Your Unlimited Life (6 page)

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WHO TOLD YOU?

Let’s go back to the book of Genesis and see how God taught Adam and Eve about the importance of aligning their thoughts with His words. At this point,
defilement
wasn’t even in their vocabulary; they were perfect in the image of God.

Adam and Eve represented all of us back in the Garden of Eden. They embody the ideal person or the perfect creation God intended for all of humanity. Theologically, we refer to Adam as the federal head of mankind. In other words, what he did has affected all of our lives.

Let’s begin in Genesis, chapter 3:

Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, `You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?’” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, `You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’” Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.

Genesis 3:1-6

Adam was standing there the whole time. I used to believe that Adam was busy naming animals or off somewhere else completely oblivious to what Eve was doing, but no, he was right there the entire time. He allowed the serpent to go on and on, then he ate with Eve.

RENEWAL TRUTH

I’ll not be ensnared by the lust of the flesh,

the lust of the eyes, or the pride of life. Instead,

I’ll be captivated and motivated by God’s Word.

(1 John 2:16)

Verse 7 says,
”Then the eyes of both of them were opened.”
Had they been walking around blind? What does “their eyes were opened” mean? It means they had new thoughts they had never had before. They had knowledge they hadn’t had previous to this historic event.

The serpent wasn’t more powerful, more beautiful, or more authoritative. Scripture says he was
more cunning
. We must realize that the power and authority of the devil and his demonic spirits aren’t the problem we face today. It’s their cunning maneuvers, lies, trickery, and deceit that get us.

The serpent was cunning and he began to play with Eve’s head:
“You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil”
(Genesis 3:4-5).

Adam and Eve were already like God. They were created in His image and likeness (Genesis 1:26). Eve was deceived by her thoughts because she didn’t guard or discipline her mind. She didn’t go to her husband and consult him first with the thoughts of doubt that she had started to believe. She didn’t approach him and explain the ways in which it sounded interesting and was appealing to her. Nor did Adam stop her and remind her that the words of the serpent weren’t true and that they already were like God. Neither one of them stopped the serpent, quoted their Creator God, and neither one of them went to God and asked Him to remind them of the promise that was already theirs.

Adam and Eve let their minds get caught up in deception. They believed the lie the devil told them, believing that God probably had been keeping something from them and that there must be more to life.

They let the serpent’s lies take rest in their minds. Remember, the lie of the devil is the opposite of the truth of the Word. If the Word brings you truth and the truth makes you free, a lie brings you into bondage and deception and keeps you bound. If a prosperous soul is full of the truth, then a poor soul is full of lies. The devil has no other power but to distort true power, God’s Word.

RENEWAL TRUTH

I am prospering in my spirit, soul, and body,

as well as in my relationships and finances,

because I am filled with God’s truth.

(Joshua 1:8; Psalm 1:1-3)

E
XPOSING
S
ATAN
’
S
L
IES

Here’s the bottom line for everyone who is struggling:
You are believing the things that the devil said, not what God said.
Here are three examples of the devil’s lies:

Lie #1 that will keep you in financial bondage:
“Not everybody has to tithe because tithing is a law and puts people in bondage, and Jesus said we are not to live in bondage.”
The act of giving your tithe is a principle established in the Old Testament and carried over to the New Testament in order to keep a heart of giving, to open your life up for abundance, and to take care of the needs of the church. Tithing is a command (Malachi 3:8-12). You can believe a lie, but I’ll believe the Word. Then let’s see where you and I are, respectively, as far as our finances are concerned in ten years. The lie will bring bondage, but the truth will bring freedom.

Lie #2 that can keep you sick:
“God doesn’t heal everybody.”
You can believe that if you want to, but I’m going to believe the Word. God is no respecter of persons (Acts 10:34). By Jesus’ stripes you were already healed (1 Peter 2:24). During my battle with Hepititas C, if I did not capture this lie and push it out of my mind, I would have been deeply destroyed. Rather, I chose to believe that God is a good God and brings healing to all people. The lie brings bondage, while the truth brings freedom.

Lie #3 that can ruin your family:
“If my husband doesn’t change, I will leave him. God wants me to be happy. If I have to divorce him to be happy, that’s what I will do.”
Scripture (truth) says God hates divorce (Malachi 2:16). It says to love your spouse and submit to one another (Ephesians 5:21-33). You can believe the lie, but I’m going to believe the truth.

The bottom line is: You can be caught up in a lie and as a result be entangled in all kinds of bondage. Or, you can be in agreement with the truth of God’s Word and walk in absolute freedom. Being in agreement with the Word is not always easy but it is always the best route to take. It brings clarity and assurance into our hearts.

In Eve’s case, the serpent came along and convinced her that God meant otherwise. Eve bought into the lie, so she and Adam ate and their eyes were opened. They began to think things they had never thought before and to know things they had not known previously, and the source of their knowledge was not God. Just because you agree to the world’s ways and see things that you did not know before does not mean it is beneficial to your life. It is more important to guard your heart than to seek worldly understanding.

RENEWAL TRUTH

Believing Satan’s lies and buying into his deceptions

bring bondage. Believing the truth of

God’s Word brings me into absolute freedom.

(Galatians 5:1,13; Psalm 119:45)