Genesis 3:8-13 - ”The Blame Game” - Who Are We Series

the Old Testament reading is Genesis 3:

8-13 and they heard the sound of the

Lord God Walking In The Garden in the

cool of the day and the man and his wife

uh hid themselves from the presence of

the Lord God Among the Trees of the

garden but the Lord God Called To The

Man and said to him where are

you and he said I heard the sound of you

in the garden and I was afraid because I

was naked and I hid

myself he said who told you that you

were naked have you eaten of the tree of

which I commanded you not to eat the man

said the woman whom you gave to be with

me she gave me fruit of the tree and I

ate 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 the New Testament reading is 1 John

1 verse 5-

214 this is the message we have heard

from him and proclaimed to you that God

is light and in him is no Darkness at

all if we say we have fellowship with

him while we walk in darkness we lie and

do not practice the

truth but if we walk in the light as he

is in the light we have fellowship with

one another and the blood of Jesus his

son cleanses us from all

sin if we say we have no sin we deceive

ourselves and the truth is not in

us if we confess our sins he is faithful

and just to forgive us our sins and to

cleanse us from all

unrighteousness if we say we have not

sinned we make him a liar and his word

is not in

US my little children I am writing these

things to you so that you may not sin

but if anyone does sin we have an

advocate with the father Jesus Christ

the

righteous he is the propitiation for our

sins and not for ours only but also for

the sins of the whole

world and by this we know that we have

come to know him if we keep his

Commandments whoever says I know him but

does not keep his Commandments is a liar

and the truth is not in him but who ever

keeps his word in him truly the love of

God is

perfected by this we may know that we

are in him whoever says he abides in him

ought to walk in the same way in which

he

walked beloved I am writing you no new

commandment but an old Commandment that

you had from the

beginning the old commandment is the

word that you have

heard at the same time it is a new

commandment that I'm writing to you

which is true in him and in you because

the darkness is passing away and the

True Light is already shine

shining whoever says he is in the light

and hates his brother is still in

darkness whoever loves his brother

abides in the light and in him there is

no cause for

stumbling but whoever hates his brother

is in the darkness and walks in the

darkness and does not know where he is

going because the darkness has blinded

his

eyes I am writing to you little children

because your sins are forgiven for his

name's

sake I am writing to you fathers because

you know him who is from the

beginning I am writing to you young men

because you have overcome the evil

one I write to you children because you

know the

father I write to you fathers because

you know him who is from the

beginning I write to you young men

because you are strong and the word of

God abides in you and you have overcome

the evil one this is the word of the

Lord thanks be to

God all right so today's text out of

Genesis is a very interesting one and

I'm going to argue very very important

to us understanding the

gospel and our reaction to it so the

best way I can start is have you ever

noticed that now how old are you guys

probably some of you did you grow up

like I did where there was this thing

called

sin yeah you still remember

that CU cuz it's it I know sin's still

here but the concept isn't really

embraced

anymore now it's

therapy

sickness

oppression the word sin is hardly ever

mentioned in conversations if you watch

the news you'll hear somebody somebody

some

who was the

marginalized got sick from being

oppressed

right go on the news sometime if you

want to

suffer and ask yourself honestly do you

ever hear the word sin I can promise you

cuz I took a day a dumb time it was

right after Trump got in power so you

get it's like drinking from a fire hose

and I listened for the word

sin I watched the so-called left-wing

media I watched the so-called right-wing

media but my purpose wasn't to judge

their media reporting but I was

listening for

sin there was lots of

complaints but I didn't hear it

once so what happened to

sin is it disappeared well jordis is

right I don't think it has

well I'll tell you what's

happened and this might surprise you sin

was a big thing up into the late 19

early 20th

century and then some guy named Freud

showed up you remember

Freud and Freud started to tell us that

our problem was some inner turmoil we

had as

children right and next thing you know

you had these issues that you had to

work out now Freud has been debunked but

his ideas stuck in the idea of

therapeutic

psychology and the idea was we need to

find out where you were a victim when it

happened to you and where and why you

have this

illness and we could cure you right now

that's how it started and so sin was no

longer seen as something we had rather

we were victims to a

disease and then recently

something's really changed it it's

called ready for this woke ever heard of

woke anybody heard of this thing

woke see woke comes actually the word

woke is kind of unfair because what it

actually is it's a bunch of philosophy

that came out of

Marxism cultural Marxism and what it

does is it says like if you actually

know Marx I'll teach it really quick

you've got Marx taught that they and he

was just an economic guy he wasn't a

social guy guy but he said you had the

the the burgeois who owned all the money

right and then you had the proletary at

the working class and these two were in

constant conflict and the proletariat

were the victims and the Bourgeois were

the bad people and your problems then is

as most people you had to work for this

bisi and your healing would be coming if

you could overcome your oppressor in

Marx's term that means you destroyed the

guys with the cash and if you ever want

to know why Stalin killed all those

ukrainians cuz they were the guys with

the cash that's the simple reason he

just followed it out and the fact that

all these other people didn't know how

to farm and he lost hundreds of millions

of people through starvation never came

to his idea because the ideology driven

it but I'm saying to you it's not

economic anymore it's

social and you're going to know it when

I mention it and here's the wheel of

death I call it the the wheel of power

and privileged can you guys see that

yeah get your reading glasses out all

right in the outside it gives different

types of things that people have so you

have gender citizenship six skin color

formal education ability sexuality

neurodiversity and so on okay and the

closer you were in the middle is power

is more that you're like the burgeois

you're the one with the power and the

money you're the fault so you can see

let's pick one here so the wealth one

the rich are the closest to power the

middle class are one point out and the

poor the furthest out and so the further

out you are the more you can blame your

problems for the one that's closer in do

you see

that you can blame let's take another

one sexuality if you're a heterosexual

this is a big one in our culture you're

closer to power so if you happen to be

gay men I don't know why it's just gay

men then you are you're still more

powerful than others but you're less

powerful than then so you can blame the

heterosexual men and if you're the one

out here where I don't even know what

half this means lesbian ban asexual

whatever then you can blame the other

two do you see how it works so the

further you are out in this world and

skin color if you're dark or if you're

different shades or then if you're white

you're in the worst do you see and and

the this whole system has now been

developed so you have this system to

know who to blame for your

problems right and so you can now say

listen you are a white male healthy

heterosexual you are the one closest to

woke

hell was a joke I just came up with

that if you are a hold on let me let me

look here a significantly neurode

Divergent lesbian in

uh dark undocumented

trans you're in woke

heaven and when bad things happen to

you okay you have someone to blame do

you see that so there's no sin there's

life realities that are put upon you and

how do you get out of this you blame the

right people you take the power over and

then Utopia will come that's the basic

theme of woke you've just nailed it you

didn't think you'd learn that today did

you but there's no mention of sin in

fact sin can't exist there it just

happens to be the way you were born or

the situation you're raised in there's

no

sin of any individual and the great

thing is if bad things happen to you you

can blame someone in your circle do you

see it do you see the attraction of this

for for

people you never have to look at

yourself because you can find someone

else to

blame well here's the scary

part there was a lady that got up and

I'm not critiquing Trump or backing him

but she got up and she gave a bunch of

this to Donald

Trump which is fine she has a right to

do

it but here's my question I wonder why

she never talked about Jesus or sin in

that whole

thing that was my problem with it it

wasn't that she has every right to say

whatever she wants she's and I'm a

Libertarian say it whatever you want but

don't say it in jesus' name because I'll

tell you what this is not Jesus Christ's

world

view amen this is not Jesus Christ's

worldview and you know why because we

have the Bible and I'm going to tell you

something today the Bible today is going

to talk about Sin its effects and why we

can't play the blame

game let's

pray Heavenly Father we thank you that

you are faithful that you have breathed

upon these texts that you have shown us

what it means to be human there's so

many stories and narratives that mess us

up we pray you help us right now to see

clearly who you are in jesus' name

amen so here we go we're into Genesis we

already know what's happened they were

created remember in God's image they

were created male and female it was

wonderful together unified there was no

hierarchy God's pouring himself out this

God who's made the heavens and the Earth

this God who has created his Temple

that's what the garden means okay and

he's put them all

together and the end is so wonderful of

chapter 2 you get the sense that this is

going to to be amazing and then we have

the serpent show up and what does he say

God wants you to try and become God in

and of

yourself so this God who they were

created to serve and bear His Image they

now want to assur him that's the problem

and become like God well what we're

hearing now is the

fruit this is what happens next once

they decide that they can be gods in and

of

themselves and they heard the sound of

the Lord walking in the Garden in the

cool of the day I want to tell you guys

I've studied I've had the privilege of

looking at probably 60 creation stories

I've read now from the ancient world so

I I've had the privilege of doing this

as I'm studying not once do the gods

come and want to hang out with their

people except here isn't that incredible

this is the number one God that wants

relationship with their people every

other time the only interaction the gods

had in those creations stories with the

people is how to get them to serve them

right and this God doesn't have any

needs he's just out there he's seeking

for them do you see

it generous seeking he's an amazing God

I get so frustrated when people say I

don't like the Old Testament God cuz

he's so mean and angry you haven't met

him as God's walking in the cool of the

day and the man and his wife hid from

them that's the first hint of When sin

that your first fruit is we are ashamed

and we hide from

God you know a lot of people who say

they don't believe in God they know

they're Sinners and they're running away

from whatever good is out there do you

know that and they protest if I ever met

the atheist he's like I don't believe in

God they're so angry and you're like

well if he didn't you wouldn't really

care so why do you care so much CU I

actually think they know he's

there and the man and his wife hid

themselves in the presence of the Lord

from the presence of the Lord and here's

our problem folks it's always been our

problem sin is the thing that causes it

but the fruit is what kills us we no

longer want relationship with the one

God who can give life because once we

become gods and in of ourself now when

the truth comes we want to run away from

it because we want to be

God so let me tell you something a lot

of people who hate Jesus

okay or hate God are running away from

him because they want to be God

themselves and be under No Illusion when

you hear about God the true God he isn't

sharing the

throne okay and so they go and run and

hide from the presence of God Among the

Trees of the garden but the Lord God

said called to the man and said to him

where are you what a fascinating thing

what's going on here

you've got a god seeking where are you

it's

incredible he wants to hang

out right by the way how many of us have

had toddlers here huh are some of you

had toddlers ever noticed that when they

do something wrong you're like where are

you

hey I don't know how I

did where are

you and he said I heard the and and Adam

says I heard the sound of you in the

garden and I was afraid because I was

naked now interestingly this is the

first time humanity says they're afraid

of God do you notice that there was no

fear before they just tried to be God in

of himself because he was a good God

they had a right relationship now he is

rightfully

scared because the thing that made him

he's just ended that

relationship the first time it doesn't

show us in the first two chapters CHS

that the fear should be

there who told you that you were naked

he

says have you eaten of the tree of which

I commanded you not to eat remember

again that this God was so generous eat

of all the trees but just not this one

because you're not ready for it I'll

feed you later but they had to take it

because they wanted to be like

God and the man said and I love

this because I've been in fights with my

wife

and I get his

answer he didn't say oh gee I uh kind of

blew it no he says that woman you gave

to

me she gave me the fruit and I have

eaten am I the only one that does

that notice who he really blames here he

blames God for giving him the woman you

notice

that now I've blamed him at

times but it's wrong

you know why because no matter what I'm

responsible and that's why sin's

real see you could argue if you had your

little chart that yet that that the poor

guy was on the outside Circle and he can

blame the woman right in that

chart but there is no way in God's

economy that you can blame someone else

and take it off

yourself not even God himself

I met a person one time who got mad at

God because he was married and she left

him okay how dare you give it me this

woman and I said well you cheated on her

like but you see there's a delusion that

can

come and what did he say after that well

she wasn't sleeping with me enough blame

blame you see no

ownership the man said the woman who you

gave to be she gave me the fruit of the

tree and I

ate okay well let's go deal with the

woman he

says soly then the Lord God said to the

woman what is this that you have done

the woman said what oh you're right I

Repent right that's what she

says I guarantee she doesn't say sorry

sorry okay I'm be good emry

um the servant dece D me and I ate it's

your fault it's your fault it's his

fault and then the blame game starts we

hide and we

blame and All Therapy does now for us is

we hide and we blame we blame our

parenting for doing it not perfect right

we blame that our inner child didn't

have a beautiful flowery

experience right or we blame some

someone who's a different color or a

different race because they oppressed us

so I couldn't be all that I wanted to be

that's our culture there's no need there

can there can be no

sin but the Bible starts and

ends with

sin the reality is my

friends you will never know Jesus Christ

until you come to terms that there is

sin and it's our main problem

and it's not their main

problem it's your main

problem you will never know the gospel

and you certainly will never taste

eternal

life you may get away with it you may

convince yourself someone else made you

do

it but you will never know this God you

know it's funny I I watched Jesus and I

never once said saw him come up to Peter

and said

Peter I feel bad for you these darn

Romans have been oppressing you so I'm

glad you took the knife and cut their

ear he never said that did

he did he say to any of these guys oh

you know what I think you have a

disease no he looked at him and he said

repent this section and I'm not trying

to get people mad at me I really am

not I didn't write this

this is about the God who pursues

first there is no way we can blame this

God he created us in that whole picture

of the creation

narrative is him giving giving giving

making us in His image making us Kings

chapter 1 of Genesis having us tend his

garden his land becoming like

priests male and female equal God

god-bearing images this God is good and

generous and still is and the devil's

going to keep telling you he's not CU

that's what the devil

does he's

good and we're

not and we made a choice to assur him

and that is what is destroying us to

this day that is the foundation of what

salvation is

about is being set free from that

I want you guys to know right now

wherever you're from that God's been

pursuing you and pursuing you and

pursuing

you you may have been running the other

way you may have wanted to ignore him

you may have been

afraid but I'll tell you one thing about

this God that blows my mind because he's

not like

us so many people think that we offended

God by something stupid we did and like

us once we get offended we're like

walk

away this God is Not Like

Us I love this quote

here the Living God pursues us no matter

how often or how fast we run if you

don't believe me just ask

Jonah remember Jonah runs away runs away

runs away does God stop

pursuing pursues him right into the

belly of a whale

God loves us and that has to be the

foundational understanding if we're

going to get the

gospel he wants you you know why you're

here right now you want to know the

truth it's not cuz you were so

good I know that's a

surprise it wasn't because God woke up

and said oh my gosh do I need Mike today

he's going to say yes to me all right

I didn't mean any mic in

particular he didn't wake up this day

and say emry boy I'm glad to have

you you know what he said is I am good

and I want

you and he pursued me and he pursued me

and he pursued me and I can tell you if

I'm anything like you I have turned many

a

time I have hid many a Time

because there is a truth in me I am a

sinner but he doesn't give up so let us

first allow God the glory of the

goodness he

is but we have a problem don't

we and it isn't that you need therapy

and that you just have a sickness I'm

not saying therapy is the worst thing

ever but I'll tell you what if you don't

deal with sin you'll never deal with the

stuff that's causing the bleeding from

the

sin Martin Luther the sin underneath all

our sins is to trust the LIE of the

serpent that we cannot trust the love

and the grace of Christ and must take

matters into our own hand that

brilliant that's the lie it's that lie

that we can't so we must be God and be

in control ourselves and that is sin

and how does that work out for the World

by the way how does it work out when our

leaders say we're going to solve a

problem we're not going to trust God how

does that

go How does it go on your

life when you're under

stress and you're like ah God can't help

so you go do it yourself how many times

have you

failed how many times have you made it

worse

I'm going to tell you something that the

scripture says in a very simple way for

all have sinned and fall short of the

glory of God all of

us there's not one person here that can

go walk on

water every one of

us without an outside help are doomed to

destruction is that hard to

hear then don't read the rest of the

Bible

because that's the truth it's the

hardest thing and people don't preach it

in churches because it isn't a nice

motivational preach is

it I just heard somewhere that most

Evangelical churches is a rock is a rock

concert and a TED

Talk

ye there's something that needs to be

known we are broken and we just can't

blame everyone around us and you know

who I'm seeing them blame now

politicians for their

problems that's lay politicians

politicians because that's the result we

have we don't want to face the fact

we're Sinners so we put it on someone

else

right my boys God bless them one time uh

decided in their

genius we used to have like a laundry

fac facility halfway up stairs you know

like on the

landing and they had somehow got a chair

to The Landing I was working on my

computer I you know you got to try by

the way I see parents with young kids

when it goes silent listen cuz it went

really really silent for this

time and I go up there and there's my

son my youngest son who's like three and

he's standing on the washing machine the

other one's standing there cuz he's had

to help him get up my older one and the

younger one is just pouring the soap all

down the washing

machine by the time I have you ever

tried to clean

soap it just gets

worse it's the worst thing to clean in

the

world and they had emptied half jug of

Tide cleaning stuff all over my washer

and dryer do you think I was

happy and they knew it too because as

soon as I came up the one that could get

away ran and

hid and what did the other guy say he

made me do

it

right now I'm going to tell you right

now I get God at those moments only

because I dearly love them still but I

wanted to smack

him I didn't don't worry

gave him time out all but I made him sit

in that soap all over them I

did but this doesn't change and then

afterwards I'm sitting at the dinner

table and this is what hit me both of

them started blaming the

other whose idea was it it was Owens I

it was you what are you talking

about but there's an answer for that

ladies and gentlemen I'm going to give

you parents a tip all you do is you say

both of you stick your tongue

out and they go why and they go I can

tell by your tongue who's

lying the one goes the other

goes it does work I can't tell you where

he got it from because he's turned into

a bad guy but I didn't get that myself

it works it works I'm Wrecking your kids

outs now

because that's who we are and I only

told you that story is because it's

driven to us and my boys were little and

innocent so they see it but I'm going to

tell you we keep doing it just our

issues become worse and when we walk in

we blame someone else blame someone else

for our

problems when Co hit this year last year

when was it a long time ago I didn't do

very well I did not do well I'm going to

be honest and I put on a few pounds to

say it

lightly I

did and I'll tell you what I blamed

covid I blamed depression I blamed

everything else I've lost all that

weight you know what I had to do confess

that that was just me being a gluttonous

feeding my

hurt I had to change my patterns of

life cuz that's the truth I had to come

to the terms with

it now here's the biggest problem with

the blame game the blame game happens in

the world but here's what scares me when

the blame game comes in the church ever

experienced the blame game in the

church people

die and these are the worst things we

actually don't believe we're all Sinners

after a while we and It's tricky because

you've been in church a while you've

been praying you've even maybe been

sitting there doing your devotions and

you're meditating and and you're pretty

spirit ual all of a sudden you think you

are anybody else been

there and then all of a sudden someone

sins in your

church and you blame them for their sin

you blame them for their lifestyle you

blame them for hurting the

church but the truth is the whole time I

promise you you were just as bad a

sinner Dietrick Bon Hofer made this

interesting and I think important

comment against religion many Christians

are unthinkably horrified when a real

sinner is suddenly discovered among the

righteous he's saying that tongue and

cheek so we remain alone with our sin

living in lies and hypocrisy he who is

alone with his sins is utterly

alone because we refuse to be people who

had commit our sin and blame

others then when those people have sin

in their lives they can't even be honest

and they

die you know the kingdom of God is about

us being

real I got a secret that I'm going to

tell you I know all of you have sinned

this

week no I have not had a p private eye

following

you because I know you are like

me and the question isn't whether you

did it and I know your temptation is to

blame the question is do you know you

did

it because there's only one way we're

going to be the church and that's stop

blaming and pointing and start

owning Carl

Bart when we speak of our virtue ches we

are competitors how you know what he

means by that how spiritual we are how

good we are but when we confess our sins

we become

brothers that

true so how can we do

it we've got the bad news in Genesis 3

but there's a good news isn't

there we have a

remedy the cross

the cross is what's so incredible why

you don't have to blame each other why

you can own it yourself it's because

he's already paid for

it we should be the most honest people

that have ever walked the face of the

Earth because we've already had our sins

paid

for the most incredible thing of this

story that's hitting me is how much this

God wants us

wants to hang out with us and it doesn't

just happen yes he wants to walk in the

cool of the day in

Genesis but did you know in the Torah in

the middle of the law he says this and I

will set my Tabernacle among you my

place where I'm dwelling and my soul

shall not abhor you and I will walk

among you and will be your God and ye

shall be my people Leviticus says

that he hasn't stopped wanting to hang

out with us has he

and he does doesn't he how far does God

go well listen to John's gospel and the

word became flesh and dwelt amongst

us and we have seen his glory glory as

of the only son from the father full of

grace and truth he didn't just pursue us

and give up in the garden he pursued us

through Israel and the law and when that

didn't work he came in

person that's a God that wants to hang

out with you would you

agree and all he wants to do is come

near and all he's asking is for us to

come near to

him and he is paid the price for we can

listen to

James come near to God and he will come

near to you wash your hands you Sinners

and purify your hearts you double-minded

this is not meant as a condemnation he's

saying there's freedom

come to me I am pursuing you I'm

pursuing

you and I'm saying to you church this

Bible was written to us if you've sinned

and you feel like hiding or blaming

someone else it's time to get back right

and come near to him and deal with

it don't blame someone else for your

problems but that takes

repentance and that's a tough thing CU

people misunderstand what repentance

says people think repentance means I

feel bad for the thing I did repentance

doesn't mean that repentance

means I know exactly who I am I know

what I did and I desperately need him

and I'm turning to

him Alistair beg repentance is necessary

for forgiveness but it does not earn it

like the prodal son the person with a

genuinely repentant heart says father I

have sinned against heaven and before

you I am no longer worthy to be called

your son that's what we need to we need

to own it do you see I don't deserve

this

I and what does a father

do he just grabs him and hugs them hey

what a

God today this morning he's here again

and I want you to hear this truth this

truth out of

Ephesians in him we have the Redemption

through his blood the Forgiveness of

sins in accordance with the riches of

God's

grace he's done it all all we have to do

is say yes to his yes quit lying to

ourselves quit blaming

others and come before him with our

garbage and lay it at his feet and and

he will run up to us and embrace

us he's that good you

guys we've got to do this

man woman

sorry because I'm going to tell you

something in the

end he wants to live with us in

eternity this God that walked in the

cool a day at creation who wanted to

through Leviticus who actually came

through the

gospels say in his last

book and I heard a loud voice from the

throne saying Behold The Dwelling Place

of God is with

humans he will dwell with them and they

will be his people and God himself will

be their God he wants relationship with

you for

eternity and the only way you keep that

from happening is running and hiding and

turning and denying

come near to me and I will come near to

you so what I don't do right now it's a

little

different I get to do this by the way I

I got to tell you I'm doing this I'm

preaching this and all of a sudden my my

garbage came up when I was prepping this

okay I just let you guys

know and the only difference between me

and you is I have this preach to me

first and I got down on my knees outside

my room and I just started to confess my

stuff

to myself to the Lord I drew near to him

I stopped hiding or giving excuses and

I'll tell you what the presence of the

Lord came for a moment in such a

powerful

way and it wasn't that he didn't love me

he was pursuing me as I was willing to

turn around and quit blaming people or

things so I'm going to take a moment I'm

going to invite Jason and the guys to

get up but we're going to pray and I'm

going to say a prayer and then I'm going

to give you a moment don't don't do your

confessions out loud we don't need to

all hear it we're going to take a moment

for you to come before the Lord and if

you got

something give it

over something that's eaten at you maybe

it's a sin that's been there for years

maybe it's something that's just

fresh and just give it over and then we

can hear those words

together you're

forgiven let's pray

Heavenly Father you are

good and we're

not and we ride hide and turn from you

and we blame others for the stuff we

do we ask you to forgive

us help us to embrace your generosity

you said you will

forgive for anyone who confesses their

sins you are just and faithful to to

forgive

us you said blessed are he whose sins

are forgiven

whose sins are not counted against him

in whose heart there is no rece

deceit we ask you today to cleanse

us Lord we're going to come before you

now and we're just going to give you our

stuff remind us that you're there

waiting

and running after

us e

Lord we thank

you we thank you that we know that we

have laid it before you we've been

honest and open and we are

forgiven that we're

clean and remind us now that we can do

this every

day that you are the generous

God and free us to live in that truth of

your Gra

set us free from

blaming and

doubting in Jesus name

amen amen feel fre to