob, he looked right through the schemer and saw something good, if only a capacity for awe, for recognizing and worshiping God.  That Jacob will worship badly, trying to bargain with God, doesn't seem to matter.  God promises to be with him and remain with him.
            -- "Peter denied Jesus, and Saul persecuted the early Christians, but God could see the apostles they would become.  God does not punish Jacob as he lies sleeping, because he can see in him Israel, the founder of God's people. 
            -- "God loves to look at us, and loves it when we will look back at him.  Even when we try to run away from our troubles, as Jacob did, God will find us and bless us, even when we feel most alone, unsure if we'll survive the night.  God will find a way to let us know that he is with us in this place, wherever we are, however far we think we've run. 
            -- And maybe that's one reason we worship - to say thanks for the faith God has shown in us.  To let ourselves look at God and to let God look back at us.  And to laugh, and sing, and be delighted because God has called us his own. [Kathleen Norris, "Why We Worship," Christianity Today]

            -- let us pray

SERMON: SLIP SLIDING AWAY

13 January 2013

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to Acts 5:1-11

Acts 5:1-11 (NIV)

1 Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property.
2 With his wife's full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles' feet.
3 Then Peter said, "Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land?
4 Didn't it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn't the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God."
5 When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had Happened.
6 Then the young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him.
7 About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened.
8 Peter asked her, "Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?" "Yes," she said, "that is the price."
9 Peter said to her, "How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also."
10 At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband.
11 Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.

            -- just a few years ago, a man was at an estate sale here in Valdosta and bought a picture of the Washington Monument just for the frame

            -- as he was taking the picture out of the frame, he noticed several signatures and initials on the back that caught his attention -- so, he carried the picture in for evaluation and found out it was the original drawing submitted by the architects in 1846 for the design of the Washington Monument
            -- the signatures on the back were all original and included such prominent names as Zachary Taylor, Millard Fillmore, James Polk, John Quincy Adams, and Daniel Webster
            -- this guy paid $30 for the picture and it is estimated to be worth about $2 million dollars¹
            -- obviously, the owner of the picture didn't know it's true value, or he wouldn't have sold it for $30 -- so, does this guy who bought it at the estate sale owe anything to the original owner or is it just a case of getting a good deal?
            -- what's the ethical course of action in this situation?

            -- while most of us will never have to struggle with million dollar questions like this, we do face similar ethical questions every single day of our life on issues that are just not black or white

            -- is it okay to tell a white lie to spare somebody's feelings?
            -- if you walk out of a restaurant and forget to leave a tip, should you walk back in and try to find the waiter?
            -- what if you go to a meeting at another office and you realize when you get home that you accidentally picked up a pen or a notepad -- is that really stealing? -- should you take them back? -- they're just minor office supplies and nobody's going to miss them anyway
            -- these things come up every single day -- and while we may think these are just minor issues with no real wrong or right, decisions on issues like this ultimately will determine the direction of our spiritual lives
            -- we see that right here in the story of Ananias and his wife Sapphira

II.  Ananias and Sapphira

            -- look back at verse 1-6

1 Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property.

2 With his wife's full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles' feet.
3 Then Peter said, "Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land?
4 Didn't it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn't the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God."
5 When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened.
6 Then the young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him.

            -- here we see the setting of Ananias and Sapphira's downfall -- Ananias and Sapphira had a piece of property that they sold -- obviously for the express purpose of raising money to donate to the church

            -- many other people had been doing that very same thing -- look back at Acts 4:34-37

Acts 4:34-37 (NIV)

34 There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales
35 and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.
36 Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means Son of Encouragement),
37 sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles' feet.

            -- and so Ananias and Sapphira sold their property just like these others so they could help support the needy people in the church -- but rather than give all the money to the church, they decided to keep some back for themselves but not to tell the church -- they wanted the church and the apostles to think they had given all the money from the sale of the land as an offering to God

            -- but God revealed their hypocrisy and their lie to Peter -- and as he confronted Ananias in the midst of the congregation, Ananias fell down and died and his body was carried out and buried
        
            -- verse 7

7 About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened.

8 Peter asked her, "Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?" "Yes," she said, "that is the price."
9 Peter said to her, "How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also."
10 At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband.
11 Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.

            -- just a few hours later, Sapphira came to the place where the church was meeting and was confronted by Peter about the money she and Ananias had offered to the church -- he asked her point blank, "Is this all the money you got for the land?"
            -- Sapphira looked Peter in the eye and said, "Yes, it is" -- and the same judgment that fell on her husband fell on her -- Sapphira dropped dead on the spot and was carried out and buried next to her husband

            -- at this point when I teach on the story of Ananias and Sapphira, I always like to pass around the offering plate, but I'm not going to do that today

            -- in all seriousness, the story of Ananias and Sapphira has always been a difficult story for us in the church -- it just doesn't seem to fit into the character of God as we saw expressed through Jesus Christ -- it just doesn't seem to fit in with the rest of the story of the New Testament -- and we really don't know what to do with it -- we really don't know how it applies
            -- on the surface, it's a simple story -- Ananias and Sapphira cheated God and lied to the Holy Spirit and were killed because of it -- even a casual reading of the story tells us that
            -- but since it doesn't fit with what we know about God and how He deals with us as sinners saved by grace, we try to explain this away by saying that Ananias and Sapphira were not really Christians -- they had joined the church, but they were not real believers -- we hear the word hypocrite thrown out a lot in this passage
            -- and so when they pull their little stunt by claiming to give all the money to the church but secretly keeping some back, God killed them as a warning to others who were trying to join the church but who were not really believers and were lying to the Holy Spirit
            -- but I don't think that's necessarily what's going on -- there is no indication in the text that Ananias and Sapphira were not believers
            -- in fact, go back to Acts 4:32-35

Acts 4:32-35 (NIV)

32 All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had.
33 With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all.
34 There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales
35 and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.

 

           -- in context, Ananias and Sapphira were included among the believers mentioned here at the end of Acts 4 -- they were part of the church -- they knew the apostles -- Peter knew them by name -- and with the presence of the Holy Spirit being made so manifest and with so much spiritual power evident in that small group of believers, don't you think that if Ananias and Sapphira were not believers, the rest of the group would know? -- at least the apostles?
            -- there's a connection between believers -- we can recognize each other even if we don't know anything about the other person -- a few years ago we had some contractors come in to Moody to talk to us about a project they wanted to do for the base -- and when I walked into that room, I was drawn to one man in that group of contractors -- we looked at each other and our spirits connected and I knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that this guy was a Christian -- at this point, I didn't even know his name, but I knew he was a fellow brother -- and I'm no Peter
            -- and when Peter confronts Ananias and Sapphira in this passage, not once does he condemn them for being spiritual hypocrites or unsaved sinners -- not once does he say, "You need to accept God's forgiveness" -- and I contend it's because they were believers -- they were part of the church -- and they had the Holy Spirit indwelling them, just as we do
            -- so what went wrong? -- how could these two believers fall in such a great and tragic way?

 

            -- a few years ago we had the great televangelist tragedy, with many well-known preachers and teachers being caught in adultery or theft or other major crimes -- the most recent of these was Ted Haggard, who was removed from his church in Colorado because he had been visiting a homosexual prostitute and become addicted to drugs
            -- and when cases like this occur, we always ask the question, "How? -- How did they let this happen?"
            -- but I'm convinced that such major falls are not the result of one decision, but a plethora of minor choices that change the spiritual trajectory of a life
            -- in other words, spiritual failure usually doesn't come as a result of a sudden cataclysmic event -- it comes through spiritual drift
            -- I think this is what happened to Ananias and Sapphira -- I think they started out well -- I think they were part of this group of believers who truly loved the Lord and were living in unity through the bonds of the Spirit -- loving all and sharing freely with others -- but one wrong choice led to another and another until it ended up in their death

            -- you can clearly see here in this passage the original source of their downfall -- when Barnabas sold his field and brought the money and put it at the apostles' feet, he was recognized by the church -- for right or wrong, he was singled out and pointed out to others -- and Ananias and Sapphira saw this and wanted this same recognition

            -- and so the first wrong step was made -- they sold a piece of property just like Barnabas, but they did so with the wrong motive -- they sold their property seeking man's recognition rather than out of devotion to God -- and the first step on that slippery slope of spiritual downfall was taken
            -- and once that first step is taken, the second is even easier -- Satan whispered in their ears and convinced them that the church would never know how much the land was actually sold for, so why give it all to God? -- why not keep some for themselves? -- no one would know and they would still get credit with the church
            -- and after they thought about it for a while, it seemed like a good idea -- so both of them agreed to let the church think that the money they offered was all they got for the land
            -- you can see their thought process here -- it isn't really a lie -- we're not coming right out and telling the church that this is all the money we got -- we'll just let them think it is -- and if they get the wrong idea, well, nobody's going to get hurt
            -- the thing is God didn't ask for them to do this in the first place -- this was supposed to be a voluntary offering -- and God didn't tell them they had to give all the money or 10% of the money or any certain amount -- God wanted this offering to be from the heart for proper motives rather than a legalistic endeavor
            -- as Peter pointed out, the land belonged to Ananias and Sapphira before it was sold -- and even after it was sold, the money was theirs -- if they had decided to keep some back, no one would have faulted them -- but they decided to lie to God and now it was going to cost them
            -- Ananias never actually lied -- he just kept the full truth to himself -- but Sapphira took that next step -- when Peter confronted her, she boldly lied to his face -- and suffered the same punishment as Ananias
            -- what began with a wrong motive ended up in the death of both Ananias and Sapphira -- through a series of steps they drifted into spiritual sin and suffered the consequences

III.  Closing

            -- spiritual failure comes as a result of small choices that lead us away from God -- remember the story of Lot from the Book of Genesis? -- if you've been following along in your daily Bible readings this year, you've read in Genesis 14 through 19 how he and Abraham were forced to separate because of the size of their flocks and households
            -- Abraham told Lot to pick a direction -- if he went west, Abraham would go east -- if he went north, Abraham would go south -- and the Bible says Lot looked towards the cities of the plains -- towards Sodom and Gomorrah -- and decided to go in their direction
            -- and just a few chapters later, we find Lot has drifted all the way to the city of Sodom -- no longer is he content with living on the plains, but now he lives in town and holds a seat at the city gate -- although he was a righteous man, he made wrong choices and turned from God to the very evil God detested

           -- we do the same thing, too -- none of us here consciously think, "Today I think I'll go steal supplies from my boss" or "Today I think I'll ruin my marriage and have an affair" -- no, it begins with a wrong step here and there -- a wrong choice that leads to other wrong choices -- and, before we know it, we find ourselves in the same place as Ananias and Sapphira and Lot -- doing exactly what we never thought we'd ever do

            -- I want to close by sharing with you the story of Robert Robinson -- Robert was just a little boy when his father passed away in 18th century England -- without a father in the house or a strong male figure to guide him, Robert quickly fell in with a bad crowd, and was soon given to all sorts of bad influences -- night after night he would go out carousing with his friends, drinking and gambling and enjoying all the vices the world had to offer

            -- one night, he and his friends found a drunk gypsy woman, and they began to harass her and they demanded that she tell them their fortunes for free -- finally, she pointed a finger at Robert and said, "This one will live to see his children and his grandchildren"
            -- that struck a chord with Robert -- he thought to himself, "If I'm going to see my children and grandchildren, then I'm going to have to change the way I'm living" -- shortly after this experience, he decided to go hear the Methodist preacher George Whitefield
            -- in order to avoid seeming weak in front of his friends, he suggested that they go with him and heckle Whitefield and the crowd that came to see him
            -- Whitefield preached on the text: "O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?" (Matthew 3:7) -- Robert left in dread, under a deep sense of sin that lasted for three years
            -- finally, at the age of twenty, he made peace with God and immediately set out to become a Methodist preacher himself -- two years later, in 1757, he wrote a hymn which expressed his joy in his new faith -- a hymn that we most of us know and have probably sung in church, "Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing"
            -- but Robert's story doesn't end there -- not long after this hymn was written, Robert left the Methodist Church -- he left his ministry -- he left his faith -- and he wandered again along the roads and byways of his youth -- traveling again along the path of iniquity
            -- one day he was traveling by stagecoach and there was a woman sitting there across from him reading a book of hymns -- she ran across a hymn that she thought was wonderful and started to hum it quietly to herself -- finally, one verse just caught her attention, and she asked Robert what he thought of it
            -- "prone to wander, Lord, I feel it -- prone to leave the God I love -- here's my heart, O take and seal it -- seal it for thy courts above"
            -- Bursting into tears, Robert said, "Madam, I am the poor unhappy man who wrote that hymn many years ago, and I would give a thousand worlds, if I had them, to enjoy the feelings I had then."

            -- the sad and tragic story of Ananias and Sapphira is not the story of two people who just got caught in their sins -- it's the story of two people who made a couple of wrong choices and ended up in the bottom of a pit -- who suffered the ultimate punishment for their sin of lying to the Holy Spirit and trampling on the blood of Christ

            -- but this story is one we should take to heart and keep close, because if we're not careful, it can become the story of us -- in Hebrews 2:1, we are told to "pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we will not drift away" -- and over in 1 John 2:28, we read, "and now, dear children, continue in Him, so that when He appears we may be confident and unashamed before Him at His coming"
            -- the warnings are all around us -- it is easy to drift away -- to slip away -- and to find ourselves right were Ananias and Sapphira were -- we have to continue in Christ -- we have to make a conscious effort every single day to obey Him and walk with Him if we hope to grow in grace and not fall away
            -- so, as I close today, will you join me in prayer to ask God for His help and His grace to keep us close -- to keep us safe -- and to never let us stray from His word or His commands

1. http://www.walb.com/story/5182158/valdosta-man-finds-priceless-treasure-at-yard-sale?clienttype=printable

SERMON: THE MANY FACES OF EVE

 

6 January 2013

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to Genesis 2:18-25

Genesis 2:18-25 (NIV)

18 The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."
19 Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.
20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was found.
21 So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh.
22 Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.
23 The man said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman,' for she was taken out of man."
24 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.
25 The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.

            -- yesterday we had a celebration for my parent's 50th wedding anniversary and we invited in friends and family to join us at a reception at their church in Adel -- it was a big surprise for them and it was great to see so many people turn out to wish them well and congratulate them on this momentous day -- 50 years together is a long time and it's become rarer and rarer to see couples make it that long -- and this was certainly a milestone in their lives that we wanted to celebrate

            -- but in the midst of the party, I couldn't help but think of Charles Dickens' book, "A Tale of Two Cities," because looking at what was going on in that room and knowing how it was pulled together, I realized that this wasn't just a story of one couple celebrating their fiftieth anniversary -- but the story of another couple just beginning their journey to 50 years together
            -- my niece is getting married this summer -- and as I was watching her and her fiancee working behind the scenes to decorate and set up before party and then interacting with the guests and with each other, I couldn't help but think of the journey that lay ahead of them
            -- all marriages begin with a promise fueled by hope -- and every couple begins their lives together painting a portrait of the paradise they plan for each other
            -- and I know that when my niece was planning this party for my parent's 50th anniversary, she was thinking ahead to the day when her children and her grandchildren would be doing the same -- when it would be her and her husband who were celebrating a lifetime of love and joy and happiness together
            -- and I pray this is exactly what happens -- but all of us who are married know that story-book weddings are rarely followed by picture-perfect marriages -- there are always road-bumps -- there are always curves and potholes and detours around our plans -- and while some couples can navigate their way and continue on together for fifty years, others find themselves taking separate roads as their plans of paradise evaporate like a mist -- it takes a special couple to persevere through life's challenges and stay together through a lifetime

            -- this morning I want us to think about one such couple -- they faced the worse trial that any couple could ever face in their marriage, but they stayed married for over 50 years -- in fact, they stay married for over 800 years -- so let's take a moment to look at the marriage of Adam and Eve in this message I've entitled, "The Many Faces of Eve"

II.  The Face of Happiness

            -- look back at Genesis 2:18-20

18 The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."

19 Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.
20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was found.

            -- now everybody here is familiar with the story of Creation -- the Bible begins with these words, "in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth" -- and from there we are given the story of God's creation over a six-day period -- over this time, God created everything there is

            -- He created the sun and the stars -- He created the water and the land -- He created the plants and the fish and the animals -- and He created us -- and at the end of each creative act, the Bible tells us that God looked over what He created and saw that it was good -- until you get to verse 18
            -- for the very first time God looked at His creation and said, "This is not good -- it is not good for the man to be alone" -- God knew that we needed companionship -- He knew that we needed someone we could be with -- someone like us -- someone we could share this life with
            -- so God set out to find a companion for Adam -- He had all the animals come to Adam to be named -- and after Adam had looked over all the animals and given them their name, we read that no suitable helper was found for him
            -- if you're like me, you probably have to ask yourself why God would even bother with this little exercise in futility -- of course none of the animals would be suitable mates for Adam -- none of them would be suitable helpers -- so why did God go through this exercise?
            -- I think there was something He wanted Adam -- and us -- to understand -- God was about to create woman -- He was about to create that special person designed just for Adam and He was going to bring them together -- and I think God was trying to stress to Adam to not let his eyes stray elsewhere -- to not search for a substitute, because no one else would be suitable and nothing else could replace this person God chose for him
            -- if a few more men and women would learn this principle and stop searching for substitutes, then more marriages would go the distance and 50th anniversaries would become just another common milestone in everyone's life

            -- verse 21-25

21 So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh.

22 Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.
23 The man said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman,' for she was taken out of man."
24 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.
25 The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.

            -- in these verses we are told of the first marriage -- unlike everything else God had created, God didn't create the woman out of the dust of the ground -- He took her from Adam's own side

            -- I've heard it said before -- and I'm sure you've heard it, too -- that woman was created from man's rib -- not from his head to rule over him -- not from his foot to be trodden by him -- but from his rib to be protected by his arms -- to be close to his heart -- and to be part of his very breath and life
            -- thus, the perfect plan for marriage with the perfect couple in the perfection of paradise -- the Garden of Eden

            -- well, we all know what comes next, and we usually rush forward to the story of the fall of man and the sin of Adam and his wife -- but I want you to take a moment and linger here in these verses at the end of Chapter 2

            -- think about what Adam and his new bride were experiencing at that moment -- think about what they talked about as they walked through the garden together, hand in hand -- as they went through their day sharing the joy of all God's creation -- as they looked to the future of unending bliss in the relationship they shared with God and with each other
            -- this is where every couple lives before their wedding day -- they're walking through Eden -- their lives are full of hope and promise -- they are entwined in each other's love -- and they see nothing ahead but brighter and brighter days of happiness
            -- this is the first face of Eve -- the face of innocence -- the face of purity -- the face of utter bliss and happiness

III.  The Face of Temptation

            -- but, unfortunately, things didn't stay in that state for long

            -- Chapter 3, verse 1-7

Genesis 3:1-7 (NIV)

1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?"
2 The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,
3 but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.'"
4 "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman.
5 "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.
7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

            -- here we see the second face of Eve -- the face of temptation

            -- into the midst of this perfect marriage, darkness invaded -- the serpent, who we later come to know in the Bible was none other than Satan himself, found the woman in the garden one day and tempted her to disobey God

            -- Satan twisted the words of God and forced the woman to defend her faith and trust in God -- "Did God really say you can't eat from any tree in the garden?" -- and Eve replied, "No, only the tree in the middle of the garden -- that's the only tree we can't eat from"
            -- she went on to say that they couldn't even touch it or they would die -- if you look over in Genesis 2:16-17, you'll see God didn't say anything about touching the tree -- I don't think the woman was making this up -- I think Adam told her this because he loved so much he didn't even want her to get close to the tree, much less eat from it
            -- what we're seeing here is the birth of legalism -- the first man-made religious law ever made up -- but it gave a foot-hold to Satan and led to the woman's temptation
            -- the serpent convinced the woman that God was withholding the fruit from the tree from them because it would make them like Him -- and what could be wrong with being like God? -- so she reached out her hand and ate of the fruit and sinned -- and then passed the sin on to Adam, never knowing what consequences she had wrought

 

            -- the face of temptation led to disobedience and sin, and God's judgment fell on Adam and his wife, along with all of creation -- sin has a price, and that price has to be paid -- in this case, God's judgment came in the form of a curse -- first on the serpent -- then on the woman -- finally on Adam and all creation
            -- but perhaps the worst curse of all was the effect of sin on their relationship with each other -- with that first bite of the fruit, their marriage was irrevocably marred -- never again would they have the perfect marriage in the perfect place -- never again would their relationship with each other be characterized by selflessness and altruism
            -- when God questioned Adam about eating the fruit, what was the first thing he did? -- he blamed his wife -- the face of temptation brought discord and curses to their lives
            -- but the story doesn't end there

IV.  The Face of Life

            -- Genesis 3:20

 Genesis 3:20 (NIV)

20 Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living.

            -- if you've noticed, thus far in my message I've tried to call Adam's companion the "woman," or "his wife" -- until you get to this verse, she doesn't have a name -- she is only called "the woman"

            -- but now the time has come for Adam to name his wife as he once named all of creation -- what would he call her?
            -- after the debacle with the fruit and the whole face of temptation and sin, what names for the woman came to his mind? -- temptress? -- sinner? -- disobeyer?
            -- isn't that the way we fight in relationships when we're angry and have been hurt? -- we call each hurtful names -- we label each other -- we say, "You're nothing but a -- fill in the blank"
            -- what would you have called her? -- think about it -- this was not a minor trespass -- in one fell swoop, the woman has resulted in a break in their relationship, not only with themselves, but also with God and all of creation -- and she got them thrown out of their home -- and she got them fired from their job -- she has literally killed their future
            -- I think it's amazing that Adam didn't just lash out at her here when he was called on to name his wife -- but he didn't -- and when he went to pronounce her name, he didn't call her anything hurtful -- he didn't name her out of vengeance or spite or hurt -- he named her with the face of life -- Adam named her Eve
            -- as best we can tell, the original Hebrew word, "Eve," means living -- instead of looking back at the chaos and consequence of sin, Adam looked forward to the grace of God and called his wife "Life" and we read here that Eve would be the mother of all the living

            -- now this verse stopped me this week during our daily readings -- I asked you to read the Bible with me this year in our 2013 Exalt the Word challenge -- and I hope you got the point that it's not so much about completing the readings as it is getting new things out of Scripture and hearing God's message to you in your daily time with Him

            -- I can't tell you how many times I've read this verse -- I've done an intensive Bible study on the book of Genesis -- but when I read this verse this week, it jumped out at me and God showed me something I had never seen before
            -- Adam named his wife Eve because she would be the mother of all the living -- notice that word, "all" -- Eve was not just the mother of humanity -- we know that all of us trace back our ancestry to her -- we all owe her our life because she was the first mother -- the first woman to ever bear a child
            -- but this verse says more than that -- it says she is the mother of all the living -- that includes more than just people
            -- how is that possible? -- how could Eve be the mother of all the living?

            -- in order to know what's going on here, you need to what the Bible means when it talks about life and death -- so, let's walk through what the Bible means here in this part of Genesis when it talks about these concepts

            -- flip over to Genesis 2 and let's read verses 16-17

Genesis 2:16-17 (NIV)

16 And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden;
17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."

            -- okay, if Adam eats from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, what's going to happen to him? -- he's going to die, right?

            -- now, Genesis 3, verse 6

Genesis 3:6 (NIV)

6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

             -- now, God said they were going to die, right? -- so verse 7 should read, Adam and his wife died

            -- look at verse 7

Genesis 3:7 (NIV)

7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

            -- what happened? -- they didn't die

            -- did God lie? -- no, of course not -- so the definition of death that God promised as a result of sin over in Chapter 2 was not physical death -- it had to have been spiritual death, right? -- and what we see in verse 7 is the spiritual death of Adam and his wife as they sinned through disobedience and separated themselves from God
            -- everybody's with me, right? -- in these verses here in the start of Genesis, when God talks about death, He's referring to spiritual death and not physical death -- or, as the Book of Revelation puts it, the second death
            -- don't take my word for it -- turn over real quick to Revelation chapter 20 and let's look at it together

            -- Revelation 20:4-6

Revelation 20:4-6 (NIV)

4 I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
5 (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection.
6 Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.

            -- now skip over to verse 14

Revelation 20:14 (NIV)

14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death.

            -- okay, so there's two kinds of death in the Bible

                        -- the first death is physical death -- when you stop breathing -- the death of the body
                        -- the second death is spiritual death -- when your soul is separated from God and thrown into the lake of fire -- this only happens to those who have not received forgiveness from their sins by trusting and believing in Jesus as Lord and Savior

            -- flip back to Genesis 3:20

Genesis 3:20 (NIV)

20 Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living.

            -- Eve is the mother of all the living -- now, stick with me -- if it is true in the Bible there are two kinds of death -- physical and spiritual -- is it not true there are two kinds of life -- physical and spiritual?

            -- what did Jesus tell Nicodemus in John Chapter 3? -- you must be born again -- it's not enough to be physically alive -- you must be spiritually alive as well -- two kinds of life

            -- when Adam named his wife Eve and said she would be the mother of all the living, he wasn't talking about physical life -- he wasn't referring to her ability to bear children -- he was referring to the promise God gave her in verse 15 that she would be bring forth salvation for all of creation    

            -- in verse 15, God is speaking to the serpent, but He makes a promise to Eve and to the world in this curse

            -- look at verse 15 with me

Genesis 3:15 (NIV)

15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."

            -- this verse is the first messianic prophecy in the Bible -- it foretells the coming of a Savior -- it foretells the coming of the seed of the woman who will crush the head of Satan -- who will overcome the effects of sin on creation -- and who will restore creation to its original perfect splendor

            -- when Adam went to name his wife, he recognized two things:

           -- first, he recognized that she had given birth to death -- because of her, sin had come into the world and the race of man would forever be tainted through original sin
            -- because of Adam and Eve, we are all born sinners -- we're not sinners because we sin -- we sin because we are sinners -- it's who we are and we are simply acting out of the nature we inherited from Adam and Eve
            -- but, secondly, Adam recognized that Eve would be the mother of salvation -- the mother who would bring forth spiritual life for all creation -- it's obvious that neither he nor Eve fully understood how or when it would happen, but Adam knew the need for salvation and restoration and he knew it would come through her
            -- so in this naming of Eve by Adam, we see another of the many faces of Eve, the face of life

V.  Closing

            -- In October, 2011, the Associated Press ran a deeply moving story about a name-changing ceremony for girls in Mumbai, India -- at birth the 285 girls had been named Nakusa or Nakushi, which means "Unwanted" in the primary Indian language of Hindi
            -- this name is widely given to girls across India where families often value sons much more than daughters -- as a result, female babies have been aborted or neglected at an alarming rate.
            -- But the renaming ceremony was an attempt to give the girls a new identity -- the article reported, "The 285 girls—wearing their best outfits with barrettes, braids and bows in their hair—lined up to receive certificates with their new names along with small flower bouquets."
            -- Some of the girls chose new names that mean prosperous, beautiful, and good -- one girl who had been named Nakusa by a grandfather who was disappointed in her birth said, "Now in school, my classmates and friends will be calling me by this new name, and that makes me very happy." [Source: Chaya Babu, "285 Indian girls shed 'unwanted' names," Associated Press (10-22-11)]
 
            -- in the Bible we see people being named as a reflection of the faces they wear and the character they display -- Abram was changed to Abraham -- Jacob to Israel -- Simon to Peter -- and the woman to Eve

            -- I wish we had more time this morning to go deeper into the character of Eve and talk about the many faces and names she bore in her life

            -- we could talk about the face of joy as she bore her first son Cain -- we could talk about the face of tears as she witnessed the murder of Abel -- we could talk about the face of hope as God provides her with another son, Seth
            -- but I'm going to leave that up to you and trust that you will go back and look at the story of Eve and her life through new eyes this week
            -- and as I close, let's thank God for the many faces of Eve and for the promise of life we have in Jesus that came through a woman named life

 

            -- let's pray