Who Told You That?
by Darrell W. Johns
January 2023 · Atlanta West Pentecostal Church (Lithia Springs, GA)
Kind: sermon
Scripture: Genesis 3:9-11, Genesis 1:27, Genesis 2:7, Genesis 2:24, Genesis 2:25, Genesis 3:8, Isaiah 59:2, Genesis 3:21, Deuteronomy 34:10, Joshua 1:9, Joshua 1:5, Ruth 1:20-21

Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/darrell-w-johns--who-told-you-that
Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page.
Free to copy and share with attribution.

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Genesis 3 9. what great worship then the Lord God Called to Adam and said to him where are you so he Adams said I heard your voice in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked and I hid myself and he God said to Adam who told you that he told you that you were naked have you eaten from the Tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat and so the story of the Fall From Grace begins today I want to borrow this phrase from the Lord when he asked Adam who who told you that who told you that amen God bless you please be seated the biblical account of creation is reliable and insightful God created the heavens and the Earth he created everything that exists except himself he is self-existent and he is eternal Genesis 1 27 God created man in his own image in the image of God created he him male and female created he then Genesis 2 7 and God and the Lord God formed man of the Dust of the ground we have more information of the same creation he formed a man of the Dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and he became Man became a living Soul shortly after this Adam who is born formed as an adult gets married he gets married and he's asleep the Lord God caused a deep sleep you're wondering if that's how it was for you he calls a deep sleep to fall on Adam he slept the Lord performed surgery took one of his ribs closed up the Flesh of it and he took this rib out of Adam and he made a woman and brought her to the man and Adam said this is now bone of my bone and Flesh of My Flesh He Shall be Called woman because she was taken out of man she will complete him she will compliment him she's an equal counterpart it is not good the Lord said that the man be alone he needs help therefore shall a man Genesis says leave his father and mother and shall cleave unto his wife and they too shall be one flesh and then we get this Insight Genesis 2 25 and they were both naked the man and his wife and were not ashamed the New Testament tells us that marriage is Honorable and all in the bed undefiled Adam and Eve the first humans lived in paradise and they had the gift of eternal life before their fall into sin when they forfeited that promise they knew nothing about defects Hang-Ups insecurities inferiorities they knew nothing of sweat Thorns death pain all of that was foreign to their vocabulary and their experience in the privacy of their home the Garden of Eden and in the absence of other human beings who did not yet exist Adam and Eve were innocent they were unclothed they were unashamed Genesis 3 opens with the introduction of a Temptation the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field that the Lord made and he comes to Eve the woman and asked has God indeed said You shall not eat of every tree of the garden and Eve makes the mistake of talking to the devil in the form of a serpent here's where your trouble also starts she says back to the serpent we may eat of the fruit of the Trees of the garden but of the fruit of the tree that is in the of the tree that is in the midst of the garden God said You shall not eat it nor shall you touch it lest you die and we believe that instruction came from God to Adam from Adam to Eve it looks like he added a little standard there to protect to protect his wife God said don't eat it Adam must have told her don't touch it if you don't touch it you'll never eat it that's a good precaution that's what he said back to the serpent the serpent blatantly says you will not die in what way will you not die because death is not just physical the separation of the body from the spirit but death is also spiritual the separation of a human Spirit from the spirit of God separated by sin and he talks her into this God knows he said God acts like he loves you but he doesn't really love you he knows that the day that you eat of it your eyes are going to be open you're going to be like God knowing good and evil yes Eve your eyes will be opened and you will know good and evil but you will not be like God so Eve looks at the tree and all the signs of every Temptation that has ever befallen on any human being that's lust to the flesh the lust of the eyes the pride of life she looks and this fruit is like it's good for food it's Pleasant to the eyes it's desired to make one wise and so she took of its fruit and ate she also gave it to her husband in the New Testament we learned that Adam is not deceived he joins his wife into sin she's deceived he is not this is his choice and they ate it and as soon as they ate that forbidden fruit we don't know if it was an apple I know that's usually what's portrayed the eyes of both of them were opened and they knew that they were naked and they wanted to cover that so they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves covered Their Eyes Are Open they knew they were naked they made coverings and then something that must have happened often there's pretty much unanimity on this idea that God comes to visit Adam and Eve like he probably has done many times before he's walking in the garden in the cool of the day his voice is there and God is looking for Adam and Eve and the Bible said in Genesis 3 8 they hid themselves from the presence of the Lord among the Trees of the garden they're hiding from God they were running from God and God who knows everything goes along with this charade and said Adam where are you and Adam said I heard your voice in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked and I hid myself the voice of the Lord in the garden in the cool of the day and instead of entertaining the presence of God Adam and Eve are running from God and hiding from God overcome by their shame now when God asked Adam where are you he obviously knows Adam and Eve have clothed themselves in fig leaves heard your voice I was afraid I was naked now were they really naked or will they were they not they were not they had sown fig leaves together in home economics class and the material was rather flimsy it was made out of a fig Leaf I don't know what the thread was but it was skimpy now you could do a Hebrew study on this Google it and this is not from a Apostolic Pentecostal Source but the word that they cover themselves is a loincloth it's a skimpy garment that's what they made and perhaps they that's all the time they had or they thought it was enough they were naked and now they're clothed and what they covered we're not sure about but it was inadequate and they knew without God's presence maybe they thought their covering was good enough but when they got in the presence of the Lord when they heard his voice coming they knew that their covering was not enough and they ran and they hid from God they had never worn clothes they had never known shame until sin condemned them and Disobedience bring spiritual distance they're running from God they're hiding from God sin always separates you from God Isaiah 59-2 your iniquities have separated between you and your God sin brings shame prior to their sin Adam and Eve are unashamed they are naked unashamed they are husband and wife but now they're ashamed and in verse 11 of Genesis 3 our text today and he God said who told you that you were naked that implies that you must have eaten from the tree that I commanded you you should not eat now sin is not always defined by how evil the thing you do is objectively but sin in this case is Disobedience to God it doesn't matter what God sets as off limits it's off limits and to violate that directive of God is a sin now they can eat of any tree they wanted there is only one Prohibition in the garden only one one no and a lot of yeses in their life now I know Satan tries to make you think that everything is no and there's only a few yeses in your life but if your heart is not right with God you'll find the one thing you can't do and you'll do it don't blame it on the nose in the Bible here everything is yes but one single thing their eyes are open they realize that they're naked they sow the Fig leaves God asks who told you that you were naked now the Bible does not say who told Adam and Eve that they were naked maybe Adam told Eve and then Eve taught Adam maybe the serpent laughed him to scorn when he saw the look of Shame and shock on their faces and when he saw them wearing shame and skimpy clothes maybe he drove home the point he is the accuser of God's people after all but the Bible doesn't tell us how they knew that they were naked but God asked who told you that now the story of Genesis continues there is blame shifting never your fault there's cursing by God and then there is covering by God Genesis 3 21 also for Adam and his wife the Lord made tunics made coats of skins the King James says he made tunics of skin and clothed them blood had to be shed but that's not the primary Point here animals died Coats were made and God made them tunics of modest apparel in the same way that fig leaves were like a loincloth in the original in the Hebrew it is a tunic it is a long outer garment that extends to the knees or maybe even the feet God covers you with enough to make you modest when God covers you with his righteousness it is enough to have cause you to have a right standing before God we are clothed with the righteousness of God and it is more than a fig leaf there's a sermon for all you preachers more than a fig leaf the only thing that this human couple can produce is an inadequate loincloth God gives them a proper outfit and before he banishes them from eating he clothes them to be able to be prepared for the world outside Paradise the question that God asked Adam and Eve but directed to Adam was Adam Genesis 3 11 who told you that you were naked who told you that That's the basis of my message today who told you that you were naked who told you that you were unacceptable who told you that in the Bible many Biblical characters faced similar questions Satan the slanderer other people who are perfect at picking out our flaws and we ourselves questioning our own ability or right standing with God maybe it was Adam and Eve telling themselves because their eyes were open I don't pose to solve that problem today but I want you to understand that that question has been looming since Jenna says that there is a voice in your ear there is an accuser in your life who tells you things that demean you that run you down that are degrading that is destroying your relationship with God God calls Moses I spoke about him in the baby dedication and I hope you get the connection between identity in the baby dedication in this sermon God calls Moses and Moses tells the Lord they will not believe that you've appeared to me they know me I killed the guy I've been gone 40 years they'll never believe that you've appeared to me and God tries to help Moses with that and then Moses says to the Lord Lord I am not eloquent I'm not a good speaker neither before you called me or since you've called me I love that little insight in the Bible Moses says before you call me I had a speech impediment and then you called me and guess what you didn't heal me I I still can't talk right I'm of a slow speech and of a slow tongue and the Lord asked Moses this question who has made man's mouth I'm able to be with your mouth and teach you what to say Moses who told you that who told you that God could not use a man with the speech impediment I'm bigger than your problem I'm bigger than your imperfection Moses who told you that Joshua's Moses successor Moses is this iconic and Peerless leader Deuteronomy 34 said there arose not a prophet in Israel like Moses how would you like to follow him and everybody said oh there's nobody like Moses hi Josh good to see you nobody like Moses spoke to God face to face as a man talks to his friend glad to have you Joshua Moses is like a dad Joshua's like a brother and Moses is wonder worker signs and mighty hand and great Terror that he showed on Egypt and Joshua is introduced as Moses minister the guy that took care of washing his car and stuff like that Joshua lives in the shadow of Moses the man of God who God spoke to face to face we don't hear Joshua's fears Express but we see in the Bible what the Lord told Joshua and we can deduce that he doubted his own ability three times in Joshua 1 the Lord told Joshua to be strong and courageous or very courageous the Lord told him in Joshua 1 and 9 have not I commanded thee be strong and of a good courage Be not Afraid God told Joshua that because he needed to hear that message neither be dismayed for the Lord thy God is with you wherever you go Joshua who told you that you would live and lead in a shadow of Moses All Your Life Joshua who told you who implied that the Lord would not be with you you as he was with Moses for the Lord would say to you Joshua that no man will be able to stand before you as I was with Moses so will I be with you I will not fail you I will not forsake you that's what God told Joshua assuring him to get that voice out of your ear that you can't lead The Book of Ruth is really a lot about Naomi her mother-in-law I'm going to give you Snippets of stories in the Bible Naomi and her husband a limileck are in a famine in Bethlehem Judah they leave for Moab hoping there's more there they take their boys and Chilean good names that you should try for your children yet to be born in the process of time Naomi's husband elimelech dies Balon Chilean Mary they die and now there are three widows in Moab Naomi orfa and Ruth orpha kisses Naomi because Naomi is going home broken and bitter in her old age Ruth this is the story says I'm not leaving you wherever you go I'll go wherever you live I'll live your God will be my God your people will be my people and wherever you die that's where I'm going to be die and be buried Ruth goes back with her when Naomi and Ruth approached the city of Bethlehem Ruth chapter one her old friends see her coming down the dusty road and they look at her and all the city has moved and they asked this question is this Naomi is this Naomi and Naomi calls back to them and says call me not Naomi call me Mara for the almighty has dealt very bitterly bitterly with me that's her new name I used to be Naomi but now my name is bitter she said I went out full and the Lord has brought me home again empty and the Lord has testified against me and he's Afflicted me so now I've kind of changed my identity from Naomi to Mara or bitterness so here's what I want to ask Naomi Naomi who told you that who told you that the mistakes of the past have disqualified you for the blessings of God in your future who told you because you've been gone for years that you can't come back home to God who told you that God can't turn around your life in your latter years who told you that Naomi it is through Ruth that the lineage of David is formed and King David is born and later Jesus Christ is born out of that chaos and tragedy who told you that your bitter past has disqualified you from a blessed future get that voice out of your head and out of your ear Gideon lives in the time of the judges as is the story of Ruth the Naomi and he comes on the scene when Israel is in one of those down cycles of sin and sorrow before their salvation their inservity for seven years in a row the midianites have invaded Israel they have taken everything from the land burned their crops left them with basically nothing the impoverished people of Israel and Gideon's just one of them threshing grain to hide it from the midianites and the angel of the Lord appears to get in and says to Gideon Gideon thou Mighty Man of Valor nothing you can see tells you that nothing Gideon says back to God something like this hey God angel of the Lord and the poorest son and the poorest family of the poorest tribe of a Nation that's in a depression we've been ripped off seven years in a row so just in case you didn't know Angel of the Lord you're knocking on the wrong door you've come to the wrong guy because I am totally unable and disqualified to be the general or judge of Israel but here's what the voice of God would say to Gideon and did in so many words Gideon get that voice out of your head who told you that I can't use a poor kid who told you that I can't bring Revival to an impoverished Nation Gideon you've got to get over yourself you've got to get that voice out of your mind Gideon who told you that Nehemiah doesn't seem to battle self-doubt but he faces criticism from without he's called to build the walls of Jerusalem and they speak against him and they say what are these feeble Jews doing they gonna fortify themselves sacrifice make an end in a day are they going to revive the stones out of the heaps of rubbish that have burned are they going to rebuild the walls with these burnstones and they laugh and they say even if they do if a fox trots on that wall it will fall down they criticize Nehemiah they tell him it can't be done but Nehemiah refuses to come down from the wall and meet in a valley in a plane of oh no to compromise his calling of God so whoever told you you can't do it it can't be done who told you that Nehemiah I want you to know today that if God called you he will equip you like Nehemiah he will give you people he will give you provision he will give you permission whatever God has called you to do you can do that who told you you could not do that Esther is beautiful but she's an orphan sometimes where we come from can override Who We Are and who what God has planned for our lives she is raised by her cousin older cousin Mordecai and she must have this stigma in the back of her mind that she really isn't the right person for this job Mordecai tells her Esther if you hold your peace if you don't speak up to the king enlargement and deliverance will come from another place but Esther who knows whether you are come to the kingdom for such a time as this I don't know if Esther is hearing in the back of her mind you know what kids might have told her when she was young or people in school you're just an orphan girl you're a nobody sure you're beautiful but you can never make a difference but I want to tell somebody today to get that voice out of your head that it doesn't matter where you came from it matters where you're going the hand of the Lord is on your life and I don't know who told you that you couldn't make a difference I don't know who told you that you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this but you have and God will use you God's got a plan for your life who told you that you've gone too far and God will not forgive you he told you that you've blasphemed the Lord he told you that God does not love you or that you're unlovable he told you that you did not have what it takes he told you that you'll never change you'll get a little jump start in January but you'll be back to your same old self by February who told you that you could not change who told you that you would never be stable consistent who told you that you would never recover from the abuse the hurt the divorce who told you you would never get over it who told you that you were good for nothing who told you that you were a loser who told you that you were an imposter a poser who told you that you were not legitimate who told you that your circumstance and situation is too far gone who told you that it's too late that there is no hope who told you sir God calls you but you're not up to the challenge who told you that you don't have what it takes who told you that things will never be the same in your life who told you those lies who told you that get that voice out of your head get that voice out of your ear it's time that you change the channel in your life and listen to the voice of God who has a different word for you but there is therefore now no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus hmm the same God he spoke to Moses Joshua Naomi Gideon Nehemiah and Esther that same God is speaking to you today through his word and by his spirit he wants you to know he's saying to you today I loved you on your worst day when you were dead in your sins I saw you hopelessly in your blood the Old Testament said and I said live when you were supposed to die he wants you to know that he loves you unconditionally and if you go to hell you will go to hell with him loving you and the blood of Calvary available to you and forgiveness yours for the asking he wants you to know that you've been adopted in the family of God that you are forgiven you are saved and you are delivered he wants you to know that you've been accepted in the Beloved by the blood of Jesus Christ he wants you to know that no one can pluck you out of his hands that no one can condemn you that no one can stand against you that no one can separate you from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our lord his voice would say to you today that you are an overcomer you are more than a conqueror his word would say that you can do all things through Christ who gives you strength that's his word for you today and I don't know who told you that other thing but the voice of the Lord today is more powerful it is the true voice in your life we're used to sing a song whose report will you believe We Shall Believe the report of the Lord his report says I am healed and you can be healed today by the power of God his report says I am filled and you can be filled or refilled with the Holy Spirit today his report says I am free and today you can be free from any addiction any regret anything from the past that has bound you his report says I am free and his report says that in Christ Jesus there is Victory that is the word of the Lord to you today January 2023 it is time to throw away the labels that limit you it is time to release the regrets that have condemned you it is time to discard the cares that are crushing you it is time to get the devil's voice out of your ear it is time to quit speaking condemnation and failure and despair it is time to quit speaking of giving up it is time to quit talking about ending it all it is time to change the channel that's been playing in your head whose report will you believe I will believe the report of the Lord why don't you thank him right now that he does love you that he does care for you that he did die for your sins