After the Fall of Humanity

[0:00] Amen. Amen.

[1:00] Amen. Amen.

[2:00] We are absolutely devastated that it has come to this. We are absolutely devastated that it has come to this, said Mrs. Kavanaugh.

[2:16] She continues, we have had eight incredibly happy and amazing years in the UK. But we are now being banished from our home.

[2:31] Eight amazing happy years in the UK. But now we are being banished from our home. And despite investing over 100,000 pounds in a thriving business, they were asked to leave.

[2:51] They were banished. They were expelled from their home in the UK. And the couple had been told that they did not fit the requirement to stay in the UK and must leave when their visas run out in August.

[3:06] And so they, with their two teenage girls, were being expelled and banished from their home. Eight years. They had lived in the UK.

[3:18] And they, with their parents, had been expelled not only from their home, but also from the presence of their friends. And what this couple has experienced by being expelled from their home is something that we all have felt in the depths of our hearts in this world.

[3:40] We all feel something of the reality of being expelled or exiled in this world. Exiled from our home. And exiled from the presence of the Lord.

[3:53] And we know that this is the case in our own hearts because when we think of the alienation that takes place in our own souls, when we think of the turmoil that goes on day by day, and we think about the guilt in our conscience, we have a sense that there is something amiss and wrong.

[4:12] And we long for a home. We long to be in a place that is far different. And as one early church writer said, our hearts are restless.

[4:28] Our hearts are restless. Until we find rest in you, O God. And while we sense this restlessness and alienation from God, we want to know what has brought about this exile from God.

[4:43] And more importantly, what has God done about this exile? And so the God who expelled the first couple from His presence also tempers His judgment with mercy by His provision and by His promise.

[5:02] The same God who expelled the first couple out of the Garden of Eden tempers His judgment with mercy by His promise and by His provision.

[5:15] And we see that in the third chapter of Genesis. Here in the third chapter of Genesis, Moses informs us that while sinners are exiled from the presence of God, they are not exiled forever.

[5:31] They are not exiled forever because of the provision bestowed by the goodness of God. Because of the provision bestowed by the goodness of God.

[5:44] And because of the promise of faith demonstrated in the promise of God. Because of faith demonstrated in the faith of God.

[5:59] Now you remember as we begin to read Genesis chapter 3 that in Genesis chapter 1 and chapter 2, God had created the world and His creation He had made everything perfect. There was no sin.

[6:10] Man and woman who were the pinnacle and the apex of God's creation were created and the world was without disharmony. There was innocence. And now in Genesis chapter 3, we'll read through the entire chapter but we'll focus on verses 20 through 24.

[6:27] Genesis chapter 3 and verse 1. Let's begin reading. Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.

[6:39] He said to the woman, Did God actually say, You shall not eat of any tree in the garden? And the woman said to the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden.

[6:52] But God said, You shall not eat of the fruit of that tree that is in the midst of the garden. Neither shall you touch it. Lest you die. But the serpent said to the woman, You will not surely die.

[7:06] For God knows that when you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. So 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 to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate.

[7:26] And she also gave some to her husband who was with her and he ate. And the eyes of both were opened and they knew that they were naked and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

[7:40] And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day. And the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

[7:52] The Lord God called to the man and said to him, Where are you? And he said, I heard the sound of you in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked and I hid myself.

[8:08] He said, Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat? The man said, The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree and I ate.

[8:22] And the Lord God said to the woman, What is this you have done? The woman said, The serpent deceived me and I ate. The Lord God said to the serpent, Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field.

[8:40] On your belly you shall go and thus you shall eat all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your offspring and her offspring. He shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel.

[8:54] To the woman he said, I will surely multiply your pain and childbearing. In pain you shall bring forth children, your desire shall be for your husband and he shall rule over you.

[9:06] And to Adam he said, Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, you shall not eat of it. Cursed is the ground because of you.

[9:19] In pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground for out of it you are taken.

[9:33] For you are dust and to dust you shall return. The man called his wife's name Eve because she was the mother of all living. And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skin and clothed them.

[9:47] The Lord God said, Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now lest he reach out his hand and take also the tree of life and eat and live forever.

[10:00] Therefore, the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. He drove out the man and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed a cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to God the way to the tree of life.

[10:19] So end God's word. Let's pray again. Father, you have breathed out your word to enable us to not only know the truth but to live it.

[10:32] And we do plead now that you would give to the one who will preach the ability to proclaim it with faithfulness and with a sense of urgency and that your people here would see in your word the Lord Jesus Christ clearly and that they would also see hope in it and be strengthened to endure day by day the trials and afflictions that each one of us endure.

[10:59] And moreover, we ask that you will grant to those who are here who do not know the truth that is in Jesus Christ, who are still exiled from the presence of the Lord, that you would welcome them in and bring them into the garden of paradise so that they may eat of the tree of life.

[11:18] We ask these things now for the glory of your name, for the good of your people's soul, and for the salvation of those who do not believe. In Jesus' name we pray.

[11:29] Amen. Amen. Well, I hope this morning to show you that while we are exiled from the presence of God, we are not exiled forever because of the provision bestowed by the goodness of God and because of the faith demonstrated in the promise of God.

[11:58] Now, for those who may be visiting and have not heard the previous two messages, in Genesis chapter 3, just to give you a bit of background in the context of the book itself, is that Moses is writing to the people of Israel and they are on the brink of entering into the land of Canaan.

[12:12] And his intent is to inform them as they have been brought out of Egypt to instruct them, not only as they would go into the land and conquer these other nations, but to be aware that though these other nations have gods, their God is the God who has made everything.

[12:29] Their God is the God who is Lord over all. And in doing so, he brings them back to the beginning and shows that God created everything, but also show to them how that they have come to be the inheritors of the promises in which God has granted to them.

[12:44] God had made the promise from the beginning and Moses traces it through all the way to Abraham and then takes it through Isaac and then to Jacob and then shows that how they were brought into Egypt and God then fulfilled his promise of bringing them out of Egypt.

[12:58] And so they are now at the very brink of entering into the land of promise, Canaan. But in Genesis chapter 3 here, we have the temptation that took place from Satan and then the subsequent fall of Adam and of Eve or more precisely, the woman and the man.

[13:16] And then later on, you see that as a result, God came, but he came seeking for their repentance. He did not come to plainly judge them, but he came with the intent to seek them in order to bring them to a knowledge that they had rebelled against him, but the intent was to bring about in them repentance.

[13:34] But meanwhile, he also judges them along with Satan. But in that judgment and in that punishment, he leaves a promise in verse 15, which is a very key promise for all of the Bible.

[13:47] So if you could think of it, in Genesis 3.15, really is the first promise of the Bible and everything else follows on afterwards. So God has made this promise in which he is now fulfilling even to today in our time.

[14:00] So in Genesis 3, in verse 20, we see first of all that faith demonstrated in the promise of God. We read that the man called his wife's name Eve because she was the mother of all living.

[14:16] Now why do I say faith is being demonstrated in the promise of God? You remember that God has just judged the serpent and he has punished the woman. He has brought upon Adam and said to Adam that he would be what?

[14:31] He would be cast out of the garden. He would be returning to the dust. He would die. He would not be, he would be, he's a mortal creature. He also promised that he would also cause pain upon the woman and that her desire would be always to rule over the man.

[14:47] And so you have to imagine that Moses, at this point, is suddenly inserting this commentary. He inserts this commentary right after all the judgment that takes place. And he says this, that Adam called his wife's name Eve.

[15:02] Well what's so significant about that? What's so significant about the name Eve? Well the name Eve means life. It means life. Life.

[15:13] And you see that continually in because she was the mother of all living. So, if you can imagine, here is a spouse, and just think of in your own terms. Here is, you're married and someone has done something horrendous.

[15:27] They have messed up. They've rebelled against you. You gave them explicit instructions and they radically disobeyed you. And the first words that come out of your mouth is what?

[15:39] Life. Grace. Mercy. And how is it that Adam himself is able to speak these words of life to Eve? Because you remember, this is catastrophic what has taken place.

[15:51] He's going to die. He's going to be put out of the garden. He is going to have to toil and labor. And so, we read that in saying that Eve's name means life, that she would be the mother of living, it seems to be pointing back to the promise in Genesis 3.15 where God promised that the head of the woman, the seed of the woman would crush the head of the seed of the serpent.

[16:23] And so, we have here a ray of hope. Adam does not despair. Yes, he recognizes that what God has done is just and righteous and yet, in the midst of this, he is demonstrating faith in the promise of God.

[16:39] Now, I want to unpack this a little bit more because I think this will be helpful for us to think about. That faith is being demonstrated by Adam in a very painful situation, a very distressing situation.

[16:52] And how is it distressing? Well, I think you can see it's distressing and painful in a number of ways. First, you think about Adam's situation, as I mentioned. That Adam was in a situation in which he was now being put out of the garden and he will be put out of the garden.

[17:06] He was recognizing that he would labor in toil. He would have to live by the sweat of his brow. He would have thorns and thistles. The garden would no longer produce for him so abundantly and so easily.

[17:17] He would be outside now living in difficult straits. And so, his situation was one of a painful and radically difficult situation.

[17:32] And his faith in calling his wife Eve is in the midst of this difficult situation, in the midst of this circumstance. circumstance. Now, you and I, too, we're living and some of you are in very difficult circumstances and situations.

[17:51] Some of you are living, for example, in the loss of a job. Some of you are living in the loss of a home or perhaps on the brink of losing your very home.

[18:04] And then some of you perhaps have lost some treasured possession. Something that's of value to you. And in the midst of this, like Adam, God is calling you and calling me that whatever the situation is, whatever the difficult situation that you are in, to actually trust him in the midst of it.

[18:26] That he can be trusted, whether it's the loss of a home or possibly loss of a home. He should be trusted in the midst of a loss of employment or on the brink of loss of employment or if it's the loss of some possession.

[18:43] And so you see that faith is not only being demonstrated in some difficult situation, but we also see that like Adam, you see that Adam had a relation that had been marred.

[18:56] He had a situation in which his relation with his own wife had become strained. Here is Adam knowing that he had fallen.

[19:07] He had sinned against God. And the first thing he does is he blames his wife. Now, how do you think Eve at this point must have felt?

[19:20] What would have been the relation immediately when she recognized that her husband has now cast upon her the blame for his rebellion, his revolt? And so immediately you have in this situation where Adam himself is having a relational difficulty.

[19:37] And yet, in the midst of this relational difficulty, he himself is still trusting and evidencing and exercising faith in the promise of God.

[19:50] And I would say, dear brethren, that you and I may find that you may be in a very difficult relation right now. Some of you are in marriage relationships that are extremely difficult.

[20:03] Then others of you may have lost a very dear and loved one. Maybe a family member, maybe a spouse. Whatever the situation is, painful as that is, the reality is that in the midst of it, God is calling that we would learn to trust him.

[20:21] We would have faith in the midst of it. You remember that Job, Job lost his children. Job also lost his possessions.

[20:33] Job lost his health. And what was Job's words in the midst of this? Though he slay me, yet I will trust in him.

[20:44] Here is a demonstration of faith in a situation which seems utterly hopeless, utterly broken, and yet faith was being demonstrated.

[20:56] And Peter teaches that, remember that the adversary is like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. But his advice and his counsel is what?

[21:07] But resist him how? By faith. By your faith in him. And so let me encourage you brethren, brothers and sisters here.

[21:20] The child of God, when the tender comes, and he does come and he whispers into your ear, into your mind that you cannot trust God for this situation, for this relationship, for this physical affliction that you are enduring right now.

[21:36] when he comes and implants the seeds of doubt into your very heart and mind, and you feel that you are sinking into the very depths of despair, when you feel that you cannot hold on any longer, at that point, brothers and sisters, you are reminded that the enemy and the adversary and Satan is twisting the goodness of God so that you may not trust in a God who is always good.

[22:06] who is always faithful. He tempts you to think that it is no use to trust God, but remember that your battle is not against flesh and blood, but against rulers, against spiritual wickedness in heavenly places, and so therefore poor counsels to put on the whole armor of God.

[22:27] And what he says also, to take the shield of faith so that you may resist the fiery darts of the enemy. And that's how you overcome in the midst of when you are alone at night and the enemy comes and whispers to your soul, God is not being good to you.

[22:48] Take the shield of faith and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God, and with prayer, plead to your great high priest that he may guard your heart and your soul in the midst of this and exercise no matter how weak your faith is in the promise that God has granted.

[23:13] Well, not only have we seen that faith is demonstrated in painful situations, but notice that Adam's faith was directed toward the word of God.

[23:25] That Adam's faith was directed toward the word of God. Adam had one promise to hold on to. One promise, just one, that the seed of the woman would crush the head of the seed of the serpent.

[23:44] Now, you and I have many promises. Adam did not have the whole of the Old Testament. He did not have the full of the revelation of the Old and the New Testament. You and I have the full revelation.

[23:56] You and I have the whole canon. We have the whole Bible with all promises in which we are told that all the promises in Christ are yes and amen.

[24:11] And so therefore, if Adam can exercise faith in one promise of God, which is rooted and grounded in the word of God, he didn't trust in his feelings, he didn't trust in his experiences because feelings and experiences ebb and flow.

[24:27] You look around and you look at providence and you see your situation, do not interpret providence necessarily against God's word. Hold on to the promise that is revealed in the word of God.

[24:43] He will never ever forsake or leave you. That's his promise. Heaven and earth will pass away, but his word, God's word will not pass away no matter what.

[24:56] Whatever the ordeal is, whatever the difficulty is, hold on to the word of God and especially the promises that are revealed therein. Whatever it is.

[25:09] God is our rock and refuge and the righteous run to it are safe and secure. And so where do you direct your faith when the storms of life batter you?

[25:23] Where do you direct your faith when the hurricanes come upon you in life? Whatever it may be. It may be a phone call that you may receive suddenly. It may be the news suddenly that you get of a loved one that you had been next to has suddenly gone.

[25:36] How do you hold on to? You hold on to the promises that are in the word of God. Your health may fail. You may lose everything.

[25:48] But God's word is a rock and a refuge in the midst of the storm. Well having seen first of all the faith demonstrated in the promise of God.

[26:02] Now let's look at the provision bestowed by the goodness of God. The provision bestowed by the goodness of God. We see this in verse 21.

[26:16] And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them. And so despite the sin of Adam and Eve we read of the provision bestowed by the goodness of God.

[26:32] His fatherly care for his disobedient children does not evaporate or disappear. Adam and Eve deserved nothing. They had earned to be consigned forever in hell.

[26:51] They had justly deserved to be cast and eternally punished forever and ever. And yet even before that we see how God is tempering his judgment by showing fatherly care and benevolence in clothing them.

[27:09] And so we see provision is bestowed to protect their bodies first of all. That God's provision for them is he's providing to protect their bodies. And that is because now you remember that when Adam and Eve sinned the whole cosmic changed.

[27:23] The whole world had now changed. And so now weather would come and that there would be inclement weather that would have influence upon them and now they would be subject to sickness.

[27:35] They would be subject to disease. They would be subject to all the vagaries of life that you and I have to endure. And so God in the midst of this a paternal love and a tenderly care is providing for their bodies.

[27:52] But not only is he bestowing provision to protect their bodies but he also bestows provision to cover their shame. You remember that Adam and Eve had what sinned and they tried to cover their nakedness themselves but God comes and he acts and he initiates by removing probably removing what they put on and putting a garment of skin.

[28:20] It was probably an idea of a garment. It was something that was probably going down to their knees or below or tunic as you see in the Middle East something that reaches down all the way to their knees or to their ankles.

[28:30] And here is God showing tender care to not only cover their bodies but to cover their shame. But then not only does he cover their shame, there is some suggestion that in the covering, now you have to stay with me on this, that in the covering, you notice that it says in verse 21, it says that he took garments of skin.

[28:59] Some of the older commentators have suggested that in taking the garments of skin, what had happened is that God actually had killed an animal and took the skin of the animal and placed it then and clothed Adam and Eve.

[29:17] And in taking the life of the animal, they have suggested, these commentators, the older commentators have suggested that what God is doing is he is actually showing the first sacrifice, the first sacrifice that took place.

[29:31] Now, I don't want to be dogmatic because certainly it's not very clear in the text, right? But one thing that I think you would want to think about is that when you come to Genesis chapter 4 and you read of Cain and Abel, Cain offers a sacrifice, a better sacrifice.

[29:47] The question is where does Cain discover and learn about the sacrifice? Where does he learn about the sacrifice? It's possible that he learned from his what?

[29:57] Parents, probably his own parents, and in learning from his parents, this may be the very incident in which God introduced a sacrifice. And you know that without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins.

[30:12] Now, I don't want to lay my life on the line for that, but it does seem somewhat reasonable. Somewhat reasonable, but I don't want to be dogmatic on that.

[30:22] But the point there is that here is God making provision for their bodies, making provision to cover their shame, and possibly making a provision of a sacrifice that points ultimately to the Lord Jesus Christ.

[30:35] Christ. But not only do we see a provision bestowed by the goodness of God, and this is why I want to sort of camp out now, is in verses 22 through 24, we see that sinners are exiled from the presence of God.

[30:51] Sinners are exiled from the presence of God. in verse 22. Then the Lord God said, Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil.

[31:08] Now lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat and live forever. What's the first thing that takes place? That Adam and Eve and sinners are exiled in order to prevent them from eating from the tree of life.

[31:22] You see that towards the end. The intent is that God is going to cast them out and he's going to put them out of the garden. He's going to drive them out because he says, Lest they reach out his hand and also take from the tree of life and eat and live forever.

[31:39] Now what is interesting is that you and I may think that what is being exercised here is pure judgment. But there is a mercy in it. And one of the persons I was reading actually made a good point about this where he said that, if you and I had lived forever under the condition of our sin, living with all the pain if we could have, that would have been a miserable life.

[32:04] That would have been a miserable life. If that could have happened, to live and to endure as those who will actually in eternity in hell will endure forever in a miserable condition.

[32:14] But here God is prohibiting that the man and the woman from partaking of the tree of life and living forever. But then in verse 23 he goes on, therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken.

[32:34] So here we have sinners or exiles in order to prevent them from enjoying the garden of Eden. Here is God now sending out and the idea is that he's driving them out.

[32:47] And we see that in verse 24. That he's sending them out that they may not enjoy the blessings of the garden of Eden. Now if you could imagine what the garden of Eden was to look like. You and I have some sense of what the world is like even now with all of the fruits that are bound and how much we enjoy it.

[33:06] But imagine what the garden of Eden would have been like. For those who love pineapples, imagine what a pineapple must have tasted like in the garden of Eden. For those who like watermelon, imagine what the watermelon would have tasted like in the garden of Eden.

[33:21] And for those who like mangoes or bananas or apples, imagine what the garden of Eden must have tasted like. What the fruit must have tasted like in the garden of Eden.

[33:32] And yet he's been driven out. And yet even though he's been driven out, God still in the midst of this provides for them. And you and I can see something of the pleasure of God's kindness to Adam and Eve, even though they're outside the garden towards us still today.

[33:51] So that they are now prohibited from enjoying the garden of Eden. And then in verse 24 we read that he drove out the man at the east of the garden of Eden and he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to God, the way to the tree of life.

[34:07] And so here you have the Adam and Eve and sinners are exiled in order to prevent them from re-entering the garden of Eden. That they are prohibited from returning to the way to eat of the tree of life in the garden of Eden.

[34:24] And so the Lord Most High has banished Adam and Eve out of the garden and consigned them to living outside the garden.

[34:37] Now I think it's important for us to recognize that when Adam and Eve had disobeyed God that God as I said had every right at that moment to punish them both forever.

[34:53] 2 Peter 2 tells us that in verse 4 that when the angels had fallen that God consigned them immediately to eternal punishment.

[35:06] It says that God did not spare the angels when they sinned but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness reserved for judgment. And as one writer said God might have justly chased Adam out of the world but he only chased him out of the garden.

[35:25] Only out of the garden. He might justly have cast him down to hell as he did the angels that sinned when he shut them out from the heavenly paradise. But man was only sent to till the ground out of which he was taken.

[35:39] He was sent to a place of toil not to a place of torment. He was sent to the ground not to the grave. To the workhouse not to the dungeon not to the prison house.

[35:51] To hold the plow not to drag the chain. And so here's Adam and Eve cast out of the garden never to we enter the garden of Eden.

[36:06] Now I want us to think through this concept and this idea of the presence of the Lord. What it is to be cast out of the presence of the Lord. That in the garden of Eden God had been dwelling with man and woman.

[36:21] There was communion and there was fellowship and now they've been cast out. And when you then begin to work through the Old Testament and you encounter first of all the tabernacle and the temple.

[36:33] What takes place when God then instructs the nation of Israel to build a tabernacle? He instructs them to what? By the twelve tribes that they are to surround the tabernacle and in the middle of the tabernacle is who?

[36:46] The Lord God. And in the middle of the tabernacle there is a what? A holy of holies. And there is a curtain. God commands Israel that when they build the curtain for the holy place.

[36:57] This is interesting. He commanded that they would actually weave into the curtain a cherubim. In Exodus 26 in verse 1. And then in verse 31.

[37:10] Where the cherubim is woven into the very curtain and the curtain represents where what? Men and women could not enter into the holy of holies. So just as in the garden the cherubim prevented man or woman from entering into the presence of God you have in the tabernacle a curtain with cherubim on the outside embroidered into the very curtain.

[37:36] You have a cherubim preventing that man or woman coming freely entering into the presence of the Lord. And then you remember that the ark and the mercy seat itself.

[37:46] When you look at the cherubim, the cherubim were looking over the Lord God in his presence to protect to prevent. Then as we go on into and further on we read that in the New Testament we read of how the presence of the Lord now is present in who?

[38:06] The Lord Jesus Christ in his name Emmanuel. God dwelling with us. God dwelling with us. And we learn that the temple the Lord Jesus says his body is the temple John chapter 2.

[38:17] So here is God dwelling with us and his body is the temple. But then we also learn with regard to the presence of the Lord that he sends the spirit so that the spirit might dwell within us.

[38:32] That God would dwell in us. And that we would now be the temple of the Lord. Now why is this so significant?

[38:43] Why is it so significant that when you are tracing out this theme of the presence of the Lord? Why is that significant for you and I? Because for you and I the reason why that you and I are not content the reason why we have misery in this world is because ultimately the presence of the Lord is not with us.

[39:09] It is this longing for each and every one of us to enter back into the presence of the Lord. And it is on the cross you remember that when Jesus was on the cross and he died himself what happened to the curtain?

[39:22] The curtain was torn. The curtain with the cherubim embroidered in was torn and that man and woman now have the what? Ability to enter into the holy of holies through Christ.

[39:39] Into the very presence of the Lord. And why the presence is so important for you and I, it is because the psalmist says, in the presence of the Lord is what?

[39:52] Fullness of joy. And in his right hand are what? Pleasures forevermore. That's what's so key for you and I about the presence of the Lord.

[40:04] Let me say, forgiveness as great and wonderful as that is, is not the pinnacle of the blessing of salvation. That's not. Pardon and forgiveness of sins is necessary for you and I to enter into the presence of the Lord.

[40:20] It is the penultimate. Forgiveness is the penultimate. The ultimate is to be reconciled to God and brought back into his presence. So that you and I may experience that fullness of joy and that pleasures forevermore.

[40:39] well the question then is, if this is true, how do you partake of the tree of life? How do sinners partake then of the tree of life so that they may enter into the presence of the Lord?

[40:55] And the invitation is freely offered to eat of the tree of life. The gospel is freely presented to partake of the tree of life. But the question then is, but how?

[41:06] How can this rebellious, stubborn, revolting sinner enter into and partake of the tree of life? Well it takes place because in Acts chapter 5 and verse 30 here is Peter before the council and they forbid him to continue to preach the gospel and to preach of the resurrection of Jesus and Peter then says we must obey God and then he says this in Acts chapter 5 and verse 30 the God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you killed by hanging him on a tree by hanging him on a tree and likewise in Galatians 3.13 it says that Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us for it is written cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree and then in 1 Peter 2.24 Peter says he himself bore our sins in his body on the tree it is that when Christ was hanged on that tree when he was nailed to the tree it is in his body that opens the way so that you who were at enmity who were alienated from God that you and I may now partake of the tree of life and we may enter into the presence of God through

[42:31] Christ's blood it is him on the tree hanging that you and I may actually partake of the tree of life turn with me to Revelation chapter 2 and verse 7 and here is the invitation here is the invitation here is the Lord Jesus himself speaking to the church of Ephesus he commends them but he says also this I have against you that you have lost your first love and in verse 7 in chapter 2 of Revelation he says he who has an ear let him hear what the spirit says to the churches listen up now what does he say to the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the paradise of God to the one who conquers

[43:33] I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the paradise of God and who is it that conquers who is it that overcomes first John says it is what he was born of God overcomes the world and this is the victory that overcomes the world even our faith and it goes on it says who is it that overcomes the world who is it that overcomes the world but it is he who believes that Jesus is the son of God to the one who wants to overcome or to conquer and receive the invitation here and to partake of the tree of life the prerequisite is to believe upon Jesus the son of God it is to believe upon him and that way you will then partake of the tree of life but you know there's something even more glorious as you partake of this tree of life turn to revelation 21 you remember that

[44:43] I began with this idea that here was this couple with their children who were exiled who were put out of their home and you and I have the sense that we have been put out of our own home in revelation chapter 21 and in verse 3 here is the new heaven and the new earth we're reading from verse 1 but then focus on verse 3 then I saw a new heaven and a new earth for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away and the sea was no more and I saw the holy city new Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God prepared as a bride adorned for husband now notice and I heard a loud voice from the throne saying behold the dwelling place of God is with man he will dwell with them and they will be his people and God himself will be with them as their

[45:46] God the presence of God that was lost in the garden which resulted in the exile of Adam and Eve when we come to the end we see that it's being traced out throughout the Old Testament New Testament this idea of dwelling with God and when we come to the last book in the last chapter we read here of the dwelling place of God is with man and he will dwell with them and that he will be his people and God himself will be with them as their God and what's the encouragement now look in verse 4 he will wipe away every tear from their eyes and death shall be no more and neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore for the former things have passed away what happened in the garden then being exiled from the presence of God God's purpose and plan is being worked out until

[46:48] God will bring all of his people into a relationship in which they themselves will be able to truly and fully enjoy his presence and say now unto him who is able to keep us from falling and to present us faultless before the throne of God be glory and honor and majesty and dominion and so dear one dear one whatever you are dealing with today whatever struggle that you are wrestling with know that God's purpose and plan to ensure that you and I will be brought back into his presence will be accomplished and every tear of yours will be wiped away and you and I will never in heaven experience death and there will be no death forever but there is also another side of this we must admit there is another side for some of you who are still exiled from the presence of God

[47:59] God has done everything he has provided you a savior he has provided you the gift of faith he has done everything so that you may partake of this blessing and yet we read in 2nd Thessalonians chapter 2 2nd Thessalonians chapter 1 that there will be those who will be cast away from the presence of God hear these words in 2nd Thessalonians chapter 1 verse 9 it says this they that is those who were outside of Christ will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might those who certainly were persecuting the Thessalonians but all those who are outside and exiled from the presence of God God says they will be cast away from his presence and punished forever why why would you who are here delay why would you wait why would you not embrace this free offer of the gospel and see what awaits all those who love the

[49:17] Lord Jesus Christ why will you die in your sins why when it's freely offered freely offered let's pray