Pastor Mark Zaia has begun teaching a 10 part series called “GOD’S LOVE LETTER”.
1 or 2 messages will be preached from each of the 10 categories in the chart below, which breaks down all the books of the bible into different groupings.
Part One in the series: “The Gospel in Genesis”
This has 2 messages: A. Your reasoning versus God’s revelation
B. Hiding behind trees versus life as God’s friend.
Part One A – Your reasoning versus God’s revelation
The first five books of the bible are under the category of “the law”.
The purpose of the law, according to Romans 3:20, is to show us that we are sinners so that we understand our need for God. It is not to be used for the purpose of condemning other people – Romans 8:1 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus…”
The book of Genesis declares God as creator of the world and the human race. It shows that man in his free will is a sinner. Even after the destruction of the world by flood God gives us a fresh start but man still ends back in a sinful place by ignoring God’s command to scatter and populate the earth. Instead men want to establish their own fame by building a tower that reaches to the heavens, (see Genesis Chapter 11).
In the book of Exodus, meaning departure, Israel demonstrates to us that to leave the slavery of our lives we need to go on a journey of faith where we learn to trust God by leaving our past bondages behind.
The book of Leviticus provides regulations for worshipping God and introduces the concept of “loving thy neighbor as thyself” (Leviticus 19:18 “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.”)
The book of Numbers shows us that in their unbelief Israel spent 40 years in the wilderness instead of the 4 weeks that the journey could have taken.
The book of Deuteronomy prepares Israel for the Promised Land and the coming battles of getting established in a new land. It also demonstrates the importance if reviewing your commitment to God before taking on a battle.
Pause and think on this
Christianity has a valid case; it is intellectually dishonest to not study the Bible and its claims. When studying, focus on looking for grounds to believe God and not for grounds to disbelieve. There is redemptive life in every person that Christ wants to touch to draw out of them who He created them to be.
The bible gives us reasons why…
Life is difficult, marriages break up, children get abused and people suffer, but the bible tells us how we can have beauty, enjoyment and fulfillment in the midst of our difficult lives and in a world that is going the wrong way. It doesn’t promise us we will avoid suffering but, if we believe, it does promise the presence of Christ in our trials with us.
The issue: Man uses his own reasoning and exalts it above believing what God has said.
We listen to a person’s voices rather than listening to God’s; Adam did, Eve did, Cain did, we undervalue God’s voice. Even Noah, a righteous man, got drunk; Esau undervalued what He had in God and sold it to Jacob for much less than it was worth.
You and I regularly do the same. That’s why we need short accounts with God in daily prayer to keep us on track.
Saint Augustine said, “God isn’t on trial, you are.” Let Jesus be your lawyer. The devil challenges God’s morality, God challenges your morality “God, you have made us for yourself and our souls are restless, until we find rest in you.”
Picking fruit is better than earning bread
The law fixes and establishes sin so that we can be forgiven not condemned. I asked God, “why do you do this?” – “Because Mark, I want to lead you back to paradise. It’s the garden in reverse, the first Adam led you away from Paradise, and Christ wants to lead you back.”
