Brother Gary Sunday Morning 12/30/12
Gen 2:15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him
into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.
Gen 2:16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying,
Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat:
Gen 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou
shalt surely die.
The first prophesy concerning Jesus Christ in the scripture:
Gen 3:14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent,
Because thou hast done this, thou art
cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly
shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
Gen 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the
woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou
shalt bruise his heel.
These truths begin in Genesis and continue clear through to
the book of Revelations. Jesus was slain
from the foundation of the world. So
often people have the thought pattern that the Bible is an afterthought and the
teaching of Jesus is some man’s answer to the problems of the day. No, God knew what was going to happen from
the beginning and He had a plan to redeem mankind.
God made expression to Adam what God would require of Him.
God will reveal to us what will be required of us to live for God as we end
2012 and begin 2013.
Adam and Eve knew what was required in the Garden of
Eden. Not only did God tell Adam what
was required but He also told Him what would happen if he didn’t follow it: he would die.
God is fair to each of us. He
lets us know what is required and what will happen if we don’t do it. There is death in the separation from God,
natural death, and eternal separation from God.
Genesis 3 tells of the first lie that was ever told. The serpent told Eve that she wouldn’t surely
die if she ate of the fruit. Many people
remember their first sin. Mine was
stealing a cookie. Some remember their
first lie or first rebellion.
God recorded the first lie ever told and it was told by the
devil. God hates a liar. Revelations tells us that all liars will take
part of the lake of fire.
One man told me that he was a southerner and all southerners
are exaggerators. I’m glad that we don’t
have to be liars or exaggerators or make excuse for our lies.
The first lie and first sin is recorded in Genesis. It is a marvelous thing that God visited Adam
and Eve. (It has been so refreshing to
me as God dealt with me on the thought of agreement of prayer.) God meets with individuals when they begin to
search the scriptures. When you take
your Bible and begin to read the scripture, God comes to meet with you.
Unlock the day with a key of prayer. May you and I take the key of prayer and the
key of the Word of God and begin our day with that. Close the day with a bolt and the lock of
prayer. What a wonderful way to unlock
the day and then to bolt the day and enter into the night season.
How sad that Eve yielded to Satan and then gave to her
husband. They knew that they were naked
and hid themselves from the presence of God.
How wonderful that we can feel comfortable with the presence of
God. If you are not, Jesus paid the
price that you could be comfortable in the presence of God.
God told the serpent that he was cursed and that the seed of
Eve would war with him. The actual name
of Adam’s wife translates to life. She
was the giver of life to her seed and even to the son of God.
Satan would bruise the seed of the woman but the seed of
life would bruise Satan’s head. Sin
totally changes the course of life.
Jesus totally changes the course of life and contradicts sin in this
thought.
Sin totally bruises the course of life. When you think of what sin did to you and when
you see what sin is doing in the lives of those that you know and love: It is bruising their lives. Injury by sin leaves bruises that cause
individuals to become bitter which leads to hatred and then to people becoming
murderers.
The scripture tells us, “All have sinned and come short of
the glory of God.” We make bad choices
and are bruised initially by our own bad choices.
Individuals want to blame something else for why they are
where they are. There is no one to blame
this morning. My life has been affected
by the sins of others. People make
choices that will bruise you and me, but that doesn’t mean that we have to
allow that to turn into bitterness.
Our associations will make choices that will bruise us. My mother read a verse to me as I was growing
up that said, “Those that you love the most will hurt you the most.”
You wonder why that son or daughter or companion would hurt
you beyond what your mind could comprehend.
You may have sealed that bruise off as a capsule because you couldn’t
bear it. You cannot make it through life
without suffering some bruises.
The associates that you have that are not saved will make
choices that will bruise you.
Pro 6:16 These six things
doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an
abomination unto him:
Pro 6:17 A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that
shed innocent blood,
Pro 6:18 An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations,
feet that be swift in running to mischief,
Pro 6:19 A false witness that
speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
It doesn’t matter who the individual is. What education they have, or what family they
come from, if an individual allows pride in their life they will be hurtful. When you spot pride make a note, “This
individual will be very bruising.” Pride
brings terrific bruising.
A common associate that Bro Davis and I have cannot visit
with me without giving at least two digs.
The gentleman loved me and was very good to me. He was good to my mother and to my family
when my father died. Yet if there is
pride, it will not lay dormant and it doesn’t matter who it is in. If a preacher has pride then they will have
carnality and they will get someone pretty often.
A lying tongue: Very few in this audience will not have
someone in their linage, or a work associate that they have to put up with that
has a lying tongue. You can choose your
friends but you cannot choose your relatives.
A lying tongue is very difficult to deal with.
Hands that shed innocent blood: there will be people that
pick out some innocent person and try to destroy them. There will be those that receive vibes:
“there must be something wrong with that brother because I have this
vibe.” You cannot beat up a brother of
mine without it hurting me. It is a
shame.
A heart that devises wicked imaginations: We are fallen on perilous times. This will be done where ever there are people
that have yielded themselves to be a tool to hurt someone else.
Feet that are swift in running to mischief: there are people that live for gossip.
A false witness that speaks lies: this hurts, it is tough. There will be those that think that you
thought because the thought came to them.
You talk about mean and bruising!
Discord among the brethren:
what a terrible thing to try to put brothers and sisters at odds with
one another!
Sin totally bruises individual’s lives, bruises turn to
hatred, and hatred to murderers.
This began to happen in Genesis: The wages of sin, bruising, hatred, and
death. There are commentators that
thought that Cain and Able were twins.
These two brothers with the last name of Kelly in this
audience love each other. They had a dad
that every day he had communication with everyone of his children. I have no idea how many hundreds of times he
drove that road to see his children.
Cain and Able were the children of Adam and Eve. They were raised together. One was a farmer and one was a tender of the
sheep. One chose to worship with
offerings that were acceptable to God and one chose to not. God honored the one and not the other.
Cain chose to not worship God God’s way. He became angry when God honored Able’s
worship. God dealt with him, but he
chose to murder his brother.
He bruised himself terrible.
“My punishment is greater than I can bear.” It is amazing to me how people get their
lives so messed up. Even in Cain’s
desperate condition if he would have repented and sought after God, there was
forgiveness. He not only bruised
himself, he bruised his parents.
At this point Cain didn’t have any other brothers. At this point there were no other adults but
his parents. Sin and Satan bruises men
and women’s lives.
I’d like to be on the jury for every case of child
abuse. I am not paranoid, but I have
some discernment and I don’t want to ever go against it. I’d like to be on every case of elder abuse,
they should be well cared for.
God chose before the world ever began that Satan should
bruise his son Jesus and Jesus would bruise Satan’s head.
I have thoughts of people that were desperately bruised in a
desperate situation in life:
Jesus gave hope to the lepers. There is something about hearing a word from
God. When you are distraught and go to
the word of God and find a promise, that you know that God has spoken to you,
it is a wonderful experience.
Remember the blind men and how the disciples wanted to hush
them? We are all thankful for our
sight. When you have an experience where
you cannot see, then it makes you very thankful for your sight. Those blind men would not be hushed. Society bruised them and wanted to hush them,
they would not be hushed. Jesus healed
them and gave them their sight.
Men sat in darkness and when Jesus passed by they saw a
great light. Our family is in darkness,
would it be wonderful if while they visit they see light? Anyone that is in darkness is bruised. Heartaches are not limited to those that are
saved.
Jesus freed the oppressed.
We live in a world that loves to oppress. There are religions that are very oppressive
and teach that people shouldn’t smile and have a good time, or that women
should keep their head covered.
Rich men may oppress, or take advantage of the poor. No saved person will do this. Jesus freed those that were oppressed and
those that were possessed of unclean spirits.
All uncleanness comes from the devil and Jesus freed them.
Every one of us wants to take total precaution that we don’t
sympathize with anything that is unclean in school, on the internet, or
anywhere else. Never do injustice to the
discernment that God has given you.
There are many children that the only decent meal that they
get is the school lunch program. Every
mother knows that a child should not leave the home without something good in
their stomach. Don’t go out to face
anyone until you have eaten spiritually and physically so that your mind is
alert.
That mother that made the lunch for that little boy of two fishes
and five loaves of bread: Jesus took
that lunch and blessed it. Jesus gives
full measure. He blessed it so that the
crowd, 5000 large plus women and children, had more than enough to eat. We serve a God that loves children and said,
“Bring those children to me.”
He taught us that there is another kingdom than the world;
it is righteousness, peace, and joy. It
is wonderful that we can live in this other kingdom. This one that was so bruised lived His life
calling people that were bruised and oppressed to come to Him. I remember when I was lost in sin and He
spoke to me. However many times my heart
was broken, He called me to him and healed me.
Jesus teaches. If
there is something that you don’t know, or understand, or if you have a
decision to make, take the Word of God.
He teaches.
Jesus taught us to pray, “Our Father.” It is plural; he is yours and my father. When you are praying you are not alone even
in the secret closet. There are others
praying as well that you don’t know about.
We pray, “Our father.”
Suppose a child asks her father, “Will you take us
sledding?” Suppose the next one joins in
and says, “Yes, Please.” Then suppose
the next one joins in, “And let’s take hotdogs and build a bonfire.”
As one sister prays for her brother, another unbeknownst to
her is also praying in their closet for that sister’s brother. Another is praying for ‘that one’ that she
cannot remember the name. All are
praying, “Our Father who art in heaven.”
Another said, “One is losing his foot, I’ve been in Southern
California. Our Father!”
Jesus visited Zacheous, he was a tree climber. He said, “Zacheous come down, I want to go
visit you.”
Jesus visited Lazarus.
He called him out of the tomb.
You may feel that you have real personal failures. I failed to get that education, to be the
brother, aunt, or sister, that I should have been. I failed to be what I should have been. You may have a broken heart because of family
failures. You may have a brother,
sister, friend, or neighbor and you might shake your head and say, “I wonder if
I failed them somewhere.”
You might have personal disappointments in your life and
they are deep bruises. There probably
hasn’t been anyone in this audience that hasn’t been bruised by the
prodigals. There are a lot of prodigals
that are blaming their failures on someone else.
You may have been bruised by oppression or captivity or the
bondage makers. You are not the only
one. Maybe you are ashamed of something
in your life and you are always bruised by it instead of putting it before God.
Maybe you are bruised by sin. Jesus said, “A bruised reed he will not
break.” He promised liberty to the
bruised. He doesn’t want us walking
about the rest of our life bruised, he wants to heal you.
Rom 16:20 And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under
your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.
Are you bruised by Satan or maybe you have bruised
yourself. Let me help you this morning,
God told us in the very early scene of time that Satan was going to bruise the
seed of the woman and the seed of the woman was going to bruise his head. You don’t have to be bruised this morning,
you can be healed. There are a lot of
things that we must put in a capsule and say, “God this is something that I
cannot take care of, you must.”
God wants you to end the year all healed up.
