God's Goodness Challenged

Genesis 2, we'll begin reading in verse 15, and read through chapter 3 and verse 7. Let's stand together for this reading from God's Word. Genesis chapter 2, beginning in verse 15.

The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. And the Lord God commanded the man, you are free to eat from any tree in the garden, 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.

The Lord God said, it is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him. 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. 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. So the Lord 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.

Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. 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.

For this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, did God really say you must not eat from any tree in the garden? The woman said to the serpent, we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say you must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.

You will not surely die, the serpent said to the woman. For God knows that when you eat of it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.

When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food, and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate it.

And the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked. So they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. For the last two weeks, we've been studying the goodness of God.

We've seen it stated, and we've seen it applied, and now we come this morning to see it challenged. Because as good as God is, amazingly, the word on the street is that God is not really all that good, you know.

And that bad reputation is due in large part to a propaganda campaign that is being carried on against him. Now, in any major war, there's not only the battle on the ground with bombs and bullets and bayonets, but there's a battle for the minds of men.

A war of words. A propaganda warfare. A propaganda warfare. Spreading of information through all sorts of mediums.

About our enemy. Demonizing the enemy. Making others think ill of them. So that they will take our side on the battle.

The war being fought. Sometimes the propaganda is the truth. More often than not, it's laced with lies. In World War II, the Nazi propaganda machine was spearheaded by Joseph Goebbels, the minister of propaganda.

How's that for a title? Well, they had a lot of twisting of the truth to do. Hitler was slaughtering the Jews in his Holocaust. How are you going to sell that to your people?

Well, Goebbels effectively spread among his own German people the idea that a sinister group of Jews was leading a vast international conspiracy to exterminate the German citizens.

And they were so clever and powerful that they had succeeded in manipulating Roosevelt and Churchill and Stalin and their nations to take his side and to actually help them, to help the Jews, to exterminate the Germans.

And with this lie, Hitler portrayed the Holocaust, his own slaughter of the Jews, as an act of self-defense. A necessary move.

It's necessary, citizens, that we destroy the Jews before they destroy us. So the Jews were portrayed as the bad guys and the Germans as the innocent victims.

The power of propaganda to turn reality on its head. Well, now this propaganda warfare is as old as sin itself.

We have turned, I trust you'd open your Bibles to Genesis chapter 3, to see its first use. And we find it spawned by the father of lies in this great battle with God for the souls of men.

His name is Satan, and it means slanderer. And so we find that he's out to slander the good name of God.

He's out to spread a bad report about him. Do you know the devil hates the goodness of God with all his heart? He is pure evil.

He loves evil. He loves evil of every kind. He hates good. Good of every kind. He hates God's goodness. And he can't stand it that God is so good to men.

And so he's out to destroy God's reputation for being a good God. He knows that if you realize just how good God is, you will serve him gladly.

And he would rather have you choose to serve him than to choose to serve God. So he cannot have you thinking good. Or that thinking God is good.

So though the Bible says of God, you are good and what you do is good. Satan's propaganda machine spews out. God is not so good.

And not all that God does is good. So we need to be aware of this sinister plot to discredit the goodness of God through the spreading of lies and innuendos.

Questioning his generosity. His kindness. Accusing him of malice and ill will. Evil intentions. Painting God out to be the celestial killjoy.

Evil intentions. Evil intentions. When you think about that, what a bold move of Satan. To slander the goodness of God. But there's something even more shocking than that.

And it's where he would mount his propaganda campaign. On this planet. Earth. The place that God made.

A perfect world. I remind you that this, in Genesis 3, is a precursor. Pre-curse earth. It's a perfect world. There's no curse yet.

In the world. And it's the very Garden of Eden. The perfect paradise where everything is very good. A place where his goodness is so evident.

That we see it everywhere. If I survey the ground I tread. Or gaze upon the sky. There's not a plant or a flower below. But makes thy glories known. And yet, though this place is oozing with the goodness of God.

This is precisely the place where Satan would launch his propaganda that God is not good. If you had to mount a smear campaign against Dr. Otis Bowen.

Where would you do it? Where would you hope to find success in convincing people with your lie? That he's really an evil man.

Intent on harming people. Well, you certainly wouldn't come around here to Bremen, would you? There's too many Bowen babies around. Babies delivered into this world when Doc Bowen was still practicing medicine.

There's too many diseases or illnesses that have been cured. Too many stitches and wounds that have been stitched up. Too many kind conversations in the office.

Too many acts of charity in the community. Too many people who still remember his good to our state when he served as our governor. And to our nation as he served under President Reagan as a secretary of health and human services.

His whole life has been spent in service to humanity. And his good deeds are too well known here to have your slander stick.

No, if you're going to slander Doc Bowen in Bremen, be ready to be run out of town on a rail. Go somewhere else. Go to Mexico. Go to Cuba. Where his goodness is not known.

If you would slander his goodness. But not here. But that's precisely where Satan comes. And launches his campaign that God is not so good.

In this world that God has filled with his goodness. Not some lifeless void planet of Mars. But here. Here.

Where everything overflows with abundance. The perfect world. The very paradise of Eden. And it's here in the face of all the evidence to the contrary.

That Satan. Would spread his lie. God is not good. The next thing that shocks us. It's even more shocking than the fact of where he mounts his campaign.

Is the success. Of his campaign. That he actually pulls it off. Who would have thought that he could ever get Eve to doubt the goodness of God. While she lived in the garden paradise.

How did he do it? Well we get to. We get to watch him in Genesis chapter 3. And what he does is he takes the law of God. And he makes the prohibition.

The law of God. Where God says you shall not. And he makes that his launching pad. That's the place from which he'll launch his campaign. That God is not good. He'll portray God's law as something bad.

Something against man's good. And he'll claim that God's motives behind that law. Are really sinister. And evil. And so we read in.

Genesis 3. That he says to the woman. Did God really say you must not eat. From any tree in the garden. Do you mean that you can't even eat what you want?

Do you mean he is so straight jacketed you. That he's so put restrictions on you. And cramped your style. That you can't even eat what you want to eat.

Oh. What limitations on your freedom. Your self-expression. You can't eat from any tree. You see the way Satan questions.

Plant doubts. About God's goodness. His strategy is selective focus. Forget all the hundreds of trees. Freely given to you to eat.

And focus on the one that's forbidden. And use that tree. And that prohibition. Of not eating. To question. The goodness of God.

And then to flat out. Deny it. And so she says. Well we may eat. Fruit from the trees. In the garden. But.

God did say. You must not eat fruit. From the tree. That is in the middle of the garden. And you must not touch it. Or you will die. Huh.

I guess you're right. I never thought of it that way before. We really aren't free. To eat from all the trees in the garden. Of course she hadn't thought of it that way.

She was reveling so much in the goodness of God. All around her. That he had given. And it was only the devil who got her to forget that. And to focus on the one tree.

That was withheld from her. And so now there's a shadow of doubt. Cast over God's goodness. His good will toward her.

Next Satan comes with a full blown lie. Charging that God is not really good at all. Eve has just said that. If we do partake of this tree.

We will die. And Satan says. You will not surely die. No it's just an empty thread. I know this God. I know how he works. He's just trying to scare you away.

And that's why he told you. You would die if you ate this tree. You will not really die. Because here's the dirty little secret about God. Verse 5.

God knows that when you eat of it. Your eyes will be opened. And you will be like him. Knowing good and evil. Do you see what's at the bottom of God's command.

And his threat. He doesn't want you to be enlightened. He wants to frustrate your progress in knowledge. He wants to keep you in the dark ages.

He's trying to hold you back. From living a fulfilled life. Of being like him. Knowing what he knows. The whole implication here is clearly.

He's withholding something good from you Eve. That's his motivation behind. Thou shalt not. He's holding out on you.

He's not acting in your best interest. Your good. Out of good will toward you. But he's acting out of malice. And ill will. Towards you. He's trying to keep you.

From wisdom. And knowledge. And so in stabbing at God's goodness. What is Satan doing? He's pretending to be the one who has Eve's good in mind. You can't trust God with your good life.

To give you a good life. You can't follow what he commands. Kiss joy forever goodbye. If you want to follow God's commands. Eve listen to me. I'll tell you the way to gladness.

I'll tell you the way to self-fulfillment. To enlightenment. enlightenment. God's just being a selfish killjoy. If you don't want your life to be cramped and stymied by God's commands.

Then follow my advice. And that was it. When she saw that the fruit was good for food. She saw that it was pleasing to the eye.

But also desirable for gaining wisdom. Where did she get that? From the devil's propaganda that says God doesn't want you to eat.

Because he knows you'll gain wisdom. And so when she saw that it was also profitable for gaining wisdom. She took some and ate it. And gave it to her husband. And he too ate it.

When she bought the lie that God's command was keeping her from something good. She ate. And so the first sin that entered the world. Comes piggyback.

On the lie that God is not good. God's not good. And with that same lie. Satan does a thriving business in sin. This day.

So like it or not. You're caught up in this propaganda war. Who is God? What's he like? Is he good? Is he bad? Is he evil?

Is he evil? He's evil? You're in the midst of it. Now. Some things have changed in this battle for the souls of men. First of all.

We no longer live in a perfect world. We're no longer in the Garden of Eden. Before the curse. No. We now live in a world cursed by God. Under the curse of God.

Because of sin. And so it's a world. And we look around. And it's full of bloodshed. And tragedy. And pain. And suffering. And diseases. And death.

It's a place much more easy. To slander God's goodness. A good God wouldn't allow such things.

And all Satan has to do is point and shoot. That man with that disease. That father leaving that family. And his life being taken.

If God were really good. That wouldn't happen. That little girl dying of cancer. That wouldn't happen in God's universe. If he was really good. It used to be that wherever the devil pointed.

What he was pointing at was pure goodness. Now he's pointing at all these things. The evidence of the curse. Upon sin. And he's saying.

See God's not good. Look at that. Look at that. It's the old problem of pain. And it's often a world where the righteous suffer the most pain.

And the wicked get off scot-free. And prosper. And even righteous men have struggled with the goodness of God. When they've seen such. They've been in troubles every morning.

And then they look and see their neighbor. The godless man that he is. Prospering. And they doubt the goodness of God. So I bring that up to tell you.

That the playing field has shifted. Since Genesis 3. 1. We now live in an imperfect world. And the presence of pain makes it easier to slander the goodness of God.

If Satan could get a perfect Eve. Living in a perfect world. To doubt the goodness of God. You better be armed. Brother or sister. Living in the world that we live in.

There are going to be accusations against the goodness of God. So that's changed. Something else that has changed. Satan the slanderer is still lying about God and his goodness.

But he's no longer doing it alone. He's no longer the lone voice. God's really not that good. No, the whole world has bought into his lies.

The whole world promotes his message. Romans Revelation 12.9 says, That ancient serpent called the devil or Satan. Who leads the whole world astray.

1 John 5.19 We know that the whole world is under the control of the evil one. And so the evil Satan is like the pied piper.

Piping his lie. And the whole world trails on behind him. Believing his lie. Repeating the lie. And that in itself lends credence to the lies. It gives a plausibility.

To the most absurd of all lies. Such as God is not good. No longer is it just Satan's word standing over against God's word.

But now there's a whole world singing Satan's tune. And endorsing Satan's message that God is not good. And to see so many saying the same thing gives a credibility to their charges.

A believability to their message. I mean there's the one guy out in the street and he's saying this is the best toothpaste in the world. And you go by and dismiss him in your mind.

And go buy whatever brand you were going to buy. But if 80% of the dentists use it. You're going to take that information on board.

And it's going to change the way you think about that toothpaste. And so Satan's the lone voice in Genesis chapter 3. Accusing God of bad. Being bad and evil intentions toward Eve.

But he's got the whole world singing his song today. Upstanding people of all sorts.

Well educated people. The best educated people. The ones with all the doctorates. Friends. Healthy. Wealthy people. Most popular people. Sports stars.

Hollywood stars. And they're all marching in lockstep with the message. That God is not so good. In fact if you want to have the good life. You've got to step outside of God's laws.

To get it. That is a direct affront upon the goodness of God. Could so many be so wrong? You see that the numbers.

Increase the believability of Satan's propaganda. And so he makes use of the world. You see as long as he can sit. In the background. And let the world do his dirty work.

He's less seen. And you'll believe it from the world. More quickly perhaps. Than you'd believe it from the devil himself. And so he makes use of the world.

And all the media. In slandering the goodness of God. And there's no area. That is more evident. Of this very accusation. Of God's. Against God's goodness. Than in the area. Of sex.

Today. He's making use of. Every means. Do you mean to tell me. That you still hold. To those outdated.

Priggish commandments. That are found. In that old outdated book. The Bible. Do you mean. God won't let you do. Whatever you want to do.

With your own body. May. And then. We hear Satan's lies. Coming through. Loud and clear. God is withholding. Something good from you.

He's withholding. Sexual pleasures. From you. And he doesn't want to see you. Taste this enjoyment. God's the killjoy. God's the one. Keeping you back.

So if you want to enjoy. The good life. Get used to it. Young person. You've got to trample. On God's commandments. To keep yourself pure. God's not good.

Doesn't have your good in mind. And all sorts of people. Are believing the lie. Now I find it incredible again.

That Satan could succeed. In slandering the creator of sex. As if he was the killjoy. And prude. That wants to withhold. Sexual pleasures. From his creatures. Just think about that.

For a minute. That's the dominant message. Of our age. And we need to ask. Who is it. That made us sexual beings. In the first place. Who created us.

Male and female. Who intentionally designed. Our bodies. For sensual pleasures. That was God's idea. That was God's doing alone. For the sheer enjoyment.

Of his creatures. What a good God. Who knows best. How this gift. Of sex. Is to be used.

Husbands. Who gives you wives. And tells you to rejoice. In the wife of your youth. Who encourages you. To be captivated. By her love. God's love. And who knows best.

The very context. In which the pleasures. Will be the greatest. And be preserved. From all that would erode them. But the creator. The good God. Who gave.

Sex. The Lord. The Lord. Who said. For our own good. Marriage is to be honored. By all. And the marriage bed. Kept pure.

For God. For God. Will judge the adulterer. And all the sexually immoral. Hebrews 13. 4. And somehow. The world. Just leaps on that. You see.

God's out to steal your joy. No. God just knows. That. When he designed sex. It was. To be. Best enjoyed.

In the marriage bed. Between a woman. And a man. A husband. And a wife. And everything outside of that. He will judge. But everything inside of that. Brings his smile.

He is a good God. He is a good God. And young people. He would spare you. From all the misery. That would happen. When you take his good gift.

And rip it out of his context. And seek to enjoy it. Before marriage. Or outside of marriage. His laws are for our good. Hollywood writers of scripts.

For movies and television shows. Were recently on strike. I don't know if the strike has ended. It's no longer in the headlines anyway. But most of them work for Satan. Whether they realize it or not.

Most of them. Are spreading his propaganda. That stolen waters are sweet. And food eaten in secret. Is delicious. Forbidden.

Fruit. Is the best. And that's the hook. Real sexual fulfillment is found outside of God's commands.

That's what it's spewing. Constantly spewing. God's not for you. He's withholding good for you. I thought you know.

We'd be better off if they stayed on strike. We had a year of reruns of Andy Griffith. And I love Lucy. Rather than sex in the city. And desperate housewives.

And all the other filth. But you know what they're doing. They're simply. Echoing the lie of Satan in Genesis 3. God's not good.

He's holding out on you young people. Frustrated wife. Unsatisfied husband. God's not good when he tells you to keep it there.

In the marriage relationship. You've got to trample on God's commands. To find the good life. Yeah.

He's got the whole world. You see. Working. With him now. That he didn't have. In Genesis chapter 3. But then there's something else that's changed. And that's.

Given Satan. An advantage. Because no longer is the problem just out there. With the liar. Satan. And with the television shows.

That are trash. It's the way it was in Genesis 3. Eve was perfect. She had no sin within. No. The problem was all external. It's not that way anymore.

Since the fall. The problem is also in here. In our very hearts. The center. Of unbelief. For Jesus said. From within. Out of men's hearts. Come evil thoughts.

Evil thoughts. Like God isn't good. Where they come from? The heart. We're sons and daughters of a fallen Adam and Eve.

We're born with a sinful nature that would rather doubt the goodness of God than believe it. That would rather believe the lie of Satan than the truth of God. For the heart is deceitful.

Above all things and beyond cure. And so when the deceiver brings his lie to my deceitful heart. There's this instant chemistry between the two.

God's not so good or this wouldn't happen to you, John. There's something inside that wants to believe that. It's inside of you too. Every one of you. You have this flesh remaining.

Even the Christian has the flesh. If you're outside of Christ, that's all you have. And you're so quick to fall in with Satan's lie. There's this impulse inside to agree with his message.

And to entertain evil thoughts about God's goodness. Satan's way actually seems right to a man, the Bible tells us. And yet the end thereof are the ways of destruction.

So there's something in the flesh of every one of us that wants to believe the devil's lie. That God is not so good after all. That we must transgress his boundaries, his commandments if we're to have a good life.

So your own flesh tells you it's not always wrong to steal. You know, sometimes it's actually for your good to steal. If it gets you what you want and can't get otherwise. And your flesh tells you that sometimes it's actually good to lie.

It gets you out of trouble, doesn't it kids? Yes, it's good. Sometimes it's good to take the life of an unborn baby. If it saves you from an unwanted pregnancy and an unwanted child.

Surely we see that that sometimes is good. And sometimes keeping the Lord's day really ruins our fun. And God's really not that good to give him a whole day out of seven.

And sometimes I need to disobey my parents in order to have fun. And behind them all, you see, is this charge that God's not good.

His laws are not good. He has evil intentions behind them. And how many people today are swallowing, hook, line, and sinker. The whole lie of the devil. That God is not good.

Any budding interest in Christ in his gospel is soon quelched by this doubting of his goodness. If I commit my life to this Savior, that's it for my joy.

That's it for my fun. Come on. How many testimonies, Pastor Aaron, Pastor Bob, have we heard? Young people coming and telling us their testimony. And they thought that, no, I thought this is where fun was to be had.

This is pleasures. And God's way is the way of the killjoy. The devil is a good liar. He's got the world on board.

He's got your own flesh on board. People afraid that God's not good. That if they entrust themselves into the care of Jesus Christ's hands, that they'll come out losers and miss out on the good life.

My friend, if you're still believing that lie, wake up. Realize the propaganda warfare that's been going on since Genesis 3. Realize that it has only increased in our day with the whole world singing his chant.

Consider the source of the lie. Come and taste and see that the Lord is good. Confess. Confess the wickedness of ever thinking that God was not good.

Thinking that Jesus Christ would ever do you anything but good. Oh, what wicked thoughts they are. And what you'll find as you come and confess to this Savior is that he's so good that he'll wash your sin away.

And he'll separate your sin from you as far as the east is from the west. And he'll not treat you as your sins deserve. But he'll treat you as his righteousness deserves. Because he's just that good.

And brothers and sisters, I want you to see that you're caught up in this propaganda warfare, this war of words. Like it or not, we're in the battle.

And the battle's raging around us. The battle for eternal souls. The battle for the glory of God. And believer, you have a crucial part to play in this propaganda war. Satan is everywhere spreading his lies.

God is not good. The world's singing it along with him. Men are believing it. And here you are in the midst of this war as one who's received the greatest good of all. God's son. And full and free salvation in him.

He who took your sin for you, that he might give you eternal life. All this goodness has come to you. That goodness and mercy might follow you all the days of your life. And afterwards, you dwell in the house of the Lord.

And feast on the abundance of good things in his house. And drink from his river of delights. Now, what are you doing in the battle? See how crucial you are.

How are you to promote the goodness of God in this battle of words? Well, first of all, see this. That when you grumble and complain, you're doing the devil's work for him.

When you go about with a joyless attitude in your life of complaining, Satan just sits in his rocker and points.

You see what God does? Look at those people. Look how morose they are. Now, come here and look at my partying people. No, don't do the devil's work for you.

That's why in trials, Satan pounces on Christians. He has no qualms about hitting them when they're down. Kicking them when they're down. He wants them to curse God.

Or at least complain of God. Isn't that what he was doing with Job? He was out to prove that God's not so good after all. You know, God really isn't good, is Satan's proposition.

In fact, the only reason Job serves them is because God gives them so many good things. But if you take the good things away, God's not good enough for Job to just serve God for God. No, it's not going to happen.

He'll curse you to your face, God. Wasn't that the challenge? And some of you know that in your trials, Satan kicks you when you're down. You're already wrestling.

You're already struggling with the plants of Satan's whisper in your ear. God is not so good. This hurts. Why is this happening to me? And he pours it on when we're down.

Severely troubled saint. Severely tried saint. But I want to challenge you this morning to see your peculiar opportunity. To do terrible damage to Satan's whole propaganda machine.

You, with all your troubles, stand in a peculiar situation. That others who are not presently being so tested and tried. You have this great opportunity to do damage to the devil's lie.

When you cling to the goodness of God. And you say, God is good. Even in the midst of this problem. When you say with Job, though he slay me, yet will I trust him.

When you say with Asaph, though I wake up to trouble every morning. Surely God is good to Israel. To all who are pure in heart. You say with David.

In the presence of his enemies. Through the valley of the shadow of death. You say with David. You are good, O Lord. And all you do is good.

And that's how you promote the truth. That God is good. And that's how people are made to rethink. You're a platform. You're a soapbox.

And your trial has put you up on that soapbox. Where people can see you and watch. And may they wonder. When they say, what kind of a God must she serve?

That she's still rejoicing in him. Still proclaiming his goodness. Believers, we all have this great opportunity. To promote the truth of God's goodness in the warfare against him.

What should we do? Well, do a whole lot of what many of you did Wednesday night. You talked about the goodness of God to you. Do a whole lot of that. Do it in your homes.

Do it at your workplace. Do it in the neighborhood. Talk up God's goodness. To anyone who will listen. And then thank him.

And praise him. Do it all day long. Remember, the devil's trying to get us to forget the many blessings. And to focus upon our problem.

That's why it's so important that we count our blessings. And name them one by one. And we consider the benefits of our God. Because it keeps before us how good God is.

Rather than focusing on our trouble. And so being susceptible to the planting of the slander of his goodness.

To sing praises of God with joyful heart. In good times and hard times. To live a life of gratitude to God. Obeying his commandments.

From the heart. And by the manner of your obedience. Your glad obedience. That even God's laws are good. Do you believe that? His commandments are not burdensome.

But a blessing. And Satan cringes at the sight. Such a congregation that's enjoying the goodness of God. That person.

Is under so much trial. And still is holding on to their good God. Older person. Psalm 92 is written.

And points the way for you in this battle. When the creature comforts of life are being replaced by the aches and pains and diseases of old age. Psalm 92 says that the righteous will still flower.

Like a palm tree in the courts of our God. You will still be bearing fruit in old age. Staying fresh and green. Proclaiming. The Lord is upright. He is my rock. And there's no wickedness in him.

You see the fruitfulness of the old person. It is to testify. It's to proclaim. Something about God. The truth about God. That he's upright.

He's my rock. My fortress. My refuge. And there's no wickedness in him. Why so necessary to proclaim that? Because everywhere else the devil is saying there's wickedness in God.

There's evil intention at his root. It's behind every command that prohibits you from something. God is not so good. And what is the value in this propaganda war of an old saint?

Tested and tried by all the battles of life. The good times. The bad times. And she's lived through them all. And she's here to proclaim by her presence and with her voice of praise.

God is good. There's no wickedness in him. He's never done me wrong in all my years. Older person.

You may not be able to jump rope anymore. You may not be able to have people in your home with hospitality as you once did. You may not be able to give as much money as you once did. But, oh, seize the opportunity that is yours as an older person.

To strike the devil a blow in his propagandas about God not being good. Proclaim his goodness with your presence, with your voice, with your testimony.

Satan squirms as day by day and week by week. You uncover his lie. An effective counteroffensive to the lie that God is not good.

Just spread the truth. And nowhere does his goodness shine so greatly as in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Spread that. Tell the world that God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son.

That whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. Satan, see if your lie can stand in the presence of such a good God. Tell it to spite the devil.

Tell it to silence his slander. Tell it to expose his lie. Tell it to see sinners come to a knowledge of the truth. To taste and see that the Lord is good. Tell it to spread abroad the honor of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Tell it to spread abroad the honor of our Lord Jesus Christ.

God is good. That's the truth. God is not really all that good.

That's the lie. They find in us a heart that resounds and beats with the truth of his goodness.

Amen.