“The Doubt Pout”
Anything that can cause us to pout,
can lead us to doubt.
No Reason to POUT DOUBT
“I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”
-Philippians 4:12-14
Last week we looked at the “Doubt Route”
When is it OK to “Doubt” and when it is not OK to “Doubt”?
The key is that it is never OK to stay in the state of “Doubt” regarding Bible truths.
Rather than Doubting the Bible,
we need to “Doubt our Doubts”.
The first temptation of Satan was to get Eve to “Doubt” God’s Word.
While Adam and Eve did not literally “Pout”,
I picture Satan trying to get them to pout and feel sorry for themselves that God was withholding something good from them.
It may be helpful to picture them pouting and disappointed that God didn’t seem to be giving them his very “best”.
Was God really holding back good things that were available to them?
That is how Satan tried to spin it.
He will try to tempt us in the same way.
Just as coaches, teachers and parents can get disappointed when athletes, students or children do not try their best, we will feel disappointed when we think and feel that God is not doing his very best for us.
That is the sermon that the Devil repeats to us in every areas of life.
Remember that
ANYTHING THAT CAN CAUSE US TO POUT,
CAN LEAD US TO DOUBT
Also remember that
The answer to POUTING is CONTENTMENT.
Here is a refresher of the story in Genesis 3 and ways that Satan will tempt us to “Pout and Doubt” as well.
“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,
[Satan is a Liar, Deceiver, and Murderer]
He is talking through the serpent to challenge God’s Word to them. He will always try to cast doubt on God.]
‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
See what God actually said in GENESIS 2:16,17
“You are FREE to eat from ANY tree in the garden; 17 BUT[except] you must NOT eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will certainly die.”
God’s actual Word:
“You ARE FREE to EAT from ANY TREE…!”
Satan’s spin on God’s Word:
“You must NOT EAT from ANY TREE…?”
2 The woman said to the serpent,
“We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,
[Good for Eve here. She is correcting Satan who tried to spin God’s Word in a negative way.]
3 BUT God did say, ‘You must NOT eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
[She does clarify what she thought was Satan’s misunderstanding, but he was already testing and challenging her evaluation and interpretation of God’s words.
Notice how she ADDS to what God actually said.]
Satan wants us to either ADD TO
or TAKE AWAY FROM God’s Word.
God never said that they could not touch it.
They could have pulled a fruit off and given it to their dog or their dinosaur to eat.
They could have thrown it like a ball for their lion to play fetch.
Be careful not to over- exaggerate the words of others as Eve did here.
4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
A couple of thoughts here.
1. OBEY GOD, PERIOD.
(God says “Don’t”, so Don’t)
2. Realize that you are naïve about many things.
When God said “die” he was talking about spiritual separation from him.
Eve did not know that, yet not knowing something is no excuse for doing things our own way just because we think that there may be betters ways than God’s.
3. “MORE” IS NOT ALWAYS BETTER.
Re-think what some call “Progress”.
Was their life so incomplete that Eve just had to attain this thing called,
“Knowing good and evil,
whatever it may be.
4. DON’T TRY TO ”KEEP UP WITH THE JONE’S.”
Satan gives them the temptation to think that they can be “Like God”.
6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.
(Satan will want to take good things and make them bad, through misuse.
She may have “seen” that tree every day as she walked by it.
Yet, because Satan drew her attention to it in a different context than God wanted her to see it, it suddenly looked “Desirable” as an avenue to gain something that she did not currently have.
(NOTE: Adam’s problem was that he did not speak up as he saw and heard the whole thing go down.)
“Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner.”
-1 Timothy 2:14
“Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man[Adam], and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned.”
-Romans 5:12
[Spiritual separation from God, and in the end Physical separation from our bodies at death]
“For as in ADAM all die, [Original Sin]
so in CHRIST all will be made alive.”
[Through belief in the forgiven that comes by his death and resurrection]
-1 Corinthians 15:22
7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened,
and they realized they were naked;
so, they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
[Note: That was the best that they could do in trying to cover their sin.
Fig leaves would eventually dry up and fall off.
Their remedy for their sin would not be permanent.]
8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they
HID FROM THE LORD GOD
among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”
10 He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and
I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”
11 And he said, “Who told you that you were naked?
Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”
[Two questions that Adam avoids answering.]
[Then he blames everyone but himself.]
12 The man said, “The WOMAN YOU put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.”
13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”
The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
14 So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,
“Cursed are you above all livestock
and all wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly
and you will eat dust
all the days of your life.
15 And I will put enmity [Conflict]
between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
HE [Jesus] will crush [A deadly blow, at the cross. “It is finished”.] your head,
and you will strike his heel.” [Satan continually tried to tempt Jesus to sin.]
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
-Galatians 6:9
“Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you
-Matthew 5:12
No Reason to POUT DOUBT
“I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I cando all this through him who gives me strength.”
-Philippians 4:12-14
Remember that
ANYTHING THAT CAN CAUSE US TO POUT, CAN LEAD US TO DOUBT.
Also remember that
The answer to POUTING is the CONTENTMENT that you CAN make it through anything
with Jesus.