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Scriptures for this study:

Joshua 24:14-15; ~ James 1:11-15; ~ Genesis 3:4-13; ~ Galatians 5:19-25

About what God controls, and our dissatisfaction…

Joshua 24:14-15  “Now therefore fear the LORD and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.  (15)  And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”

— This is a common theme in every life-witness recorded in the Bible… The need for the person(s) involved to CHOOSE.

— I maintain that this shows us the one thing God does not control. (Your choice.)

— God does KNOW US, better than we know ourselves, and He graciously places things in our lives that will direct us towards Himself. However, the final choice to accept, learn, and grow, is always ours.

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Adam and Eve had just one tree in the Garden of Eden that they were not to eat of…

— WHY DID GOD PLACE IT THERE? (I ask you to just think about this question as we continue.)

— Was it there to tempt them? (God does not tempt anyone. SEE James 1:13)

James 1:11-15  For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.  (12)  Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.  (13)  Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.  (14)  But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.  (15)  Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

Q1/ If the tree was not put there to tempt them, what was its purpose there?

— Does resisting temptations make us stronger?

— And if we never face temptations would that weaken us?

— Do you think that God was setting a test for them, and giving them a choice to obey or to disobey?

James1:14 says, “But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire.”

— When we try to blame God for temptations that cause us to falter, we need to acknowledge the truth of this verse.

(The BLAME GAME…)

Q2/ Who did Adam and Eve blame for their decision to disobey?

To find the answer read Genesis 3:12-13  The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of 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 deceived me, and I ate.”

— In effect, Adam blamed God as he said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me…”

— Also Eve pointed back to a creature God had made to blame for her disobedience when she said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

— Isn’t this the first reaction we all have, to blame something or someone else?

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Q3/ So, why did God place the tree of the ‘knowledge-of-good-and-evil’ in the garden with Adam and Eve?

— The answer to this is found in James 1:11-12… For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.  (12)  Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

— God had a purpose to bless Adam and Eve, however, they chose to step out of that blessing into the curse of sin and death. (By disobedience to God. ~ We follow that sin whenever we disobey Him.)

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Q4/ How can James 1:11 apply to you and me?

— This verse speaks of aging and everyday struggles, sometimes we even struggle with boredom.

— If we truthfully admit it, as we struggle with aging, it stems from a spirit of dissatisfaction… We aren’t happy with our wrinkles; white hairs; double chins; ‘spare tires’… We get frustrated that we can’t do all the things we used to do. We are suffering DISSATISFACTION.

Q5/ Did this verse apply to Adam and Eve? (It doesn’t say they originally aged or faced death… and so what trials and tribulations did they have to deal with?) ~ discuss?

— Look closely and you do find a measure of dissatisfaction in the account of mankind’s fall…

SEE Genesis 3:4-6  But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.  (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)  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.

When you examine this interaction between the tempter serpent and Eve, what LIE do you think caught Eve’s attention and caused her to want something more out of life?

— THE LIE IS FOUND IN Genesis 3:4-5  But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.  (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.”

— Satan sensed dissatisfaction in Eve. He saw that she wanted more out of life.

— And then Eve took it, ate some, and gave it to Adam to eat.

— What is the thing that caused her to want to be powerful and notable, not ordinary and ignored?

— Isn’t it because she put their own personal glorification and pride before obedience to God?

— Isn’t that something we need to guard against in our own lives?

Adam and Eve had a role to be caretakers of God’s garden… And it seems that after some time there, and we are not told of the time-frame involved before the fall, the desire for more out of life tempted them to sin.

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In our sin-filled world, we are called to bear our cross and follow Jesus. Our CROSS is our life’s burden to witness Jesus through all our ups and downs.

— One of life’s pitfalls that we all have to contend with, is the need to accept our own limitations and be content with our changing roles in life.

— From the Hollywood stars, and professional athletes, to us more regular sorts… We all must accept the fact of getting older and losing some youthful glory and glamour.

— Another fact-of-life we struggle with, is the need to settle for a life that is not the dreamed-of-life we had when we were young.

— There is great peace of mind to be found when we learn to work within the lot that God has given to us in this world.

(LIFE APPLICATION)

— Two words (one hyphenated), speak of things that we must let go of to follow Jesus;

(Can you fill in the blanks?);  P _ _ de;   &   S _ _ f-c _ _ teredness.

(The Apostle Paul called it crucifying the flesh… SEE Galatians 5:24)

Galatians 5:19-25  Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality,  (20)  idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions,  (21)  envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.  (22)  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  (23)  gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.  (24)  And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.  (25)  If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.

Q/7 Who controls your thoughts?

Q8/ Who must decide to “crucify the works of the flesh” and to “live by the Spirit”?

— Paul wrote, “If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.”

— What are the keywords of control in living by the Spirit, from what Paul has just said? (Vs.25)

(Can you fill in the blanks?); “ _ ee _    i _    st _ _    with the Spirit.”

This denotes a conscious action to follow God… You are the one who must choose to follow.

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To conclude; What does God control? …And what does He not control?

I am convinced by faith, by the teachings of God’s Word, and by experience, that God is in control of everything, including where our future is taking us… However, the one thing He will not control is your place in the future He desires to bless you with.

— We must choose one of two destinations… See them announced by Jesus in Matthew 7:13-14  “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.  (14)  For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”

— We choose either LIFE or DESTRUCTION… And Jesus said “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

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Key Question for today: Therefore, to succeed in the best plan that God has for your life, what is required of you and me?

(I find it summed up in a word that we human beings are definitely NOT COMFORTABLE with.)

(See if you can guess my word); S_ _ m _ ss _ _ n.

You cannot properly submit to God’s control in your life until you know and trust Him… But He made it so easy, all you need do is accept His gift of forgiveness through the price paid by Jesus on the cross. Your heart needs to cry out for this forgiveness because God sees our hearts. You can pray to Him and receive this right now right where you are.

— God will not turn away a truly repentant heart.

— For all who have given God control of your lives, we need to strive to resist temptations to become discontent with where we are right now in God’s plans.

(I take that as a personal challenge, for through this time of losing our freedoms due to the pandemic restrictions, I find myself often dissatisfied with our lot in life these days.)

…I know that I must repent of this, and simply trust God’s knowledge of what is best.

We’ll close with further discussion…

And the song ‘God leads His dear children’ to lead us into prayer.

Any comments, or requests for more information on making Jesus the WAY in your life, just use the contact forms provided and I will do my best to help.