Our Faith in God being Good is a Prerequisite for Change

INTRODUCTION

Genesis 3:4-5 ⁴ And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: ⁵ For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

Satan tempted Eve with the idea that God was holding some good thing back from her. He wanted her to doubt the goodness of God. He wanted Eve to believe that God did not have her best interests in mind.

People’s complaints about God are rooted in unbelief regarding His Goodness. God has never not been good. He wants the best for His People!

o  Loneliness – I won’t have any friends.

o  God wants to keep me from having fun.

o  Financial pressure – I’ll have to give.

o  Poor parents and upbringing – It’s God’s fault.

o  Worrier – you are afraid that God will bring circumstances into your life that will be too much for you.

o  Greedy and covetous – You don’t believe that God is fair because you don’t have everything others have and enjoy.

o  Angry person – Rebellion against God’s will for your life.

o  Most of the news is bad news – You see pain and suffering all around you. You blame God.

Our sinful flesh will have us focus on a restriction or boundary. We doubt God’s goodness. Are you afraid of change? That you might miss out on something? Do you believe that you know more about what is best for you than God does?

EVERYTHING GOD CREATES IS GOOD. READ GENESIS 1.

The phrase it was good is stated six times previous to Genesis 1:31. Genesis 1:31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

·        There was no death, not even of animals.

·        There was no chaos.

·        There were no weeds or pests.

·        There was no sickness.

·        There was no worry.

·        There were no earthquakes, volcanoes, hurricanes, or tornadoes.

·        All of creation were vegetarians.

·        There was harmony between Adam and Eve and the animals.

MAN’S REBELLION CHANGED EVERYTHING

               If you believe in evolution, then you believe that sickness, death, natural disasters, chaos and worry have always been with us. If you believe that, then it affects what you believe about God. You will only serve God half-heartedly. You will not trust God with the important things.

               Adam and Eve

o  Adam and Eve were real people. This is not a myth. They had been created as two perfect humans.

o  God did not create them as robots. God gave them freedom of choice.

o  They both chose to disobey God.

The results of their sin affected not only them, but all of creation. In order to spare Adam and Eve from dying immediately, God spilled the blood of animals and made Adam and Eve coats of skins. Their sin affected the animals, plants, weather, and all of creation. Before they sinned no animal had died.

·        Romans 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

·        Romans 8:22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.

GOD WANTS THE BEST FOR YOU, AND HE IS DOING A GOOD WORK IN YOU AND THROUGH YOU.

·        Deuteronomy 6:24 And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as it is at this day.

·        John 10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.  

·        Romans 5:19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.

·        1 Corinthians 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

·        Philippians 1:6 Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

·        Philippians 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

·        2 Timothy 2:21 If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work.

·        Hebrews 13:20-21 Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

CONCLUSION

o  God knows more about what is good for you than you do.

o  You can surrender to God without reservation or fear of being gypped.

o  You will thirst for change, knowing that the water holes of this world do not compare with the refreshing water that Christ promises. God can do a work on a chaotic, messed up life.

o  Allow God to use His creative powers to produce the fruits of the Spirit through you! Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.