Brothers and Sisters, there is a sickness in the Body of Christ. It is a sickness that focuses our attention away from Truth in Christ and back to perceived leadership in the assembly. This sickness is the traditions of men.
Have you studied and weighed Scripture against the traditions that have been handed down to you from your fathers? Do you find yourself running to Moses instead of the Lord in times of trouble or with your spiritual questions? Brethren, let us examine Scripture and see the example the Lord is leading us to.
Throughout history God has been calling men and women into relationship with Him. We see this from the very beginning with Adam.
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’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 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.’” 4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 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.” 6 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. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. 8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.” 11 And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?” 12 Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.” 13 And the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” (Gen 3:1-13)
Here is something amazing we can glean from the account of man’s fall from grace. First that God came into the garden and called out to Adam. Does this not indicate that God must have a had a relationship with them? Don’t believe it? Look back in Genesis 2 at verse 19. God made every living creature and brought them to Adam to see what he would call it. What an amazing thing!
But here also is the lesson that the Lord has called us to in Genesis 3. As the serpent tempted Eve, and then in turn caused Adam to fall by taking of the fruit, they neither believed what God had told them, nor did they seek the Lord for themselves to test what the serpent had said.
But that’s not the end is it. For in the coming generations God would continue to call men into relationship with Him with the promise of the Christ.
25 And Adam knew his wife again, and she bore a son and named him Seth, “For God has appointed another seed for me instead of Abel, whom Cain killed.” 26 And as for Seth, to him also a son was born; and he named him Enosh. Then men began to call on the name of the Lord. (Gen 4:25-26)
But next we see the relationship God had with Noah.
5 Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. 7 So the Lord said, “I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.” 8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. (Gen 6:5-8)
We know that God told Noah to build the ark and to gather his family into the ark. For God did destroy all things through the Great Flood. For nothing was accomplished without God establishing a relationship with Noah.
Then we see God’s promise to Abram whom He renamed Abraham and his wife Sarah.
After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.” 2 But Abram said, “Lord God, what will You give me, seeing I go childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 Then Abram said, “Look, You have given me no offspring; indeed one born in my house is my heir!” 4 And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “This one shall not be your heir, but one who will come from your own body shall be your heir.” 5 Then He brought him outside and said, “Look now toward heaven, and count the stars if you are able to number them.” And He said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” 6 And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.(Gen 15:1-6)
23 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God. (James 2:23)
Read on my friends, for we see in Scripture that the promise of God is true. Abraham begot Isaac as promised. For God had developed a relationship with Abraham to accomplish His will. For even in the book of James it is declared that Abraham is the friend of God. But now lets look ahead to God’s relationship with Moses and how He wanted a relationship with all of Israel. For this not to dismiss how God worked through Isaac, Jacob and Joseph.
Stay tuned for part 2
Last Days of the Age 
“… nor did they seek the Lord for themselves to test what the serpent had said.”
Ahhh. There it is. Why don’t men run to God, instead of one another or themselves?
Well put, brother … an excellent question … and the heart of all our problems.
Peace and grace,
In JESUS’ Name!
Thank you for the message brother. God is present in your truth and it brings great joy to me to see the Holy Spirit alive and well. It seems the world is seeking everything except their Creator in an attempt to “make things work.” To make sense of this world, to find their joy that can only be found through Christ Jesus. Scripture is very clear as to the relationship God wants, or should I say demands with us. 4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
6 “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:4-9.
Here is where our complete focus must be! God knew His people would struggle in this world with all the “man-made” stuff and laws. In Deuteronomy 6:13-15 God cautions His people,
13 You shall fear the Lord your God and serve Him, and shall take oaths in His name. 14 You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are all around you 15 (for the Lord your God is a jealous God among you), lest the anger of the Lord your God be aroused against you and destroy you from the face of the earth.”
We must seek the LORD our God with our whole heart, mind and soul or we will be in danger of going astray. Be a Berean like in Acts 17:11 and “search the Scriptures daily.”
John 4:23 says, “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.”
Luke 19:10 says, “for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
And, then Jesus tells us what our attitude must be in this relationship in Luke 11:9-13,
9 “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 11 If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? 13 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!”
Oh how our Heavenly Father loves us and wants a relationship with us. How our Heavenly Father gave everything for us. and we much like Adam and Eve still seek something else.
Acts 17:30 says it best, “Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, (winked at KJV), but now commands all men everywhere to repent.”
Christ our Savior has been revealed, we have no excuse. I will conclude with a quote from C.S. Lewis.
“It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”
Seek the LORD before it is too late!
In Christ Jesus!