Sermon – Led by the Spirit
Introduction –
One of the hardest lessons we all have to learn as Christians, is that there are times in our lives where we are tested by God. In other words, He removes things from us, or keep things from us, or allows Satan to offer things to us, to see what is in our hearts. This often falls under the category of “affliction.”
Thomas Boston wrote:
“Affliction does not rise out of the dust or come to men by chance; but it is the LORD that sends it, and we should own and reverence His hand in it.”
What Boston is telling us is that God is truly sovereign over all things, therefore when we fall into affliction, we know that it is by God’s hand. The question for is should never be: has God brought affliction, trials, or testing in our lives? He has and does.
The question for us is: how shall we respond to it?
God has used affliction in the lives of His people throughout human history. He does so to test them. He does so to refine them. He does so in order for them to see the wickedness in their hearts that still remains.
If we are wise, we will embrace that affliction from His hand and trust Him throughout the process.
This all started in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve. Adam was given everything in the Garden; he had all the food he needed. He had the most beautiful woman in the world. He was completely blessed. There was nothing that he did not have, save one thing: the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
The Father told Adam, that this tree was off limits. He could look at the tree, but Adam could not eat of the tree.
Now please note this: The Father wasn’t being unloving to Adam at all. He had blessed Adam with everything. Adam was not in want of anything. This is important to understand. In a lot of the affliction we see in God’s people, they are in true want of something when He tests them.
Yet, here, Adam was not in want of anything… except the knowledge of evil. That was the only thing he did not have. He wasn’t hungry. He had plenty of water to drink. He had all the love and affection a wife could bring. He had it all… except the knowledge of evil.
For Adam knew both goodness in theory and experientially. All that the Father had done with him, and for him, was God’s goodness on display.
We know the story. Adam quickly fell into sin by eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
By eating that tree, Adam knew true evil for the first time. In fact, he didn’t just know evil as some idea, he knew evil experientially. He had known nothing but goodness before he ate of the tree, but now, evil was a reality in his heart. He had become… evil in his rebellion. Adam became the adopted son of the father of that evil. In listening to the serpent, he worshipped the serpent, and became like his new father the devil.
The relationship between Adam and God was broken. Just the fact that Adam tried to hide, and then blame his own sin on the woman that God gave to him, should show us just how far Adam had fallen.
We see only two things from that point forward in regards to God’s provision for Adam. The first is that God makes tunics for Adam, sacrificing sheep in order offer atonement and point to the coming of the Seed of the Woman.
Secondly, Adam is driven from the Garden, and into the wilderness. This was to protect Adam from eating of the tree of life, and thereby living forever in his fallen state.
All of this affliction came from that one event. While God tested Adam, he was not afflicted. Yet, the afflictions that follow are now because of the entrance of sin into the world.
The Father had allowed Adam to be tempted by the devil, and Adam failed miserably.
