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Gen. 1:1 - IN THE ‘BEGINNING’ GOD CREATED THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH. 

What occurred in the beginning STILL occurs! God is still on the throne; He is still the Creator...However, “America is deceived. Individuals are deceived. Christians are deceived,” says John Hagee, “by our government, by our values, even by the church. Jesus Christ prophesied four times in Matthew 24 that the cardinal indicator of the terminal or concluding generations would be DECEPTION! We are deceived – by Satan and his witchcraft.”


Here are those four instances:

Matt. 24:5

Matt. 24:11

Matt 24:15

and Mat 24:24 (NKJV) "FOR FALSE CHRISTS AND FALSE PROPHETS WILL RISE AND SHOW GREAT SIGNS AND WONDERS TO DECEIVE, IF POSSIBLE, EVEN THE ELECT. Here is just an example of a “deceiver” that fits this prophecy to a “T” Remember “The DaVinci Code”? That idiot who wrote that now has a sequel saying Jesus – OUR JESUSsurvived the crucifixion! And that someone actually saw Him many years later when He would have been in His seventies! Do you know how many impressionable people will believe that garbage just because anything written down in a book and is published becomes credible!!    God help us!

            The very next verse in that Chapter says: SEE, I HAVE WARNED YOU!


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            Now! Genesis is called the book of beginnings. Everything God wanted to “begin” began in Genesis: the plan of salvation, itself, begins in Genesis. So, it stands to reason that Satan - who is the great “pretender” and “deceiver” would also begin his diabolical adventures in the same place with a crisis between man and woman.


            Tonight we’re going to look at how Satan’s plan to destroy the family and everything it stands for began in the book of Genesis – AND – is being carried out in your living room through the television as well as many other mediums!!

 

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GENESIS 1: the heavens and earth were created BY THE SPOKEN WORD OF ALMIGHTY GOD.


GENESIS 3: man rebelled against God’s spoken Word. Satan deceived Adam and Eve - how? By the words of his sorry mouth! Remember: Proverbs 18:21 (NLT) THOSE WHO LOVE TO


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TALK WILL EXPERIENCE THE CONSEQUENCES, FOR THE TONGUE CAN KILL OR NOURISH LIFE. Actually, there are 34 instances where the tongue is specifically mentioned in Scripture. But, for our purposes, I find that the devil cannot create but he CAN “steal” and abuse God’s creative works in many ways. In this instance, he ALSO “spoke”! And the lie he told Eve changed everything where Adam and Eve, as well as you and I are concerned. In fact, his words began as: “...Has God indeed said...?” In other words, that lying devil spoke!


GENESIS 4: Murder is introduced as Cain kills Abel. Cain was jealous of his younger brother. It wasn’t because Cain was a farmer that God was displeased with his offering. It was the attitude of his heart that was offensive to the Lord God!...And how did Cain resolve his problem with his brother? HE KILLED HIM! And then he didn’t realize or care that God was aware of his intent!


GENESIS 9: Pornography enters the scene! Gen 9:20-21 (NCV) NOAH BECAME A FARMER AND PLANTED A VINEYARD. 21 WHEN HE DRANK WINE MADE FROM HIS GRAPES, HE BECAME DRUNK AND LAY NAKED IN HIS TENT. Ham went in to Noah’s tent where he lay naked and drunk because he had imbibed of the wine he’d made. He thought this noteworthy enough to go out and blab to his brothers about their father’s indiscretion. The other two sons walked into the tent with a robe over their shoulders, looked the other way and covered their Dad WITHOUT ever capitalizing on his indiscretion. The consequence of Ham being indiscreet forever changed the course of history! Ham was the father of Canaan; and because of his sin, the Canaanites have forever been cursed. Gen 9:25 (NCV) HE SAID, "MAY THERE BE A CURSE ON CANAAN! MAY HE BE THE LOWEST SLAVE TO HIS BROTHERS." ..........to this day, that curse is still in effect. And even though television, magazines, internet, etc., tell you pornography is acceptable, and even though we have, perhaps, become de-sensitized to the lewdness portrayed through the media, through current dress-codes, etc., it does not alter the truth that the lie of Satan was perpetrated through the salaciousness of Ham’s mind that day and has, consequently, followed mankind down through history! What was unacceptable to God in the beginning is STILL unacceptable to Him now - no matter what the ACLU, Hollywood or any other person or organization says!

 

GENESIS 15: God gave Abraham a blood covenant for the Promised Land......Could it be that this covenant - the one God made with Abraham - so infuriated Satan, he has - ever since that time - tried to remove God’s promised people from their rightful land? YES! Of course it is!


GENESIS 16: Adultery comes on the scene. Gen 16:1-5 (NCV) SARAI, ABRAM'S WIFE, HAD NO CHILDREN, BUT SHE HAD A SLAVE GIRL FROM EGYPT NAMED HAGAR. 2 SARAI SAID TO ABRAM, "LOOK, THE LORD HAS NOT ALLOWED ME TO HAVE CHILDREN, SO HAVE SEXUAL RELATIONS WITH MY SLAVE GIRL. IF SHE HAS A CHILD, MAYBE I CAN HAVE MY OWN FAMILY THROUGH HER." ABRAM DID WHAT SARAI SAID. 3 IT WAS AFTER HE HAD LIVED TEN YEARS IN CANAAN THAT SARAI GAVE HAGAR TO HER HUSBAND ABRAM. (HAGAR WAS HER SLAVE GIRL FROM EGYPT.) 4 ABRAM HAD SEXUAL RELATIONS WITH


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HAGAR, AND SHE BECAME PREGNANT. WHEN HAGAR LEARNED SHE WAS PREGNANT, SHE BEGAN TO TREAT HER MISTRESS SARAI BADLY. 5 THEN SARAI SAID TO ABRAM, "THIS IS YOUR FAULT. I GAVE MY SLAVE GIRL TO YOU, AND WHEN SHE BECAME PREGNANT, SHE BEGAN TO TREAT ME BADLY. LET THE LORD DECIDE WHO IS RIGHT--YOU OR ME." At the age of 86, Abram had his first son. He named him Ishmael. At age 100, he had Isaac. And the act of infidelity = brought on through Sarah and carried out through Abram forever started the act of adultery!


GENESIS 19: Enter homosexuality. Of course, we know the story of Sodom. In fact, the name of that specific city is where we derive the word “sodomy” from. When you read that chapter, you’ll find that God’s heart is against homosexuality. You’ve heard the saying, “God did not create the family unit as Adam and Steve. Rather, it was Adam and Eve! Well, that’s a fact! But is does NOT alter the truth that God loves us all the same. He will not, however, make an exception where ‘sin’ is concerned. He made the PROVISION regarding all sin for our redemption and recovery through the shed blood of the Lord, Jesus Christ. Again, we find through Hollywood and the media in general - an anti-God attitude that derides and mocks all God’s wonderful provision for us and tries to make ungodly behavior acceptable. It makes same-sex couples the “good guys” and Christians the bad people. It makes abortion an acceptable “choice” and pro-life people bad dudes! You see, what occurred in the beginning, still occurs!


GENESIS 34: FORNICATION! O. K., Leah was the first wife of Jacob. He worked seven years for her Dad, Laban, so that he could marry appropriate he thought was Rachael. Laban tricked him into marrying his eldest daughter, Leah. Jacob then worked seven more years for the one he loved - Rachael! However, God knew Leah was unloved by Jacob, so He gave her a child when Rachael was - at that time - barren. Soon, Leah had a beautiful daughter named Dinah. One day the local prince, Shechem, saw her beauty and he raped her! Eventually, Shechem and every other man around there was murdered by Dinah’s brothers.

            Here is a sad truth: even though thousands of years have passed since that first indulgence with sex out of marriage, it is TODAY a passable mode of living that has turned our nation - instead of One Nation Under God - to one that is unacceptable to Almighty God. And even if we don’t adhere to the notion that fornication is godly, we readily accept it as normal on television and all throughout the land. Listen: IT IS NOT ACCEPTABLE TO GOD AS AN APPROPRIATE LIFE-STYLE! If you ask Him, He will forgive you - but He will NEVER accept sin as suitable!

And I just saw on TV last night - a commercial that a girl came to a home where she was supposed to look after a couple’s kids. Well - the ‘couple’ was two men, married to each other! And it looked as though it was totally acceptable. You see: if you continue to look at ungodly behavior for a period of time as ‘acceptable’ – it becomes appropriate in your eyes and in your mind -------BUT THAT NEVER MEANS IT’S ACCEPTABLE IN GOD’S EYES!!


GENESIS 38: Incest and Prostitution. In Genesis 39 Potiphar’s wife tries to seduce Joseph.


.....................................You see, time has moved on. But WHAT OCCURRED IN THE

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BEGINNING STILL OCCURS! I am reminded of the traffic-flow in Waycross. Over the years - and especially recent years, traffic has increased disproportionately with our road-system in this town. We’re doing the same things we’ve always done, here, and we’re NOT getting better results! Not only do we need to update our roadways, we need to move into the future with proportionate, necessary change.........................IF YOU CONTINUE TO DO WHAT YOU’VE ALWAYS DONE – YOU’LL CONTINUE TO BE WHAT YOU’VE ALWAYS BEEN!!

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                        So, it’s true that what occurred in the beginning still occurs. Because SIN never changes! It doesn’t have to. It works JUST the way it is!!! But YOU have the blood-bought “right” to exact change in your life if you choose to!


Remember:

            “ONLY ONE LIFE - T’WILL SOON BE PAST – ONLY WHAT’S DONE FOR CHRIST WILL LAST!” Make that change today! Invite the Lord Jesus into your life.