“Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God really say…’ (Genesis 3:1).

Did God really say…

The confusion was not that Eve did not know what God said. She knew. It’s just that the serpent convinced Eve that what he was saying was more desirable.

The serpent said, “You will not certainly die” (Genesis 3:4). A direct contradiction of what God had said – “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die” (Genesis 2:16-17).

The serpent continued, “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:5).

The thing that makes the serpent’s lies so dangerous is that it is partly true. It is true that her eyes will be opened. But it will come at the cost of having destroyed Eden and her relationship with God. A truth the serpent conveniently left out.

Eve gave into the serpent’s version of truth, not because she did not know what God said, but because the serpent said what she wanted to hear.

Be wise. Know God’s truth. It’s all right there in the Bible.

So you had a bad experience with a Christian or a church.

If that’s you, I am sorry. As a pastor, I hate when that happens. I am sorry that the place where you should have received the love and welcome of Jesus Christ was the not what you expected it to be.

Now is the most important decision. Lots of people at this point quit. They quit the church and they quit Christianity because they tried and it turned out to be a terrible experience.

Let me ask you a question: If you have a bad experience with a nurse or a doctor, do you quit healthcare altogether? Do you quit the entire doctors and hospital and healthcare thing?

Of course not!

You don’t quit on Jesus or his church because of a bad encounter. You can look for a different church or different setting, but you don’t quit on Jesus.

Jesus didn’t let you down any more than the entire healthcare system let you down.

The church is made up of people. People who are having a good day, and people who are going through a horrendous season in their lives.

If something like that has happened at the Little Church and Lakewoodgrace, please give us another shot. See if that’s the general practice or if it was an offshoot.

“Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the LORD? To obey is better than sacrifice” (1 Samuel 15:22).

Many genuinely ask, “How do I hear God?”

That’s a good question. There are many voices out there purporting to be God’s voice. You have a plethora of preachers. They are on TV, on social media, online. There are all kinds of books.

How are you supposed to know what God is saying?

This is a legitimate question. And we will get to answering this question. But before we answer this question, I want to make sure we are asking the same question.

There are some who ask, “How do I hear God?” and what they mean is which one of these different preachers and books are going to say something I am agreeable to? You know something that makes me feel good without asking me to do a bunch of stuff, or God forbid, ask me to give stuff up!

If this is you, I encourage you to ask a different question. Instead of asking “How do I hear God?” you really need to ask yourself, “Will I obey God?” Because until you are ready to obey God it doesn’t matter what God says.

If we are legitimately wondering how we can discern God’s voice amongst all the noise?

We are a people of the Book. The always “go to” answer is God’s word. We turn to God’s word. You want to hear from God? Read his word. AND, most importantly, obey God’s word.