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2022 Tuesday afternoon Blind camp service August 2 image

2022 Tuesday afternoon Blind camp service August 2

Harmonica Player podcast
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115 Plays2 years ago
and this episode, you will hear the Tuesday afternoon Blanche service performed on August 2, 2022. Use my special link zen.ai/harmonicaplayerpodcast and use harmonicaplayerpodcast to save 30% off your first three months of Zencastr professional. #madeonzencastr --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/harmonicaplayer/message
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Transcript

Introduction to Zencastr

00:00:06
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Greetings ladies and gentlemen, this is Joseph aka harmonica player And I'd like to tell you about an awesome service that I use to get my podcast done Did you know that there's a service out there called Zancaster, which is a one-stop shop for all? For all podcasts you can do editing production and audio and video.

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If you use a professional account, like a Zencast or Pro and higher, you can have your video imported to every video player that there is possible. That only works on professional accounts though.

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00:00:53
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So if you want to take advantage of this, go to pod, zencaster.com slash pricing and use my code harmonica player podcast and get three months off your zencaster professional. We are anxious to hear your story. Take care and happy podcasting.

Musical Interlude Begins

00:01:35
Speaker
We present the Tuesday afternoon August 2nd blind cam 2022 service. Enjoy!

Hymns and Reflections

00:02:08
Speaker
How about that one? Number 567. 569. Let's try 569.
00:02:40
Speaker
ask me not, O gentle Savior, hear my humble cry. While on others thou art calling, do not pass me by. Savior, Savior,
00:03:09
Speaker
Hear my humble cry While another's hour calling Do not pass me by Let me at thy throne a mercy Find a sweet relief
00:03:39
Speaker
Nearly there in deep contrition, help my unbelief. Savior, Savior, hear my humble cry.
00:04:03
Speaker
While on others thou art calling, do not pass me by. Trusting only in thy merit, would I seek thy face.
00:04:27
Speaker
Heal my wounded broken spirit, save me by thy grace. Savior, Savior, hear my humble cry.
00:04:50
Speaker
While another's hour calling, do not pass me by. Though the spring of all my comfort more than life for me, whom have I unearthed beside thee?
00:05:20
Speaker
room in heaven but thee. Savior, Savior, hear my humble cry, while another's hour calling, do not pass me by.
00:05:50
Speaker
Does anyone have one picked out that you'd like to say? What's that? How great thou art. I think that's in here. Oh, all right, 633. I think we have time for another one after that.
00:06:21
Speaker
Sing the wondrous love of Jesus. Sing his mercy and his grace. In the mansions, bright and blessed, he'll prepare for us a place.
00:06:42
Speaker
When we all get to heaven What a day of rejoicing that will be When we all see Jesus We'll sing and shout the victory
00:07:05
Speaker
While we walk a pilgrim pathway, clouds will overspread the sky. But when traveling days are over, not a shadow, not a sky.
00:07:26
Speaker
When we all get to heaven What a day of rejoicing that will be When we all see Jesus We'll sing and shout the victory
00:07:49
Speaker
Let us then be true and faithful, trusting, serving every day. Just one glimpse of Him in glory will the tours of life repay.
00:08:10
Speaker
When we all get to heaven What a day of rejoicing that will be When we all see Jesus We'll sing and shout the victory
00:08:33
Speaker
Onward to the prize before us Soon his beauty will behold Soon the pearly gates will open We shall tread the streets of gold
00:08:54
Speaker
When we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be. When we all see Jesus, we'll sing and shout the victory. How great thou art!
00:09:22
Speaker
What is it? 86. I'd like to say hello to the people in Valdez, Alaska.

Nature and Faith in Hymns

00:09:53
Speaker
O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder consider all the worlds thy hands have made.
00:10:11
Speaker
I see the stars. I hear the rolling thunder. Thy power throughout the universe displayed. Then sings my soul, my Savior God.
00:10:36
Speaker
to thee. How great thou art! How great thou art! Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to thee. How great thou art!
00:11:07
Speaker
When through the woods and forest blades I wander and hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees, when I look down
00:11:28
Speaker
from lofty mountain grandeur, and hear the brook, and feel the gentle breeze. Then sings my soul, my Saviour God, to thee.
00:11:51
Speaker
I'll break thou art. I'll break thou art. Then sings my soul, my Saviour God to thee. I'll break thou art. I'll break thou art.
00:12:21
Speaker
When Christ shall come Wish out of acclamation And take me home What joy shall fill my heart
00:12:38
Speaker
then I shall bow in humble adoration and their proclaim, my God, how great thou art.
00:12:55
Speaker
Then sings my soul, my Saviour God to thee. How great Thou art! How great Thou art! Then sings my soul, my Saviour God to thee.
00:13:21
Speaker
I'll break the word. I'll break the word. Oh, 532. We've got one more before the theme song. Oh, it is. Oh, OK. 532. And I don't care whether she plays it off of this or the other seat.
00:14:04
Speaker
Day by day and with each passing moment Strength I find to meet my trials here
00:14:21
Speaker
Trusting in my father's wise bestowmen, I have no cause for weary or for fear. He whose heart is fine beyond all measure,
00:14:44
Speaker
Gives us to each day one eating's best. Lovingly, it's part of pain and pleasure. Mingling joy with peace and rest.
00:15:07
Speaker
Every day the Lord himself is near me With a special mercy for each hour All my cares he feign and bear and cheer me He whose name is counselor and power
00:15:37
Speaker
The protection of his talent treasure is a charge that on himself he laid. As your days, your fears will be in measure, this the pledge to me made.
00:16:08
Speaker
Help me then in every tribulation. So to trust thy promises, O Lord, that I lose not faith, sweet consolation, offered me within thy holy word.
00:16:37
Speaker
Help me, Lord, when toil and trouble meeting, dare to take us from a father's hand. One by one, the days of moments fleeting,
00:17:01
Speaker
Till I reach the promised land. Well, let's pray that last verse. Help me then, in every tribulation, so to trust thy promises, O Lord, that I lose not faith's sweet consolation offered me within thy holy word. We're here to study the Word. We're here to seek the face of the Lord.
00:17:30
Speaker
What a God we serve.

Exploring the Ten Commandments

00:17:33
Speaker
We've been in Genesis, chapter one, and we got into chapter two. Tonight we get into chapter three. We're not speeding through the book. There's so much here.
00:17:46
Speaker
The bad news is that all we've done before this was good news, but now we had to look at the fall, the entrance of sin. But we have to look at it. And it really, it steps right on our toes. It helps us to face issues that are happening in our lives. Every part of the universe operates according to law, okay? In the physical realm, these laws are very measurable.
00:18:16
Speaker
Suppose I have a basketball in my hand and I'm holding it about chest height and I pull my hands apart, what is a basketball to you? Falls to the ground and bounces.
00:18:28
Speaker
All right? Suppose I'm holding a lead ball about that same size in my hand. Well, if it's that big, I'm going to have to squat a little, bend my knees, and tuck my elbows in, but I've got that lead ball in my hands. What happens when I release my hands? It drops. Okay? Okay, one more scene. This time, it's a helium balloon about that same size, and I'm holding it in my hands about chest height, and I release my hands, and where does it drop?
00:18:58
Speaker
Everything happens according to law. I was talking about the law of gravity. Why doesn't the law of gravity affect that helium balloon? It does. You're absolutely right. But the helium balloon is lighter than air. Everything happens according to laws, and we count on that.
00:19:21
Speaker
We expect and require those laws to work. Excuse me. Some of you were bold enough to go up in an airplane. You know that airplane's heavier than air. That was not a helium balloon you were in. But it was safe. That amazing pilot even gave some of you blind people the controls. What was he thinking?
00:19:51
Speaker
Oh, that you could follow instructions. There's rules in life. Just as there's these physical rules, there's rules in our spiritual life. We can trust God to take care of us. Some of the rules in the spiritual life we have known and talked about the
00:20:18
Speaker
The King James translation of the Ten Commandments tends to sound a bit negative. But I believe God gave us these rules very much in the positive. This is good news. He says, number one, I am number one. I'm the one to worship. That's command number one. He says, I'm God. Well, I'm glad he is.
00:20:43
Speaker
I don't know enough to be God, and I know that. The trouble is that sometimes I act like my grandma, Eve, and think that I know better than what he told me. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Commandment number two, leave those images alone. Don't worship them. He's God, not this image. And we talked about images this morning. He wants us to radiate his love.
00:21:13
Speaker
to share his character. We're worshipping him. Number three, don't use any bad language. Talk positive, sweetly, uplifting, bold, gracious, kind. That's God. He wants us to have pure speech. That's wonderful. And the other doesn't look good or sound good.
00:21:42
Speaker
There's really no good expletives. Just let's be in worship. Let's not even saying garbage as an expletive isn't a good thing. And you know there's other words, plenty of other words. Number four, and that's the one that
00:22:05
Speaker
So much of the world is having trouble with because the devil has been attacking it so much. And you know it's the only one that has the word remember in the front of it. The Sabbath day. Holy Sabbath day. Blessed day of rest. By my God supremely blessed. What a gift he gave us. And that was at the climax of the creation week.
00:22:31
Speaker
Number five, respect your parents, and actually all levels of authority. And that includes pastors, but it's not as if I'm pushing for that. I just know that that's what God asks you to treat people who are in a position of authority with respect. Now, if I get off of left field, be respectful enough to say, Pastor Fred, you're heading the wrong direction, just like when one of my blind friends
00:23:00
Speaker
starts wandering across the field thinking that they're heading to dinner, I say, it's over this way. Respect authority. But when your parents are trying to tell you to do something that's contrary to the word of God, don't be shy to say to them, I must obey God rather than man, especially now that you're adults.

Respecting Life and Purity

00:23:29
Speaker
That command number six about don't murder, respect life. Respect life. That's a huge thing. It's in the politics today. We're getting states where we respect life and refuse to do abortions, and so there's companies that say, well, we'll pay our employees enough that they can travel to states where they can kill those kids if they want to. Respect life, all life.
00:24:01
Speaker
whether they're young or old or your same age. There's a lot of mess in this world, a lot of killing going on, and I'm not sure that I could participate in war in any way. It's messy. Respect life. Number seven, be sexually pure. I know it's phrased in a don't, don't commit adultery, but it means be sexually pure.
00:24:30
Speaker
And that's more than just what you do with your physical body. It's even more what you do in your head.
00:24:38
Speaker
Control what you think about. And I know, you can't control what you think about. Well, God can. When the temptations are coming, focus on Him and invite Him to help you think the right thoughts. And He does. I know, because I'm blessed with this one too. And number eight, leave other people's stuff alone. Don't steal.
00:25:03
Speaker
If it doesn't belong to you, it doesn't belong to you. Treat it with respect. Number nine, speak only truth. Oh, I'm not just talking about words. Your actions too. Demonstrate truth in your life. The commandment tends to be quoted as if don't bear false witness.
00:25:29
Speaker
But God wants us to be pillars of righteousness that anyone seeing us knows the truth about God. Be truthful. And number 10, be content. Welcome, Randy. We've been praying for you. And we had already heard that our prayers were answered even as we were praying. God is gracious.
00:25:58
Speaker
So be content. Sometimes you feel like God handed you a bad deck. Some of you were born blind. Others received your blindness later. And some of you had a progressive experience like my friend Dave and
00:26:18
Speaker
God has given these experiences to us and in this context we can talk about the blindness but there's plenty of other issues in our lives and truth be told every one of us this far from Eden is disabled one way or another.

Contentment and Praise in Adversity

00:26:37
Speaker
I'm trying to learn to praise the Lord and thank Him for the experiences He gives me. Now, the last two times when the deer ran into my car, I was able to say, praise the Lord, first, rather than getting angry and upset. And the last two were both totaling the car. They finished it off.
00:26:58
Speaker
Now, the next to the last one, it was third time's the charm, but still, it's really, really upsetting. But praise the Lord, I wasn't hurt. And that's, you know, when you look at it, Lord, if you're going to let the deer run into this car that's really not mine, it's his. I know you've got some good to happen out of this. I don't need to know what that good is.
00:27:28
Speaker
The last time the deer took out my car, the lady who saw it happen stopped and we had a nice little chat. Maybe that made a difference in her life. We don't even always know when we're sharing Jesus with someone, let alone what difference it's making. Because if you are walking with Jesus all of the time, then whoever sees you, you're sharing Jesus with them, even if you don't say a word.
00:28:00
Speaker
If God needs Randy to go to the hospital and talk to those nurses, and witness the body as Lord, it's a good thing. And you know, Randy's ready to say amen to that as anybody. That's right, Dave. We know he did, because we know Randy. And may we all be that bold. But you don't always have to say something to witness for Jesus.
00:28:28
Speaker
Just live for Jesus. That's being content. Now, having said that, violation of any of these laws has consequences.

Temptation and Disobedience

00:28:40
Speaker
Some of you was telling me about an airport near where they live that is world-renowned for skydiving.
00:28:51
Speaker
that people go up in the perfectly good airplane and then they jump out of it and they expect a parachute to carry them to the earth safely. And most of the time it does. They have thousands of people that jump out of those airplanes from that airport and they're only averaging one death a year. That's one too many. But really the percentages are quite good.
00:29:19
Speaker
But there's laws. And that law of gravity, we can study and know exactly what terminal velocity is. And the terminal velocity for that lead ball isn't very different from the terminal velocity of that basketball. Once they get going through the atmosphere, which causes friction and slows it down, they get to be about the same speed.
00:29:49
Speaker
Or if you're falling through the atmosphere, you get to about that same speed, and it's faster than is very safe. Thank you, Becky. No, I don't want to do that. But did you go up in the plane? See? See? You trusted. Oh, Kristin was in control, and she's never seen a peak in her whole life. Thank you, Kristin.
00:30:18
Speaker
So Genesis 2, God told our first parents about this. He gave us some warning about some issues that he knew we would face. Verse 16, the Lord God commanded the man saying, of every tree of the garden you may freely eat, but, you always listen for those little exception words, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall
00:30:48
Speaker
Surely die surely die not maybe might could You shall surely die that was the word of God now does God tell the truth always What God says is true? What God says not always makes sense to our human minds That's not required
00:31:14
Speaker
It's required that what God says is truth, and I need to believe it. When he says this is the way it is, then this is the way it is. Trust him. He knows what he's talking about. Well, things got messy. In chapter three, the serpent, the snake, was more cunning, subtle, tricky, sly.
00:31:40
Speaker
than any of the other beasts in the field. And this snake said to the woman, as God indeed said, you shall not eat of every tree of the garden. Now you hear what's going on? A snake is talking? Snakes don't talk. They never did.
00:32:03
Speaker
It's the evil one who is inhabiting that snake and talking to Grandma. And she listened to him. Now be wise. When the devil starts talking, there are usually some clues that it's the wrong voice. Don't listen to it. And for God's sake, don't start talking back.
00:32:32
Speaker
But Grandma did. And truth be told, in our lives, yeah. So the story goes on. The woman said to the serpent, oh, oh, that's not what God said. We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, but of the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden. God has said, you shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it lest you die. Now, let's pause and look at a couple things on that.
00:33:01
Speaker
Satan had slightly misquoted God, and so she thought she would defend God and set the record straight. You don't need to do that to the devil. If he's telling lies about God, walk away from him. Don't try to correct his errors. There's a time to speak and a time to keep silent. There's a time to respond and a time to drop it.
00:33:27
Speaker
Let God guide you to know which is when. Now something else can happen here that I've heard preachers land on each side of this and I don't need to land on either side one or the other but I can tell you the caution.

Distorting God's Word

00:33:43
Speaker
She said that God said don't touch it. You do not find in chapter 2 anything where God said don't touch it. Now
00:33:53
Speaker
People have a tendency to, and the Jews called it putting a fence around the law, making some extra rules so you don't get close to breaking the law. That really does not bring honor to God. Understand the law and honor His instructions.
00:34:13
Speaker
But putting those extra rules around it, like telling you that you need to be here by 7 o'clock when this live stream is going to be going on and the sermon doesn't start until 7.30, that's a lie. I need to tell you the truth. Now, I'd like to have you here plenty early. We start singing 10, 15 minutes after 7, we start singing before the scheduled time for it to start and it goes live stream. And hallelujah, people are watching.
00:34:43
Speaker
I have gotten a couple reports of people who are watching. Hallelujah, this is wonderful. We're happy to share with the world the word of God. Don't try to help God out by making the rules more stringent than he has made them. He's clear. Trust him with his clarity.
00:35:06
Speaker
Now it could be that in the discussion with God, that God said, don't even touch that stuff. We really don't know which side it's on, but we can see a lesson in this.
00:35:25
Speaker
I have a picture in my mind of the serpent in the tree. And even today, some snakes are very nicely designed. A lot of people are so afraid of a snake that they can't see any beauty in them. But if you will let yourself stop being afraid of the snake and start looking at it for its aesthetics, some of them are really quite attractive.
00:35:55
Speaker
But before the fall, I think they were even more attractive. And the scientists have been studying the fossil record and seen some evidence that some of those dinosaurs or maybe early snakes could fly. Interesting stuff. I don't have to understand it all to know that that snake in the garden was an attractive creature.
00:36:23
Speaker
and beguiling with the words. And Eve was standing there dallying and talking with him and suggesting about what God said and what God didn't say.

Eve's Choice and Consequences

00:36:34
Speaker
And now this serpent who has got a bite of fruit in its mouth. And I used to think of a piece of fruit the size of an apple, but I'm thinking more maybe a small apricot because I don't think she just had one piece in her hand when she handed to Adam.
00:36:53
Speaker
I think there was a handful of fruit by then, but the serpent has got this fruit eating it and implying that the eating of the fruit has made the serpent to be an advanced creature from what it was before. Now, implications don't make it true. Assumptions can make you into a fool.
00:37:21
Speaker
And so she got tricked. She gave a clear statement to the serpent, and the serpent then said, God lied to you. That should be a huge red flag that you say, wait a minute, wait a minute. If anybody says God's lying, you know they're lying. They may be deceived, but they're lying. The serpent said to the woman, you will not surely die.
00:37:51
Speaker
She quoted God correctly when he said that if you eat it, you will surely die. But then he went on to say, verse 5, God knows that in the day that you eat it, your eyes will be opened. You will be like God, knowing good and evil.
00:38:08
Speaker
Now he's not only lied about what God said, but he's lied about God's motives. Now whose motives does Satan present as God's motives? His own motives is what he has consistently presented as if they were God's motives. That's why this great controversy has taken so long because Satan has lied and lied and lied about God and God has to only tell truth
00:38:36
Speaker
to present truth in a clear way. No falsehoods. It's taken thousands of years to get this record set straight. And it needs to be set straight in the lives of individual people. So he lied saying that God is afraid that you're gonna be like him. But now we get to the part that just tears me up. Not merely because of what Grandma did.
00:39:05
Speaker
But because of what we do with this, the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, a tree desirable to make one wise. Now there she's catching that instruction from the snake. So she took the fruit and ate.
00:39:27
Speaker
She did a scientific analysis. She looked at that fruit, and she recognized that there was nutrition in that fruit. And there was. But God said, don't eat it. There was nutrition in that fruit. And she decided, well, why would God not want me to eat this nutritious fruit? He must be lying. So she ate it.
00:39:59
Speaker
Don't just do this thought in the long ago and far away. How many times have you heard the voice of God and done your own analysis of the situation and said, I can get away with this? It'll be OK this time. I can do this once. You can't do it this once. It will hurt you every time that you violate the will and the way of God. And it makes it easier for you to lose it again.
00:40:30
Speaker
You've got to believe the word of God. Believing his word empowers you to live truth and righteousness. And of course, it goes on. She also gave to her husband and he ate. Now New Testament helps us understand. Eve got snookered. Yeah, she dallied and she played games and she talked back, but she got tricked in her head.
00:41:00
Speaker
The Bible holds Adam responsible here. Now, I believe he's responsible also because he had a leadership role. We talked about that last night. But the Bible can't talk to him responsible. And what I see here is he went into this with his eyes open. She said, I ate. And he looked at her and he said, you have violated the word of God. And I'm going to join you because I love you so much.
00:41:31
Speaker
Love God supremely. Only then can you safely love your spouse. Yeah. We looked at that last night too. Make your love to God strong and true so that you can be appropriate in your love for even your spouse, but also your neighbor and your kids and your parents. Make your love for God strong.
00:41:57
Speaker
You know what happened. As soon as Adam had eaten the fruit, he starts blaming Eve. I love you so much, but five minutes later, it's her fault. That's the way we go. If we do not honor God supremely, then we start hurting each other. And you know, you've been hurt by others. And truth be told, you've hurt others. So, half with you in my nose.
00:42:29
Speaker
in love. God limited where our parents could err. Only one place in the whole world where they could make that mistake. Only one place in the world where they could sin. And it was associated with the tree. Trees don't wander around. They stay in one place. That was the only place in the whole world where Satan could tempt Adam and Eve.
00:42:58
Speaker
And Satan's sneaky. He knew he was limited to there. He thought long and hard about how and when and where.

Satan's Limitations and Small Tests

00:43:05
Speaker
I don't know how long Adam and Eve were in the garden before sin came.
00:43:11
Speaker
I had an elder that told me when I was about 12, 14 years old that it was 40 years. And I said, why do you know that? And he says, just keep looking and you'll find it. Well, I haven't found it yet, but I keep looking. I don't think it's in the word because I have been looking for 40 years.
00:43:33
Speaker
They were in the garden a while, and the devil was studying on this thing, and he waited until he found Eve without her husband close by her side. Oh, he wasn't very far away, but they weren't together. God had given some clues, very useful, helpful, wise clues. The test was so small. It's just a bit of food. Does it matter what you eat?
00:44:02
Speaker
Yeah, yeah it does. Most important tests in our lives are small too. Look at the Bible record. Daniel, when he had been kidnapped and enslaved and probably castrated, he said, I'm going to choose the food that God wants me to eat rather than the stuff that the king is pushing on me.
00:44:31
Speaker
food, small choice, made a difference. And then 70 years later, another small test comes to Daniel when he's told that he needs to pray only to the king and Daniel wasn't gonna fudge or sneak or pretend, faithful in his worship of the Lord.
00:44:57
Speaker
He knew it wouldn't have made any difference. They were out for him anyway. If he knuckled into their false law, he would have been in trouble, even with them, let alone with God. So he was true to God. Small test for Daniel and his friends that faced the lions. They could have bent over and tied their shoe, at least on that instead of standing up and refusing to bow to that image. Simple test, a little test. Or Joseph.
00:45:28
Speaker
She was a consenting adult. She wanted to do this thing. And he said, how can I do this great weakness and sin against? Now, I was expecting him to say, sin against your husband, my boss. But he said, sin against God. It would be a violation of heaven's rules for me to do this with you. And so she accused him anyway. Small things.
00:45:55
Speaker
It can be very small issues in your life the small things count big time because the little choices we make prepare us to take the stand on the big things and the big things probably don't look big till we look back at them as We're walking up to them. They look small. I think it was just a small piece of fruit that grandma ate and of course
00:46:22
Speaker
We often spend a lot of time on Jesus and his temptations. Three simple temptations. And it looks so simple, especially that first one. We'll just make this rock into a piece of bread. And he could. But he refused.
00:46:42
Speaker
Safeguards have been put in place. God had instructed them to stay together. He had told Lee that tree alone. And he told them, don't trust your own senses.

Trusting God's Word Over Logic

00:46:54
Speaker
Trust my word. That's where we've got to live. I believe in these last days, each one of us is going to face issues where a scientific analysis
00:47:07
Speaker
Legal analysis is going to say go along with the sin But a biblical analysis will say God has said and I'm going to follow the Word of God I believe each one of us that go through to stand before Jesus without having seen death will have an experience where we have to say that
00:47:32
Speaker
I'm going to obey God no matter, no matter. And it's going to be individual.
00:47:39
Speaker
I believe that each one of us is going to feel like it's just between me and God, nobody else. I know it's nice to have a spouse, a husband or a wife standing at your side saying, yes, let's do this right thing together and we should do that and that, but I think that the test will come to each one of us in some way. You've got to believe what God said rather than what you see or feel or smell or touch.

Deceptive Righteousness

00:48:11
Speaker
We're warned that Satan will personate Christ. And if you go and look at him, you will be convinced that he looks, sounds, and acts like Jesus. God says, don't go. Don't look. Don't even turn on your television and look at that image of so-called Jesus. Don't put yourself in the position where you're dallying like Eve was, trying to decide whether is this fruit nutritious or not?
00:48:41
Speaker
By the way, there were a lot of good vitamins and minerals in that fruit. It wasn't poisonous fruit. It was an obedience issue. I've got to give you one more verse, James 1, starting with verse 12. Because it's essential that we realize that it's not just longer going far away with Grandma Eve, but it's present day and today with us.

Enduring Modern Temptations

00:49:10
Speaker
Blessed is the one who endures temptation. Have you been tempted today? If you go through a day without temptation, then you're probably not paying attention.
00:49:26
Speaker
The devil is sneaky and tricky and he keeps, in this world, it's plastered all over the universe. The street signs, the things that pop up on your computer, yeah, it's just all there. Blessed is the one who endures temptation for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love him. Let no one say when he is tempted, I am tempted by God.
00:49:55
Speaker
God cannot be tempted by evil nor does he himself tempt anyone. So yes, the temptation, it was allowed. Eve was allowed to wander close to the tree. God didn't grab her and jerk her back like I have done with my children and like I do with Bonnie's dog.
00:50:18
Speaker
But no, God said, you've got to make the choice to obey me. And by the way, I'm training the dog to obey rather than having to jerk her back out of danger. And it's coming along well. She's seven months old. It's coming along well. God does not tempt anyone. If the temptation's coming, it's not coming from God.
00:50:44
Speaker
What's happening there? Ah, verse 14. Each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. It's coming from your evil heart. We have evil tendencies, and truth be told, we have cultivated evil tendencies. They've got to be overcome. The ones that you've cultivated are going to be harder to overcome, but in the strength of God, we can go forward
00:51:13
Speaker
Verse 15, then when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin. And sin, when it is full grown, brings death. The wage of sin is death. There's a law, and sin brings death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good gift, every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. And verse 20, true. Be doers of the word, and not here is only deceiving yourselves.
00:51:42
Speaker
Obey the Word. God has given us His precious promises. Memorize these promises. Treasure them. Meditate on them. It's really no longer today about Adam and Eve. It's about you and I. Salvation is about trusting God's Word. That's probably my phone that I turned off for an hour. Believe God and obey Him and you will be saved. Let's pray.

Closing Prayer and Invitation

00:52:11
Speaker
O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is your name in all the earth. As we contemplate the story of our grandma, we realize it is the story of us, dallying with temptation and allowing it to afflict us.
00:52:30
Speaker
Lord, we rest in you. We trust you. We thank you. We desire to serve you and we invite you into our lives today. Strengthen us and heal us for your glory in Jesus name. Amen. Thank you very much.
00:52:58
Speaker
Alex you can turn it off if you want to now. Well folks this completes another episode of

Podcast Farewell

00:53:27
Speaker
Gaining demos and other interests On Joseph Weekland's Harmonica Player Podcast! Until next time, take care!