The Three Wrong Choices That Lead To Sin (Tamil)

If we are to understand the good news properly, we must first understand what the bad news was. There are many Gospels being preached in the name of Jesus Christ today. There are many Gospels being preached in the name of Jesus Christ today. If you don't know what is written in the word of God, then you will never know the truth. If you don't know what is written in the word of God, then you will never know the truth. We must know the deeds of Adam and Eve, our first parents. If you don't know the deeds of Adam and Eve, then you will never know the deeds of Jesus Christ. So, when we try to understand what the full Gospel is, we must understand what the good news is. We must understand what the bad news is. Clearly, then we can know whether the Gospel we heard is really the true Gospel or not. Because it should save us from all the bad news. Because it should save us from all the bad news. For example, we read that the name Jesus, Matthew 1.21, was given to Jesus because He came to save us from our sin. Do you know that you cannot understand that until you know what sin is. Supposing you think that sin is smoking and drinking. Then you say, Jesus came to save you from smoking and drinking. And then, once you are saved from that, you will think, yeah, Jesus has saved me. But when we understand that sin is much more than that little thing we think, then we realize that salvation is much more than some small little thing. So, salvation is being saved from sin. And for that, we need to go to Genesis 3 and understand it. Genesis 3. And we need to understand here what it is that Eve did which brought sin into the world. Because only then we can understand what Jesus came to save us from. Only then we can understand what Jesus came to save us from. What is it that Eve did that brought sin into the world? I want you to see here three things. There were three choices that man made. And that is what Jesus came to save us from. Number one, God created man out of the dust of the earth but breathed into him and made him a living soul. So, man was the only one of God's creation, which though he had a body that belonged to earth, had a part in him that was heavenly. And we are constantly being pulled in these two directions. One is downward to the earth. And the other is up towards heaven. Now, the animals don't have that type of pull. They are only pulled downwards to the earth because they are only made of the dust of the earth. And that is why you find the animals are always occupied with earthly things. You find that their face is always down on the earth. Now, they were made of the same dust that we are made of. But with this big difference that God breathed into us, and he made us have a part of us that belonged to him. And if we don't respond to that, then we will become like animals. And we have a choice. Either we seek the earthly and become like animals. Or we respond to the upward call and become like God. It's very important for us to understand this. And everyday, you and I are making a choice. We find ourselves between these two pulls. When Eve stood before the tree of knowledge of good and evil, which she knew God had forbidden. There, God was testing Eve. God was testing both Adam and Eve. What are you going to choose in your life? This beautiful thing I have created or me? That's the number one choice that Adam and Eve faced in the garden of Eden. And that's what you and I face also. This was a beautiful tree. God could have made it a very ugly tree, but he made it a beautiful one. God made it beautiful to test Adam and Eve. Will you choose my beautiful creation or will you choose me, the creator? Remember that sin did not come in the human race because of adultery or murder. Sin came because man chose what was created and rejected the creator. And if you make that choice in your life, you are going to sin. It may not be a tree today, it may be something else. It may be a pretty woman that God has created. And God says, what are you going to choose now? That what I created or me. And you say, I want what's created. That's exactly how Adam and Eve fell into sin. See, many people don't understand that. Because they have such a shallow understanding of sin. So, if you don't understand what sin is, you'll never understand what it means to be saved from sin. Jesus came to save us from sin. And here's the number one thing he came to save us from. All through the history of man, the sin of man has been that he's always chosen what is created more than the creator. And you see the exact opposite of this when Satan came and tempted Jesus. See, there also, and there Jesus was hungry for 40 days. And Satan offered him something created. Why don't you turn the stones into bread and satisfy your need? It was a choice between what is created and the creator. But there, where Eve made the wrong choice, Jesus made the right choice. Jesus said, I choose the word of God by which we live, not this bread. And then again the devil offered him all the things in the world and said, I can give you all of this if you bow down to me. See, even to Jesus, the temptation was choose something earthly. Not God. And even when he told him to jump off the top of the temple, what was the temptation? See, if you jump off from here and the angels will protect you. You come down like that without getting hurt. You'll get so much honor from people. Something earthly. Honor of people. Jesus said no. I want to say brothers and sisters, this is the thing that will come to us everyday. Unless you make a decision once for all in your life that I'm never going to choose the created thing above the creator. I will always choose the creator above the created thing. Then you would have understood what it means to experience the full gospel. See, when Jesus spoke in Luke chapter 14. Luke's gospel chapter 14. And verse 26. If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father, mother, brother, sister, wife, children, he cannot be my disciple. See, father, mother, imagine telling people to reject father, mother and all and accept him. What was he saying essentially? Jesus himself taught us to honor father and mother. The bible teaches us to love our wife and children. What is he meaning here? He is saying if you really want to follow me, you must not do what Adam and Eve did. Nothing created must be more important to you than me. If your father or mother is more important to you, then sorry, you can't be my disciple. And that's the other thing we see in the garden of Eden. But we'll come to that in a moment. But let's look at this first. To choose the creator above the created is the first step to salvation. See, we cannot be saved unless we turn around from sin. It's a great deception to be told that if you believe in Jesus, you'll be saved. It's a great deception to be told that if you believe in Jesus, you'll be saved. You cannot look at sin and believe in Jesus and be saved. That's impossible. The apostles preach to turn around first. First, you must turn around. Repentance means your mind must turn around from facing sin. And until we are willing to turn around from facing sin, we cannot really be saved. That's what repentance is. And that's why we need to see what sin is. Choosing that which is created more than the creator. So, what does repentance mean? Repentance means now I'm going to choose the creator more than anything created in all of my life. See what the psalmist said in Psalm 73 in verse 25. See what the psalmist said in Psalm 73 in verse 25. This is true repentance. And if you can say this from your heart, then you have truly repented and you can truly experience a full salvation. Psalm 73 verse 25. The last part. I desire nothing on earth but you Lord. If Eve had said that in the garden of Eden, she would never have sinned. Jesus said that in the wilderness when he was tempted. Father, I don't want bread. I want your word. I don't want the honor of men. I don't want all that the world offers. I want to worship you. Many people who call themselves Christians are actually disciples of Adam and Eve, not disciples of Jesus. They talk about gospel, gospel, gospel, but what gospel? And that is why they never experience in their life the victory and the joy that the New Testament talks about. Let me show you a couple of verses. In the New Testament, which we are supposed to live in. Philippians 4 verse 4 says, Rejoice in the Lord always. Can you say that you are experiencing that? That I rejoice in the Lord always. Do you think that is a suggestion or do you think it is a command? First of all, do you believe that the Bible is the word of God? We all say that. If you are a Christian, you say the Bible is the word of God. If you believe that, then the Bible has got no suggestions, only commands. Why is it most Christians, I'd say 95% of Christians cannot say, even born again believers cannot say that they are experiencing that? Because they are choosing created things more than the creator. And as long as you choose created things above the creator, you can never obey that word. If money, which God has created, gold, is more important to you than God, there are many sisters for whom gold is more important than God. How can they rejoice in the Lord always? What if they lose all their gold? If they lose all their gold, what will happen? They lose their joy. Because their joy was not in God, their joy was in their gold. And a lot of men, their joy is in their bank account. In created money. This is the test that comes to us. See, all these things are good, money is a good thing. But when it becomes your God, then it destroys you. But when it becomes your God, then it destroys you. All created things are supposed to be our servants. When God created man, In Genesis 1.26, God said, God said, let us make man and he will rule over everything on this earth. That means that, nothing on this earth must rule me. Anything that occupies your mind most of the time is ruling you. That's how you know what is ruling you. You look in the mind of a businessman, he is always thinking about money. That's his God and that's what rules him. You look into the mind of a truly spiritual man. He uses money, but he doesn't keep on thinking about it all the time. It's God who rules his mind. But because you have not been taught what sin was, you have not experienced the true gospel. Now here is a verse that tells us how we can rejoice all the time. Here is a verse that tells us how we can rejoice all the time. Let me read you a verse in Psalm 16. Verse 8 I have set the Lord continually before me. Not created things. I have set the Lord continually before me. When you put the Lord and not created things in front of you all the time. The most important word there is continually. Many of us put the Lord in front of us when there is trouble or once in a while. But this is I have set the Lord before me continually. Then verse 9 My heart is glad. My tongue rejoices. And my flesh will dwell securely. You know this verse is quoted in Acts chapter 2. In Acts chapter 2 and verse 25. It says this is referring to Jesus. David said this about Jesus. I have always set the Lord in my presence. Verse 25 And verse 26 Therefore my heart is glad. So that quotation from Psalm 15 is telling us how Jesus lived on this earth. He was always rejoicing because the father was in front of him all the time. In other words in every situation he chose his father and not the created things. What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus? That means we follow in the way Jesus went. What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus? That means we follow in the way Jesus went. Lord, I will make you proud as the creator of all the created things. One of the great deceptions of the devil is to tell you that you will be happy if you have more of created things. Your happiness comes when you have more of God not more of created things. The happiest person that ever walked on this earth was Jesus Christ. And you know why? Because he always chose his father. I wish we were gripped by this. You know I have tried through many years to study the life of Jesus. And there is a reason for it. Because I believe he was the happiest man that ever walked on this earth. And I want to know what is the secret of that happy life. I know that he was the most successful man that ever walked on this earth. The most successful man is not the man who made the most money or the biggest politician or king or any such thing. It was Jesus. So I want to know what is the secret of his success. He was the one person who walked on this earth whom nothing could disturb. His life was always at peace. I find so many Christians who are disturbed by so many things. All the great men in the world need to have so many security forces around them to protect them. They are always afraid. But the greatest man who walked on this earth, Jesus Christ, he did not need any security guards around him to protect him. Do you know the number of times people came to arrest Jesus Christ? But the Bible says they could not arrest him. He did not have any commandos around him to protect him. Let me show you two verses. John chapter 7 verse 30. It says here, they tried to arrest him but nobody could lay their hands on him. Why couldn't they arrest him? Not because he had commandos. Because the father in heaven said, this is not the time. That was all. You know if you walk like Jesus, your life will be like that. Nothing will be able to touch you. Nothing. Nothing will be able to touch you. If you live like this. No, no sickness, no accident, no human being, nobody can touch you. Because the father will come there and say, no, you can't touch him, the time has not come. Look at John chapter 8 verse 20. Again it says, when he was teaching, people tried to seize him but they couldn't do it. Because his hour had not come. And I say Lord, what is the secret of this life? This life of perfect peace, perfect joy. No fear of anybody, no fear of circumstances, no fear of anything. Nobody can touch you, nobody can catch you. I want to know the secret of that life. And I see the answer. Do the opposite of what Adam and Eve did. Choose the creator always. Always. Choose the creator above pretty women. Choose, when you are tempted to look and lust, choose the creator. When you are tempted with money, choose the creator. And God will give you the best of everything on this earth. Do you know if you choose God first, He will give you the best of everything on this earth. That doesn't mean He will give you a lot of money. But I will tell you honestly, a lot of money is not good for you. Do you know who are the most spoiled children in the whole world? The children of rich people. Do you know who are the best brought up children? The children of parents who have had to struggle. Don't envy all those rich people. Their children will turn out to be useless. Because everything they are given to them from childhood. Because their parents have been giving them everything they asked from their childhood. You are struggling to lead your life. You are struggling without money. Your children will grow up to be excellent children. Money is the answer to everything. Choose the creator above all created things. So the bad news is that Adam and Eve chose the created things above the creator. And the good news is that Jesus can save us from that. Has He saved you? Has He saved you from choosing created things more than the creator? He has come to save you from that. I know He has saved me from that. That has changed my life. That has made me rejoice always. He can do that for anybody. The second thing I want you to see in Genesis chapter 3. The second choice that Adam and Eve made. Was they believed the devil's words more than God's words. What is the first thing? They chose the created things more than the creator. Secondly, God said something, the devil said something, and they believed the devil, they didn't believe God. God said, if you eat this tree, you will die. God said, if you eat this tree, you will die. The devil said, you will not die. And like stupid fools, they went and believed the devil. You may say, I will never do that. You better check up. Let me give you an example. I quoted a verse just now. God says, rejoice in the Lord always, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, rejoice in the Lord, not in your circumstances. The devil says, that is not possible. Who do you believe? You tell me from your past life, whom have you believed? If somebody looks at your life, for the last one year. Will they say, you believe the devil who says, that is not possible. Or will they say, you believe God who says, you can do it. Philippians 4 verse 6. This is God's word. It's in your Bible. Don't be anxious for anything. That is God's word. The devil says, it is not possible. You can't live in this world without being anxious. You call yourself a Christian. Who have you believed all these years? Do you see my dear friend, how even though you say, you believe in the Bible and in Jesus. Actually you are following the devil. No, I am not saying this to condemn you. No, I am not saying this to condemn you. I am trying to show you, how the devil has cheated you and deceived you. Father, God is true and the devil is a liar. Father, God is true and the devil is a liar. God is true and the devil is a liar. This is what I am trying to say to the whole world. I am not just saying this with my lips. I believe this is God's word. I am trying to live according to this. I believe this is how Jesus lived. I believe every true Christian must try to live like Jesus lived. From the beginning of time, the devil has always told man, God's commands are impossible to obey. You don't have to take them seriously. What did he tell Eve? God has said, you will die. You don't have to take that seriously. It's just something God says, that's all. God has said, rejoice in the Lord always. Don't take all these things seriously. God has said, you should be anxious for nothing. Forget it. Don't take all these things so seriously. I would say, more than 95% of believers live by the devil's word more than God's word. I would say, more than 95% of believers live by the devil's word more than God's word. Can you honestly stand up before God today and say, I believe that I can rejoice in the Lord always? Can you stand up and say, I believe that I can live a life free from anxiety? Can you get up and say, I believe Romans 6.14 that no sin can rule over me? I can show you a hundred verses like that this evening. Ephesians 4.31 Put away all anger from your life. Put away all anger from your life. How many of you have done that? Is that in your Bible, Ephesians 4.31? What does God say? Put away all anger. What does the devil say? Don't take it so seriously. God doesn't mean that. What he means is, you are human, naturally you will be angry now and then. Don't take all these things seriously. You tell me, whom have you believed all these years? Do you know how you have been listening to the devil day and night? The good news is, we can obey the commands of God. If you have not experienced it, that doesn't mean other people have not. If you have not experienced it, that doesn't mean other people have not. I came across verses like this. I was honestly told God, Lord I am sorry, I have believed the devil's words more than your words. I will tell you, God loves honest people. If you are honest with God, He will help you. I was honest with God. I said, Lord I am sorry, I believe the devil's lies more than your words. For more than 16 years after I was born again, I believed the devil. I was born again, baptized in water. I was born again, baptized in water. I was a Christian for the whole time. I was living as a sinner. I was complaining and grumbling. I know there is a verse in Philippians 2, which says in verse 14, that I must do finish with all grumbling and complaining. All grumbling and complaining, get rid of it. The devil says, That's not so serious. Don't take all these things God says so seriously. That is exactly what he told me. This is the second cause of sin. We choose to believe the devil's word more than God's word. I am talking about people who call themselves born again Christians. Every day they are choosing created things more than the creator. Every day they believe the devil's lies more than God's word. And they come on Sunday and praise the Lord and clap their hands and say Hallelujah. What's the use of saying all that if you believe the devil's lies more than God's word? You know what you need to do? Repent. Turn around. First of all, turn around from seeking the creator more than the creator. Secondly, turn around from choosing the devil's words which are lies and rejecting God's word. Secondly, turn around from choosing the devil's lies which are lies and rejecting God's word. I am not condemning any of you. I have been living like this for 16 years. How can I blame you? But Jesus saved me. And I went to Jesus, the doctor who healed me. I am just telling you that this incurable disease you have, Jesus can heal you. This thing that is making your life miserable, your home life miserable. Jesus can save you from it. If you will turn around. It doesn't mean that from tomorrow on you start rejoicing always. Or that tomorrow you suddenly get victory over all sin. Or from tomorrow you don't be anxious about anything. Let it take 10 years. But turn around and say, Lord, from today I am at least going to believe your word. I am going to believe that if you have said something in your word, it is possible. If it is not written in God's word, then I am not interested. God doesn't tell me to jump over a 20 foot wall. No. That is not necessary and it is not possible. But when he says rejoice in the Lord always. Put away all anger. Be anxious for nothing. Put away all murmuring and complaining. Forgive everybody who harms you. Love all your enemies. I don't believe the devil who says, no, no, no, no, you can't love certain people. The Lord says, love all your enemies and the devil says, you can't love everybody. And you believe the devil. Do you know the number of Christians? I can show you, I told you at least 100 verses where people believe the devil and not God. I don't have time to show you all of them, but I will show you a few verses. This is the second mistake of Adam and Eve. The third thing. So let's go through it. First, choosing the creator, choosing the created things more than the creator is the root of sin. Second, believing the devil's lie more than God's word. And third, you see in Adam, seeking to please his wife more than please God. She was the only other human being in those days. So we can say, seeking to please people more than to please God. I want you to see this picture in your mind now in Eden's garden. This pure and holy Adam. And Eve comes to him with this fruit. And Adam knows very clearly, he heard it straight from God, don't eat that fruit. And his wife comes with such a sweet smile. And says, darling, this is a lovely fruit. I have already eaten it. Don't you love me? Come on, take a little bit of this. And now Adam is in struggle. Shall I please God? Shall I please my wife? Have you ever found that struggle in your life, shall I please God or shall I please my wife? Shall I please my husband or shall I please God? That started in Eden. And he made the wrong choice. And see the result in the world today. Because he chose to please a human being more than to please almighty God his creator. That's why Jesus said, if you love father, mother, wife, husband, anybody more than me, you cannot be my disciple. If there is a single human being you want to please, you are going to live in sin. Jesus came to save us from that. I thank God, he has done that in my life. To the best of my knowledge. I don't know anybody in the world I want to please more than God. If it's a choice between pleasing God and pleasing human beings, my choice is clear. Even if it is wife, children, father, mother, brother, sister, anybody. When God's word says something, and if I know if I do that, I will displease some people. Let them be displeased. Do you know the number of people who have left my church in Bangalore because they got offended? Do you know the number of people who have left my church in Bangalore because they got offended? I knew they would get offended. But if it is God's word, and they get offended, and they don't come to listen to me again. Let it be so. I would rather have only God in the meeting than a whole lot of people. I would rather have only God in the meeting than a whole lot of people. I have never been interested in gathering numbers. I have never been interested in adding numbers to our church. In all the years that we have worked in our church in Bangalore, I have said, Lord, I want you to be here. If you are here, that's enough. I don't care if everybody goes away. Supposing all the people in my church leave because they are offended with my message, offended with the word of God, I say, fine. Lord Jesus, you and I are here, that's enough. That is the only way to build a church. That is the only way to build a church. Oh no, if I speak this word, that rich man will get offended. Oh no, if I speak this word, that rich man will get offended. Then I cannot serve God. I will serve the devil. Galatians 1.10 says, Galatians 1.10 I am the servant of Christ. My dear brothers and sisters, I am challenging you to come to the highest level before God. Turn around. Turn around from seeking to please men. Man cannot help you. God can do anything for you. You don't have to be afraid of any man when God is on your side. Hebrews 13 says, The Lord has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. So what do we say in verse 6? The Lord is my helper. I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? What can man do to me? Those are the type of Christians God wants in India today. Even if there are only two or three, it's enough. But people who do not seek to please any man. So let's look at these three mistakes that Adam and Eve made. They chose the creator above the creator. They believed the devil's words instead of God's words. Adam chose to please a human being more than to please God. That was why they were thrown out of Eden. That's why they were thrown out of Paradise. Do you want to enter Paradise? Do you want to enter Paradise? Do the opposite of what Adam did. That is repent. Lord, from today onwards, I will never choose a creative thing more than you. You can use creative things. You can enjoy an ice cream. You can build a good house and live in it. But don't worship that house. Don't get money in wrong ways to build that house. Put God first. Then use these other things as your servants. Secondly, from today. Lord, even if I don't experience things in your word immediately, from today, I am going to believe it. Even if I take 10 years to experience it, I am going to start believing it from today. I will never believe the devil's lies anymore. When he says sin is not serious, I will believe you. Thirdly, I will never seek to please a man from today onwards. I am willing to hurt every human being in order to please you. Let's pray. Let's bow our heads before God. These are very serious issues. I want to encourage you to turn and be a disciple of Jesus. These are not 25 areas, only 3 areas. Lord, I want to turn around. Come and be Lord of my life. Help me to remember all that I heard today. I want to turn and be a disciple of Jesus. Lord, I want to turn and be a disciple of Jesus. I want to be a spiritual Christian. In the name of Jesus, Father. Amen. There are many things to meditate on this Holy Bible. We will open it tomorrow and meditate on it. Please come. Bring your friends. Bring your enemies. All of you are invited to the institution.