Artwork by “BiblePhile, Artstation” with permission.
The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; and she gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. Genesis 3:4-6.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלהים) says:
Today I want to pause and go back again to the beginning because if you do not understand the root of the problem that plunged the world into darkness and robbed you of your freedom and eternal life, you will keep repeating it and perpetrating the darkness in your own life, the lives of others, and the generations to come.
Have you ever stopped to wonder why Adam and Eve were tempted to disobey My one commandment to them when they had everything in the Garden as their own and could eat from any tree but one tree which was Mine? Though I allowed them to cultivate and guard it as I did the entire Garden. For them at that time, replenishing the earth and being fruitful required no toil on their part, for they used their dominion authority to direct all creation into fruitfulness and beauty.
Out of the ground the LORD God caused to grow every tree that is pleasing to the sight and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Genesis 2:9.
They were in the flow of Heaven upon the earth. There was no corruption, no sin, no pain, no illness, no famine, no lack (only abundance), no drought, no storms and no death. Eden means delightful and it was a delightful place of beauty and light, full of My glory and the glory clothing and shining on and from the first man and woman. There was not even any rain, for a mist would rise each day from the ground and water the earth.
But a mist used to rise from the earth and water the whole surface of the ground. Genesis 1:6.
Why were they so easily tempted by the devil to turn treacherous on Me and reject My Word for the lies of a creature that I had put there to serve them? Why did they fail the one test I gave them to see if I could trust them not only with the earth with to reign with Me forever in My Kingdom? The one trustworthy in little things is also trustworthy in greater. You all have the opportunity for greatness.
There is one basic problem, however, that caused their downfall and has disqualified many. And that one thing will still rob you of all the good you have and plunge your life into darkness. It will make you sin.
It is very simple but it is very profound: IT IS NOT VALUING WHAT YOU HAVE.
Adam and Eve were like the elder son in the Parable of the Prodigal Son, they thought I was withholding things from them when I was not, everything was theirs already and they had wisdom and were like Me. But because they did not know or value what they had, they thought they had to reach out to what the devil had to offer to get what they needed and for that they disobeyed My Word. If you learn to trust in My Word and obey it then you will not be trying to satisfy your cravings and fears with things of the world that demand you disobey Me to get them for you will find I fill your days with good things and overflow you with an abudance beyond all you can hold. I provide for all your needs according to My riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
For what you do not value is very easily taken away from you by another who knows the value of what you have. The devil very much desired to take hold of the dominion authority and the abundance the first man and woman had rather than serving them as heirs of salvation. He also wanted to be like Me, which they were. He wanted Adam’s throne as Son of Man and Adam did not value what he had so he did not realize what he had. He failed the test.
See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled; that there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal. Hebrews 12:15-16.
Esau was the first born and would have received the double portion and the blessing of Abraham, but he did not value it over satisfying his flesh. His god was his belly. He later regretted it when he saw Jacob got it, but it was too late than and he still had no love for My Word only greed for what looked better at the moment.
It was the same with Adam. He despised His birthright as a son of God. Luke 3:38. He did not value it.
For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever. 1 John 2:16-17.
Sins come from not valuing things as precious. Think of this, a man would never commit adultery if he valued his wife as precious, if he saw her as the best, then he would not look for something better.
He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the LORD. Proverbs 18:22.
Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth. Proverbs 5:18.
If a wife valued her husband, she would not nag or demean him.
A parent would never abuse, beat, murder, or abort, his or her child if they valued that child as a precious gift entrusted to them to raise up in the way the child should go, to lead and guide that child into all truth.
Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, the fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth. How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them; they will not be ashamed when they speak with their enemies in the gate. Psalm 127:3-5.
A person would never murder another if they valued the person’s life as precious. A person would never commit suicide if they valued their life as a unique gift that I had planned from all eternity to have you with Me, taking care of you now and forever.
For You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother’s womb. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth; Your eyes have seen my embryo; and in Your book were all written the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them. How precious also are Your thoughts toward me, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand. When I awake, I am still with You. Psalm 139:13-18.
If you valued others you would not cheat, lie, scam, rob, abuse, harm, beat, degrade, scorn, be jealous of them, anger them, speak malice, or gossip about them. And they in turn would not be doing it to you. No one would be doing it if all valued My Word.
If you value others nourish them as you would your own body. Hence love your neighbor as yourself and treat others the way you would have them treat you.
It all comes down to valuing yourself and others, and by them I mean seeing them as I do, valuable and precious. I honor you with life and freedom of choice.
Adam and Eve would never have rejected My Word and reached out for something more if they valued Me and what I had given them. But because they did not value it, they did not realize they already had everything in Me that the devil was offering to give them for disobeying Me. They already were just like Me and I was sharing with them all that I have and am.
“Because you did not serve the LORD your God with joy and a glad heart, for the abundance of all things; therefore you shall serve your enemies whom the LORD will send against you, in hunger, in thirst, in nakedness, and in the lack of all things; and he (the destroyer) will put an iron yoke on your neck until he has destroyed you. Deuteronomy 28:47-48.
And that is just what happened to Adam and Eve. To Judas Iscariot. And to many others down to this very day. The devil took it all and destroyed them, and they never even protested. And what is the arrogant devil, that ancient serpent, who once was the guardian cherub of Eden bragging?
And my hand reached to the riches of the peoples like a nest, and as one gathers abandoned eggs, I gathered all the earth; and there was not one that flapped its wing or opened its beak or chirped. Isaiah 10:14.
And I am going to tell you the ultimate truth that flows from not valuing what you have (for when you are grateful for what you have I multiply and increase it) and leads you into all evil and sin: It all comes from how you treat My Word. Not valuing what you have all comes from how you treat My Word.
Whether you value and treasure My Word as a gift from Me to you giving you an opportunity to be like Me and have a great life or cast it aside and question it will determine whether you obey it or the devil can steal it from you, for it is your most precious treasure to empower you, as in the parable of the sower. He is after My Word, just as he was with Adam and Eve. He knew if he could steal that Word by making them question it and be disobedient to it, he had them captive to do his will and serve him. He would take what they had.
This is very serious and not to be passed off lightly it will determine the quality of your life now and FOREVER.
Appreciating what you have all has to do with your love for Me. And there is only one criteria I give for knowing whether or not you love Me. And Jesus summed it all up for you the night He made an everlasting Covenant with you as you partook of His body and blood:
He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.” John 14:21.
And He repeats it even more clearly:
Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My Word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My Words; and the Word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me. John 14:23-24.
That is all. It is not great works of worldly fame, even if done in My Name, if you do all those and have no love it means nothing. For My only commandment now is to believe in the Name of My Son, Jesus, and love one another as He commanded you. Love values Me, self, and others.
There is only one requirement and it is what you do with My Word. Do you do it? Do you keep it?
Obviously Adam did not value what he had because he did not love Me. Why do I say that? He was not loyal enough to the one who gave him everything and gave him life, a beautiful life surrounded with delightful things, to keep My Word. One thing I asked of him, and he failed it.
Do you appreciate what you have? Or do you make light of it, scorn it, treat it as cheap, complain about your family, your boss, your job, your body, your life? Do you ever read My Word to find out how to change things in your life? To be healed? To be prosperous?
“I am the LORD your God, who teaches you to profit, who leads you in the way you should go. “If only you had paid attention to My commandments! Then your well-being (shalom) would have been like a river, and your righteousness like the waves of the sea. Your descendants would have been like the sand, and your offspring like its grains; their name would never be cut off or destroyed from My presence.” Isaiah 48:17-19.
Most people in their daily lives do not think about Heaven. And yet I tell you to seek first My Kingdom and My way of righteousness and all the things you are focusing on so intensely and pursuing so earnestly each day will be added to you without the toil or worry. You are putting heavy burdens on yourself and others to provide for you.
It is sad, but many who claim to be believers are not putting My Word to work in their lives but are takers and not generous with Me or others, but are constantly prevailing on others to pay for their needs while many of them do not even work.
But I have good news that I sent Jesus to bring you and give you, for He came to save you from all this and not to judge you. If you return to Me, I return to you, if you draw close to Me, I draw close to you. If you repent and value My Word enough to keep it no matter what temptation the devil shoots your way to steal My Word from you, then I know that you can be trusted with My Kingdom.
When you reject My Word by not valuing it so that you do not obey it, you shut Me out of your life. I then have to authority to act for you, in you, with you, or through you to heal, prosper, and bless you.
And walking by My Word and not by the flesh, that is, by faith and not by sight, and that is walking in the Spirit and in the truth, you can access spiritual things that the mind set on the flesh cannot. When you are spiritual, you appraise all things, physical and spiritual, for you have the mind of Christ. 1 Corinthians 2:14-16.
And obeying My Word is walking in Spirit and truth. And in that realm, the devil cannot win over you. You will quickly crush him under your feet. In fact, I will do it for you.
Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them. For such men are slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of their own appetites (belly); and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting. For the report of your obedience has reached to all; therefore I am rejoicing over you, but I want you to be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. Romans 16:17-20.
Do you see why they were not to eat of the one tree until they were more mature? I want you to be wise in what is good and innocent in what is evil. Innocent as doves but clever as snakes. I want you to discern what is evil and avoid it. I do not want you to have knowledge of it in a personal way.
For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil. Hebrews 5:12-14.
I now will share with you what I spoke to prophet Isaiah that sums up the sin of Adam and Eve:
Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter! Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight! Woe to those who are heroes in drinking wine and valiant men in mixing strong drink, who justify the wicked for a bribe, and take away the rights of the ones who are in the right! Therefore, as a tongue of fire consumes stubble and dry grass collapses into the flame, so their root will become like rot and their blossom blow away as dust; for they have rejected the law of the LORD of hosts and despised the Word of the Holy One of Israel. Isaiah 5:20-24.
Adam despised My Word and rejected My law. He wanted to decide good and evil. And that is what your government is doing today, they are calling evil good and good evil and calling acceptance of evil that destroys life and the family “love.” And this takes you to the flesh level where you no longer see the Spiritual or take input from Me. A branch severed from the vine trying to bear fruit. It just cannot happen. You must be born again from above, from My pure holy Word.
I love you. Be grateful, rejoice, and sing praise for the abundance you have and it will increase more and more and more and more. Walk with Me in My Word and be free. Valuing what you have will make your life sweet. And valuing others will make their life sweet. And those I love I discipline, but only one way, by My Word. Do you obey it or not? If you are not, you may lose even the little you think you have.