I hear Christians many times talking about how foolish Adam and Eve were to eat the fruit of
the tree of good and evil, not realizing that they are making the same decision, the wrong one, every day of their lives. The war to overcome sin seems overwhelming at times. We believe in the finished work of Christ on the cross, yet sin abounds in many of our lives.
Some relegate sin to big, major stuff, but sin affects how we think, imagine, buy, sell, gather,
and give. It affects how we worship, work, and live our lives. It leads us into wrong
relationships, and to wrongly relate to each other. The focal point of our trouble is the tree of
the knowledge of good and evil. This is where it all began and where it can end. God is going to destroy one of Lucifer's greatest advantages, his ability to operate amid ignorance and out of sight.
There are two demon spirits from which all other spirits get their strength. They are the same two that Satan released on Eve in the garden and the same two he released today in your life. These two spirits are insecurity and inferiority. The word insecurity means the state of being not secure, not confident, not firm. The word inferiority means the state of feeling lower in position, stature, or value. As you can see, these tools are very important to Lucifer in waging a war against us.
Genesis 3:1-6
1 Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?
2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:
3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye
shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
When you accept and believe an untruth, it becomes pleasant to your eyes and ears. Satan's
first step was to question the word of God. Everything they knew was true was based on what God had said. All of Eve's security was based on the assumption that everything God said was true. She had never considered questioning it before now.
Satan states a lie about what God said. Then Eve corrects him as to what God had said, but she is now in over her head. She, instead of Adam, is now the spokesman. So Satan releases the first of the two spirits against her mind: "Ye shall not surely die." The problem was she believed him. Now God's word was no longer the finality, and she became insecure. Remember, her security was based upon the fact that everything God had told them was true; now, there was a possibility that he might be a liar.
Without hesitation, Satan released the second spirit, called inferiority. He said: "For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." Now think about it; not only is she being assaulted by insecurity, but now she is starting to believe that she is not who she thought she was.
Genesis 1:27-30
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
They were already made in the image of God and learning more about him every day. He never intended for man to have the knowledge of good and evil. Satan took that and made it sound bad as if she lacked something that God had withheld from her. She began to feel less in position and stature. Now she was feeling insecure and inferior, thinking she had lost
something she had not really lost but with the power of thought she believed she had. Now
that he had her mind reeling in doubt and unbelief and she was wanting to restore what she
thought she had lost, he offered her a solution.
Genesis 3:5-30
5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.
"Eat. You will have your security back, and your position back. You will be as Gods” She
reached out in desperation and, through disobedience, lost the very thing she was trying to
gain. She had now really lost it and had now fallen. From this point on, man would forever fight this same battle. Insecurity and inferiority had now entered into the world, and all the other demon spirits now had their access point through which to attack. I want you to know today, his tactics have not changed.
THE SIN OF COMPARISON
Insecurity and inferiority are the doorways through which every other spirit gains entrance into a human's life. Eve thought God had lied and withheld from her and that she was not who she thought she was. She felt insecure because she did not know who she was. To this day, the same two lies fill our society. Everywhere you turn, truth is being challenged. Let's see if Lucifer did the same thing to himself.
Ezekiel 28:14-15
14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.
15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in
thee.
In this state of perfection, Lucifer got his eyes off of God and onto himself.
Ezekiel 28:17
17 Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.
This scripture says that iniquity first happened in his heart. What was it? He began to compare himself with God and with others. With God, he saw that God's beauty and glory surpassed his. With others, he felt his beauty to be unmatched, so he felt inferior to God and superior to others. He had only one solution.
Isaiah 14:13-14
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the
stars of God: I will also sit upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
Here is a spiritual law: In order for inferiority to exist, there must be a comparison. This is what Lucifer did in heaven; this is what Eve did in the garden. We as humans and as Christians are constantly doing it, comparing ourselves with others and with ourselves: our appearance to other appearances, our homes to others' homes, our bodies to others' bodies, and our ministries to others' ministries.
2 Corinthians 10:12
12 For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.
In order to enter into comparison, we have to be inwardly oriented. We have to be looking to
ourselves first. When we head down this path of comparison, we end up making a judgment
about who we are- our present state.
1 Corinthians 4:3-4
3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self.
4 For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord.
You may say, "Pastor, aren't we supposed to judge ourselves?" Yes, but not apart from the word. When you start to look at yourself other than through the scripture, you have sinned, as this verse tells you. Paul knew he did not truly understand himself outside of God. When we start down the road of comparison, we have entered the pathway of deception. We begin to judge by our own perspectives, views, opinions, likes, and dislikes. We have taken our eyes off the lord. (This is something spouses must be very careful of.) Now I am not talking about when we compare things like hot and cold good and evil. We make comparisons all the time. I am talking about when comparisons cause us to judge ourselves in relation to others.
Comparison is the first step towards insecurity and inferiority. Everything around us is
attempting to get us to compare ourselves with others. The media in the products it sells, banks in the money it loans, people in the talents they have. It is all around us. Once insecurity and inferiority take root, they give every other demon spirit a foothold by which to advance themselves. You can cast many of the others out, but if you don't deal with these two roots, the others will always return. The problem always starts when we take our eyes off of the Lord.
Here is a tip on how to stop judging yourself by yourself: How does the Lord see you?
