Here’s The Deal!

The Free Gifts of God

If man would have simply obeyed God in the beginning, he would have had these benefits assured for his life:

• • • The power of the image and likeness of God to operate in his life

      • Divine health

      • Spirit filled – complete spiritual fullness   

    • The ability to fellowship face-to-face with God 

    • An abundance of free food

    • Every day of life was blessed by God

    • A world of beauty designed especially by God

    • An abundance of material wealth

    • The ability to decree a thing and have it established by God

    • Every need met perfectly by God

• From Last week: God expects an exchange! 

 Dt 10:12 And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and to observe the LORD’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today 

for your own good? 

• • What God expects you to give in exchange for the things he will do for your good.

    • Reverence

    • Walk after him

    • Love

    • Service

    • Obedience

  • Why? For our own good. 

  • God desires to bestow upon you wonderful indescribable blessings!

    • Once you learn the principle of exchange and operate in it, you position yourself to receive of these wonderful blessings.

  • Today, we will show you God's original intentions for us.

• The Creation

(KJV 1900) Ge 1:1 IN the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.  2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.  3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 

• • The Creator of the universe brought it into existence by the force of his words. Everything in existence came into existence by and through him.

    • He created everything and subdivided his creation into 24 hour days.

    • He had said, “Light be!”…and light was. At His command, the sun, moon, stars and sea had all been set in place. Plant, animal and marine life had all been brought forth by God’s Word.

    • On the sixth day, the thing that he had created everything before for, was now created.  

  • The Creation of Man in the image and likeness of God

1) MAN WAS CREATED IN THE IMAGE AND LIKENESS OF GOD

(KJV 1900) Ge 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.  

• • • He created what he called man in his image after his likeness

      • Image - To be like God in natural appearances

        • The image makes man God’s representative on earth

        • Gives man Divine Health

MAN WAS GIVEN DIVINE HEALTH

• • • • Likeness - To be like God in his spiritual qualities

        • Gives man the spiritual qualities of God

 Ge 2:7 the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. 

MAN WAS GIVEN THE SPIRITUAL QUALITIES OF GOD 

• • • He gave him dominion over the world he had created for him 

27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.  

• • • This is reiterated so that we understand the gift that was given to man. Nothing else was created in his image but man.

      • How exceedingly wonderful it is for us to have this uniqueness to be created in the image and likeness of the creator! 

• • He blessed them. 

 28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.  

A BLESSING CONVEYS THE POWER OF THE WORDS OF THE BLESSOR TO THE BLESSEE

• • • Because man was created in the likeness of God, the power of his words had the power to alter his world.

    • God blessed them

      • previously regarding what he blessed 

(KJV 1900) Ge 1:21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.  

22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. 

• • • • Compare The Blessing 

22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply,

28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them,

• • • • • Shows a personal relationship between God and man. 

2) MAN WAS BLESSED TO HAVE FELLOWSHIP FACE TO FACE WITH GOD

• • • • They were blessed to be fruitful and multiply but with man he made a distinction of three additional things.

    • Be fruitful, and 

    • multiply, and 

    • replenish the earth, and 

    • subdue it: 

    • and have dominion 

      • Because man is created in God’s image, he is king over nature. He rules the world on God’s behalf

• • The Abundance of Food

3) MAN WAS GIVEN AN ABUNDANCE OF FREE FOOD

29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.  

• • • The was no lack of food

    • The food was given. The food was free. All the man had to do was to go out and get it.

• • He did not wake up to a world of trouble and misery 

4) MAN’S FIRST DAY OF LIFE WAS BLESSED BY GOD

Ge 2:2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.  3 And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

• • • Man faced no threats by other men or the animals.

    • He experienced perfect rest 

    • God intended for everyday of man’s life to be blessed!

• God created a special environment for the man 

  • Eden the home of man

 Ge 2:8 Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed.

5) MAN LIVED IN A WORLD OF BEAUTY DESIGNED ESPECIALLY BY GOD FOR MAN

• • • Think of the wonder of this world! 

• •  The land was rich in resources

 Ge 2:10 A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters.  11 The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. 

6) MAN WAS GIVEN AN ABUNDANCE OF MATERIAL WEALTH

• • • Man did not have water bills. The river was right there in the garden. He had Spring water! 

    • Why would the man need Gold? God was giving man a medium of exchange.

      • In this case, he would not have to go and dig it out of the earth. It was flowing in the water.   

• • The free food was close by.

  Ge 2:16 And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 

• • • Just get up, go and pick it off the tree! 

  • Man named all of the animals

 Ge 2:19 Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.  20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was found. 

7) MAN HAD THE ABILITY TO DECREE A THING AND IT BE ESTABLISHED BY GOD 

• • • 19 and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.

  • God provided man with a perfect companion. 

 Ge 2:18 The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” 

8) MAN HAD EVERY NEED MET PERFECTLY GOD

 Ge 2:21 So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs and closed up the place with flesh.  22 Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.  23 The man said, “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man.” 

• • • The woman was perfect for the man

•  For all of these benefits God had only one expectation.

 Ge 2:16 And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden;  17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.” 

• • “Surly die” means you will die by dying slowly each and every day! 

    • His face to face fellowship with God would be broken 

    • He would no longer have access to free food

    • the days of his life would not be blessed

    • his world would be drastically different, controlled by demon and devils

    • He would experience lack and not abundance -this was never the will of God

    • He could no longer decree a thing and it be establish. The Earth would not easily submit to his will

    • God would be limited and how he could bless him

17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.” 

• • • Now, if only a certain action would cause death to the man, obviously man was not created to die!

      • To die was the choice of man.

      • Death was chosen by man by his disobedience.

      • The same choices given to us today. 

  • In other words, GOD WAS SAYING, HERE'S THE DEAL. 

    • In exchange for all that I am giving you I ask you to do one thing for me obey me.

    • Man could have all of the blessings of God for the simple act of obedience.

      • That is all God expected of man!

• Now Today, God says to us!

Here is the deal…

IN EXCHANGE FOR YOUR FULL COMMITMENT TO OBEY ME, I WILL BLESS YOU WITH ABUNDANCE LIKE I DID IN THE BEGINNING 

 Dt 30:15 See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction.  16 For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the LORD your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess. 

17 But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them,  18 I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.  

19 This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live  20 and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 

• Will you accept the deal?

• • You will have these things and more

    • THE POWER OF THE IMAGE AND LIKENESS OF GOD TO OPERATE IN HIS LIFE 

      • DIVINE HEALTH

      • SPIRITUAL FULLNESS   

    • THE ABILITY TO FELLOWSHIP FACE-TO-FACE WITH GOD 

    • AN ABUNDANCE OF FREE FOOD

    • EVERYDAY OF LIFE BLESSED BY GOD

    • A WORLD OF BEAUTY DESIGNED ESPECIALLY BY GOD

    • AN ABUNDANCE OF MATERIAL WEALTH

    • THE ABILITY TO DECREE A THING AND HAVE IT ESTABLISHED BY GOD

    • EVERY NEED MET PERFECTLY BY GOD

Accept the deal!

Remain fully committed