DWDP : Gen 3 - 11 The Value of a Sensitive Conscience

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Have you ever wondered how a single choice can forever alter your relationship with God? Genesis 3:11 captures the pivotal moment when Adam and Eve first experienced the voice of a guilty conscience, transforming their innocent communion with God into fear and separation.

Dr. Robert Jackson (Dr. Papa) takes us deep into the garden of Eden, exploring that jarring transition when our first parents moved from walking freely with their Creator to hiding among the trees. What exactly happens in the human heart when guilt first awakens? The emergence of this "third voice"—not God's, not Satan's, but the internal voice of conscience—fundamentally changed humanity's relationship with the divine.

This devotional journey doesn't just recount ancient history; it speaks directly to our modern struggle with spiritual sensitivity. Dr. Papa shares a haunting patient story of a man who listened to gospel messages daily for over 40 years yet reached a point where he could no longer respond to Christ, even when he desperately wanted to. "Holy Spirit doesn't shout, he only whispers," Dr. Papa reminds us, highlighting the danger of repeatedly ignoring those gentle promptings until our conscience becomes "seared as with a hot iron."

Whether you're battling small compromises that threaten to dull your spiritual senses or wondering if you've wandered too far to return, this message offers both warning and hope. The same conscience that convicts can lead us back to restoration—but only if we respond while His voice can still be heard. Listen to discover how maintaining a sensitive conscience might be your most valuable spiritual asset today.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to More Than Medicine, where Jesus is more
than enough for the ills thatplague our culture and our
country.
Hosted by author and physician,Dr Robert Jackson.

Speaker 2 (00:16):
Papa, can you tell me a story?
Do you really want me to tellyou a story?
Well, you go, get your brotherand your sisters and I will tell
you a story.
Well, you go, get your brotherand your sisters and I will tell
you a story.
Welcome to Devotions with DrPapa.
Grab your Bibles, gather aroundand let us look into the
written Word, which reveals tous the living Word which is our

(00:41):
Lord Jesus Christ.
Today we're at Genesis, chapter3 and verse 11, and we're going
to talk about the value of asensitive conscience.
Genesis, chapter 3 and verse11,.
And God said who told you thatyou were naked?
Have you eaten from the tree ofwhich I commanded you not to

(01:06):
eat?
Who told you that you werenaked?
Now had transitioned frominnocence to guilt.

(01:28):
They had transitioned fromnaked to fig leaf coverings,
from walking with God to hidingfrom God, from God, from

(01:52):
fellowship with God to fearingGod.
What in the world had happened?
What had transpired in Eden?
Well, you know the answer Sinhad entered into the garden and
now there was a third voicespeaking to them, not just the
voice of God and not just thevoice of Lucifer.

(02:14):
It was the voice of their guiltyconscience, and their guilty
conscience was now whispering tothem.
And that voice told them theywere naked, exposed, vulnerable,
corrupted and guilty.
And that voice of theirconscience led them to form fig

(02:42):
leaf coverings and to hide fromGod, their former friend.
Have you ever tried to ponderwhat that first moment was like
for them, when their guiltyconscience first spoke
condemnation into their hearts?
Well, first they realized theintimate communication with

(03:08):
their creator was suddenly cutoff and they felt hollow and
empty inside.
And they felt hollow and emptyinside.
There was a strong weight ofguilt bearing down on their
shoulders that made themsuddenly fearful and, no doubt,
anxious.
They suddenly realized it wasinappropriate to stand unclothed

(03:35):
outside in one another'spresence, and they felt what was
it?
What was it?
Shame?
Did they just stand there andstare at one another with new
eyes?
Or did they quickly turn awayin embarrassment, covering

(03:56):
themselves with their handsuntil they could fashion fig
leaf coverings?
Or did they clutch one anotherand look around with wide-eyed
fear, wondering if God could seethem in their guilty nakedness?
Well, I don't know.

(04:17):
Nobody knows.
But what we do know is that thevoice of a guilty conscience
was already speaking to them andtheir guilt separated them from
their Creator, their formerfriend, the one who walked in

(04:37):
the garden with them in the coolof the day.
Now Holy Spirit speaks to youand me through our conscience,
also convicting of sin in ourlives.
It is imperative, dear listener, that we listen to the voice of

(04:57):
Holy Spirit confessing andrepenting of our sin,
immediately making things rightwith God and with those we
offend, granting forgiveness tothose who offend us.
If we don't, we becomedesensitized to the voice of

(05:21):
Holy Spirit.
We get to where we cannot hearHis voice.
Our conscience becomescalloused.
The Bible describes it asbecoming seared as with a hot
iron, if we ignore the subtleprompting of Holy Spirit.

(05:42):
The prophet Jeremiah was knownas the weeping prophet because
he was so sensitive to the sinof his people that he frequently
wept over their sin andrebellion, and he wept as he saw
their judgment to come.
Now, when my children weregrowing up, I didn't allow them

(06:05):
to watch much television becauseit tended to desensitize them
to sin by constant exposure tofoul language, illicit sex and
mocking of traditional Christianvalues.
I didn't want my children togrow up with a calloused

(06:29):
conscience.
I wanted my children to besensitive to the voice of Holy
Spirit speaking to them andconvicting them of their own
personal sin.
And, dear listener, you and Ishould be the same way.
We should protect our heartsfrom constant exposure to sin,

(06:51):
whether it's on television orthe Internet or affiliating with
people who are prone to sin, sothat our consciences are always
sensitive to sin and sensitiveto the voice of Holy Spirit.
I don't want my conscience tobe calloused or insensitive to

(07:14):
the voice of Holy Spirit, butthen keep moving God also.
He asked them.
He said have you eaten from thetree of which I commanded you
not to eat?
That was not a rhetoricalquestion.
It demanded an honest answer.

(07:36):
Now it's like when I caught mykids hiding in the closet eating
a bag of chocolate chip cookieswith chocolate smeared on their
faces, and I asked them haveyou eaten the chocolate chip
cookies with chocolate smearedon their faces?
And I asked them have you eatenthe chocolate chip cookies?
I told you not to eat.
And with eyes round as saucersand chocolate smeared on their

(07:58):
faces, my children slowly andfearfully nodded in the negative
.
No, I couldn't help but laugh.
All they lacked was a fig leafcovering to be the same as Adam

(08:26):
and Eve.
Now on to personal holiness.
And when we read the Word andwhen we meditate on Scripture
and when we sit in a worshipservice, holy Spirit comes to us
and he asks have you eaten fromthe tree?

(08:47):
He asks us have you been fullyobedient to the commands of our
Lord Jesus Christ?
And immediately your consciencebegins to remind you of things
like a relationship that youneed to make right.
Or he reminds you that you needto be more faithful to your

(09:12):
daily quiet time.
Or Holy Spirit reminds you thatyou need to quit gossiping
about your next door neighbor,or Holy Spirit reminds you that
you need to go share the gospelwith your brother-in-law.
You get the picture.
If you are not a true believerin the Lord Jesus Christ, then

(09:34):
Holy Spirit asks you a differentquestion.
The question he asks you ishave you eaten from the tree in
the middle of the garden which Icommanded you not to eat from?
And your guilty conscienceanswers yes.

(09:55):
And your conscience reminds youthat you've told lies, that
you've cheated, that you'vestolen, that you've lusted, and
your guilty conscience saysstolen, that you've lusted.
And your guilty conscience saysmy heart has not been pure and
my tongue has been foul and I'venot loved God as I should.
Now listen to me, if you're nota believer in the Lord Jesus

(10:26):
Christ, no matter how far youhave gone away from God, there's
only one step to come back toHim, and that one step is to
confess your sin, turn away fromsin and receive Jesus as your
only Savior and the true King ofyour life.
Now let me tell you one morething.
Holy Spirit doesn't shout, heonly whispers.

(10:48):
He deals with us with subtleprompting.
More than that he doesn't knockon the door of your heart
forever.
Every time you say no, yourconscience becomes a little
harder and a little morecalloused.
No-transcript.

(11:14):
Some of you who've listened tomy podcast remember the story of
a patient of mine who listenedto the voice of an evangelist on
the radio every day at 5.30 amfor over 40 years and when I met
him he was in dire straits.
He was in congestive heartfailure and I went to see him in

(11:37):
the intensive care unit and Irealized that his days were
numbered and I shared the gospelwith him.
And after sharing the gospelwith him, I asked him to pray
with me to receive the LordJesus Christ as his savior.
And he honestly looked at meand said I would love to, but I
can't.
And I asked him why not?

(11:58):
And he he couldn't give me anhonest answer.
He just said he couldn't.
I discharged him from thehospital and just a few weeks
later he was back again insevere congestive heart failure
and once again I shared thegospel with him and I begged him
to make things right betweenhim and God.

(12:18):
And with tears in his eyes, hetold me that he really, really
wanted to, but he just couldn't.
And this scenario played itselfout multiple times over several
months, where he would come tothe hospital in heart failure,
he would be in the ICU, I wouldshare the gospel with him and he

(12:42):
would sincerely say to me Iwould like to, but I can't.
I just can't.
I don't know why, but I can't.
And over time I perceived thatthis man had heard the gospel
every day for 40 years and hehad never prayed a prayer to
receive the Lord Jesus Christ.
And what had happened to thisman is his conscience had become

(13:06):
calloused, his conscience hadbecome seared as with a hot iron
.
And even though he would listento a gospel presentation and
even though he really wanted topray now to receive the Lord
Jesus Christ, he couldn't.
He just couldn't because he hadcome to a place in his life

(13:27):
where he could no longer respondto the voice of Holy Spirit.
Now, dear listeners, some ofyou out there are precariously
close to the same place wherethis patient of mine had become.
And I'm saying to you do not, donot, please do not say no to

(13:48):
Holy Spirit over and over again.
The Bible says today is the dayof salvation.
Call upon Him while he is near,seek Him while he may be found.
Do not say no to Holy Spiritrepeatedly and allow your
conscience to become calloused,insensitive and seared as with a

(14:11):
hot iron.
Today is the day of salvation.
Listen to my voice when I'msaying to you of salvation.
Listen to my voice when I'msaying to you today is the day
that you must respond to thegospel invitation.
The Holy Spirit speaks to youand me through our conscience,
and there's great value inhaving a conscience that is

(14:34):
sensitive to the voice of HolySpirit.
And he is saying to you haveyou eaten from the tree in the
middle of the garden, of which Isaid to you that you shall not
eat?
And yes, the answer is yes, wehave all eaten from that garden.
And the voice that says to youand me that we are naked and

(14:55):
exposed and vulnerable andguilty is the voice of Holy
Spirit.
He is the one who convicts usof sin.
And let me encourage you.
Let today be the day that youfall on your knees, confess to
God that, yes, I am a sinner andI have fallen short of the

(15:16):
glory of God, and I have fallenshort of the glory of God.
Ask Him for His forgiveness.
Allow Jesus to wash you aswhite as snow in the blood of
the Lamb and let this be a greatday in your life when you
become a member of the family ofGod, become a citizen of heaven
, become a child of King and puton a snow white robe of the

(15:40):
righteousness of the Lord JesusChrist.
I pray for you before I beginthis podcast and I will pray for
you after this podcast, but youmust make the decision.
I cannot make the decision foryou.
Today is the day of salvation.
You're listening to Devotionswith Dr Papa.

(16:04):
If you like what you hear, Ipray that you will follow, like
or share, download thesepodcasts, tell your family and
friends and we'll be back againnext week.
Until then, may the Lord blessyou real good.

Speaker 1 (16:20):
Thank you for listening to this edition of
More Than Medicine.
For more information about theJackson Family Ministry, dr
Jackson's books, or to schedulea speaking engagement, go to
their Facebook page, instagramor their webpage at
jacksonfamilyministrycom.
This podcast is produced by BobSloan Audio Production at
bobsloancom.