WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:25.879 Well, we're going to be reading this morning from Genesis, chapter 3, so you can find your 00:00:25.879 --> 00:00:39.239 way there. I think it's on page 8 or 5 or something like that. And you may be wondering, what's 00:00:39.239 --> 00:00:50.659 Genesis got to do with Christmas? Well, we'll find out. Thanks, Sarah. There's notes here 00:00:50.659 --> 00:00:54.340 as well. Jez is going to come and read for us. There's some notes here as well. 00:00:55.880 --> 00:01:19.379 Yeah. So, reading from Genesis 3, the fall of man, on page 5 of your Bibles. Now the 00:01:19.379 --> 00:01:25.099 serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to 00:01:25.099 --> 00:01:32.399 the woman, did God really say, you must not eat from any tree in the garden? The woman 00:01:32.399 --> 00:01:38.919 said to the serpent, we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, you 00:01:38.919 --> 00:01:43.500 must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not 00:01:43.500 --> 00:01:50.439 touch it or you will die. You will not surely die, the serpent said to the woman, for God 00:01:50.439 --> 00:01:56.680 knows that when you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing 00:01:56.680 --> 00:02:02.980 good and evil. When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing 00:02:02.980 --> 00:02:11.159 to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to 00:02:11.159 --> 00:02:16.900 her husband, who was with her, and he ate it too. And then the eyes of both of them were 00:02:16.900 --> 00:02:22.919 opened, and they realized that they were naked. So they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings 00:02:22.919 --> 00:02:28.139 for themselves. And then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking 00:02:28.139 --> 00:02:33.539 in the garden in the cool of the day. And they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the 00:02:33.539 --> 00:02:38.780 garden. But the Lord God called to the man, where are you? He answered, I heard you in the 00:02:38.780 --> 00:02:44.819 garden, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid. And he said, who told you that you 00:02:44.819 --> 00:02:50.500 were naked? Have you eaten from the tree from which I commanded you not to eat? The man said, 00:02:50.879 --> 00:02:57.560 the woman you put here with me, she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it. Then 00:02:57.560 --> 00:03:03.139 the Lord God said to the woman, what is this you have done? The woman said, the serpent deceived 00:03:03.139 --> 00:03:08.579 me, and I ate. So the Lord God said to the serpent, because you have done this, curse it 00:03:08.579 --> 00:03:13.219 are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals. You will crawl on your belly, and 00:03:13.219 --> 00:03:18.539 you will eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, 00:03:18.939 --> 00:03:24.060 and between your offspring and hers. He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel. 00:03:24.060 --> 00:03:32.879 To the woman, he said, I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing. With pain you will 00:03:32.879 --> 00:03:37.580 give birth to your children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over 00:03:37.580 --> 00:03:44.159 you. To Adam, he said, because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree, about which 00:03:44.159 --> 00:03:50.219 I commanded you, you must not eat of it. Cursed is the ground because of you. Through painful 00:03:50.219 --> 00:03:55.680 toil, you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for 00:03:55.680 --> 00:04:01.060 you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow, you will eat your 00:04:01.060 --> 00:04:07.500 food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken. For dust you are, and 00:04:07.500 --> 00:04:13.719 to dust you will return. Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all 00:04:13.719 --> 00:04:19.639 of the living. The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. 00:04:20.360 --> 00:04:25.800 And the Lord God said, The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must 00:04:25.800 --> 00:04:30.680 not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life, and eat and live 00:04:30.680 --> 00:04:35.759 forever. So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which 00:04:35.759 --> 00:04:40.819 he had been taken. After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of 00:04:40.819 --> 00:04:45.980 Eden, a cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree 00:04:45.980 --> 00:04:46.420 of life. 00:04:54.480 --> 00:04:57.360 Thank you so much, Jez, for reading that. 00:05:00.480 --> 00:05:07.539 Well, last week we started looking at the greatest gift, the promise of the gift that we all want, 00:05:07.540 --> 00:05:15.060 that we all long for, a world where there is no more brokenness. This morning we're going 00:05:15.060 --> 00:05:26.060 to look at the gift that we had and how it was ruined. Let's pray and ask for God's help. 00:05:26.060 --> 00:05:45.579 Father, you are the giver of good gifts. We thank you for the gifts that we have enjoyed even 00:05:45.579 --> 00:05:54.000 over tea and coffee together. And we thank you for the gift of your Holy Spirit. 00:05:54.000 --> 00:06:06.600 the power of God, indwelling all those who believe. And so we ask that by your Spirit, 00:06:07.759 --> 00:06:21.000 you would be speaking into our hearts afresh, awakening us to who we are as people and our 00:06:21.000 --> 00:06:33.920 desperate need of you. We pray that through this morning, we will wonder afresh at the amazing 00:06:33.920 --> 00:06:42.920 gift of your Son. So please help us, we ask in Jesus' name. Amen. 00:06:42.920 --> 00:06:57.240 Well, little Johnny runs downstairs on Christmas morning, and in his excitement he rips open his 00:06:57.240 --> 00:07:07.620 present. It was just what he longed for. Written across in a big yellow label on the front of his 00:07:07.620 --> 00:07:17.780 presence were these words. Before turning on, please read carefully. But little Johnny knew everything 00:07:17.780 --> 00:07:25.459 about this gift. He pulled off the cover, plugged it in, bang! Bits went flying everywhere. 00:07:26.899 --> 00:07:35.620 Little Johnny sat in tears. His brand new gift was ruined before he can even play with it. 00:07:35.620 --> 00:07:45.939 Ever been there? Well, God in his goodness has given us a good and beautiful gift. 00:07:47.620 --> 00:07:58.660 But that gift has been ruined. First of all, the gift that we had been given, the gift we had. 00:07:58.660 --> 00:08:11.880 Look at Genesis chapter 1, verse 1. Ignore chapter 2 there. It's Genesis 1, the gift we had. 00:08:13.780 --> 00:08:22.460 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. This is the true story of how God made the world 00:08:22.459 --> 00:08:33.579 earth and gave us a wonderful gift to enjoy, the gift of creation. Verse 2. Now the earth was formless 00:08:33.579 --> 00:08:42.559 and it was empty. And as we read on through the story, we read that God, by his powerful word, 00:08:43.019 --> 00:08:51.259 formed the heavens and the earth, and then he filled the heavens and the earth. Earth and sky were 00:08:51.259 --> 00:09:01.740 separated. Land and sea were shaped. And then God began to fill each space with life. So verse 14. 00:09:02.860 --> 00:09:10.539 God said, let there be light in the expanse of the sky to separate day from the night. 00:09:10.539 --> 00:09:21.579 Verse 20. And God said, let the water, that's the seas, the oceans, team with living creatures and let birds 00:09:21.579 --> 00:09:34.240 fly across the earth and across the expanse of the sky. Each living creature, every planet and star has been assigned 00:09:34.240 --> 00:09:43.460 to its place. And look what God said at the end of each stage of his creation. Look at the end of verse 10. 00:09:45.200 --> 00:09:57.200 And God saw that it was good. The end of verse 12. And God saw that it was good. 00:09:57.200 --> 00:10:05.160 End of verse 18. And God saw that it was good. 00:10:06.800 --> 00:10:13.259 Verse 21. And God saw that it was good. 00:10:14.640 --> 00:10:21.180 End of verse 25. And God saw that it was good. 00:10:21.179 --> 00:10:25.179 Do you think God is trying to tell us something? 00:10:26.479 --> 00:10:32.599 This was a good world that he made. A world of beauty and harmony. 00:10:33.099 --> 00:10:37.500 Nothing was broken. Everything was good. 00:10:39.279 --> 00:10:41.759 But God wasn't finished with his creation. 00:10:41.759 --> 00:10:51.759 In verse 27 we're told that God created man and woman in his own image. 00:10:52.080 --> 00:10:53.980 The pinnacle of his creation. 00:10:53.980 --> 00:10:57.539 It was as if God was saving the best till last. 00:10:57.639 --> 00:10:59.159 I've made a beautiful world. 00:10:59.539 --> 00:11:01.539 But now look what I am going to make. 00:11:02.259 --> 00:11:04.539 And look what he says after he had made people. 00:11:04.980 --> 00:11:07.120 Verse 31 of chapter 1. 00:11:07.120 --> 00:11:09.759 God saw all that he had made. 00:11:10.360 --> 00:11:13.600 And it was very good. 00:11:14.580 --> 00:11:15.480 Good before. 00:11:16.279 --> 00:11:17.659 But now with people. 00:11:18.220 --> 00:11:19.179 Very good. 00:11:19.519 --> 00:11:21.460 And there was morning and there was evening. 00:11:21.600 --> 00:11:22.500 The sixth day. 00:11:23.220 --> 00:11:25.279 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed. 00:11:25.620 --> 00:11:28.360 In all their vast array. 00:11:28.620 --> 00:11:31.440 From these vast unexplored galaxies. 00:11:32.100 --> 00:11:33.700 Billions of miles away. 00:11:34.039 --> 00:11:36.759 Unseen planets and stars that exist. 00:11:36.759 --> 00:11:40.299 Right down to the tiny little ladybird. 00:11:40.299 --> 00:11:43.100 With her beautiful dark red body. 00:11:43.720 --> 00:11:45.879 And distinguishing black dots. 00:11:46.080 --> 00:11:48.559 That you could hold in your hands. 00:11:50.360 --> 00:11:50.960 Spectacular. 00:11:52.139 --> 00:11:52.759 Amazing. 00:11:53.480 --> 00:11:59.299 What a beautiful and good world God had made. 00:12:00.279 --> 00:12:01.819 And at the end of it all. 00:12:01.919 --> 00:12:03.340 Look at chapter 2 verse 2. 00:12:03.340 --> 00:12:04.879 By the seventh day. 00:12:04.879 --> 00:12:06.940 God had finished the work he had been doing. 00:12:07.360 --> 00:12:08.800 And so on the seventh day. 00:12:09.180 --> 00:12:12.120 He rested from all his work. 00:12:12.660 --> 00:12:14.560 God rested. 00:12:15.759 --> 00:12:17.879 His work finished and completed. 00:12:18.879 --> 00:12:21.720 All that was left was for man and woman. 00:12:22.180 --> 00:12:23.639 To enjoy God. 00:12:24.040 --> 00:12:27.940 And to rest in his beautiful good world. 00:12:27.940 --> 00:12:30.300 What a beautiful sight. 00:12:31.760 --> 00:12:34.660 And of course to enjoy God's world. 00:12:35.620 --> 00:12:38.480 To get the best out of God's world. 00:12:39.220 --> 00:12:42.300 Meant obeying God's rules. 00:12:43.000 --> 00:12:44.720 Chapter 2 verse 16. 00:12:44.720 --> 00:12:50.180 And the Lord God commanded the man. 00:12:50.320 --> 00:12:53.399 You are free to eat from any tree in the garden. 00:12:54.620 --> 00:12:59.379 But you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 00:12:59.879 --> 00:13:01.120 For when you eat of it. 00:13:01.980 --> 00:13:03.300 You will surely die. 00:13:04.639 --> 00:13:06.740 Again this is God's goodness. 00:13:07.480 --> 00:13:09.540 Protecting us and caring for us. 00:13:09.899 --> 00:13:12.560 Telling us and showing us what is best for us. 00:13:12.559 --> 00:13:16.319 There was no need for anyone else or anything else. 00:13:16.479 --> 00:13:24.619 Because we had everything that our creator God had chosen to give to his created people. 00:13:25.679 --> 00:13:29.399 What a beautiful scene in these two chapters. 00:13:29.879 --> 00:13:33.579 Man and woman in perfect relationship with God. 00:13:34.539 --> 00:13:37.359 In right relationship with each other. 00:13:37.360 --> 00:13:43.440 And enjoying God's amazing good creation. 00:13:45.279 --> 00:13:48.820 This was a flawless world. 00:13:50.259 --> 00:13:51.980 There's no hint of brokenness. 00:13:52.080 --> 00:13:53.560 Can you see any brokenness here? 00:13:54.560 --> 00:13:56.259 There's no death here. 00:13:57.220 --> 00:13:58.919 There's nobody getting sick. 00:13:59.639 --> 00:14:00.919 There's no suffering. 00:14:00.919 --> 00:14:03.039 There's no evil. 00:14:03.039 --> 00:14:04.479 There's no violence. 00:14:05.620 --> 00:14:10.099 This is the good gift that we had. 00:14:11.000 --> 00:14:12.839 That God had given to us. 00:14:13.500 --> 00:14:14.559 Enjoy it. 00:14:14.959 --> 00:14:15.599 Live with it. 00:14:15.939 --> 00:14:16.479 Know me. 00:14:16.679 --> 00:14:17.539 Enjoy me. 00:14:18.199 --> 00:14:19.599 What a wonderful gift. 00:14:20.559 --> 00:14:22.120 God had given. 00:14:23.799 --> 00:14:25.939 The good gift we had. 00:14:25.940 --> 00:14:28.640 But secondly. 00:14:29.860 --> 00:14:32.280 It's the gift we ruined. 00:14:33.740 --> 00:14:37.600 Instead of a flawless and beautiful world. 00:14:38.520 --> 00:14:44.240 We now see and experience a very broken and destructive world. 00:14:45.240 --> 00:14:47.940 Where things don't work the way they're meant to. 00:14:49.480 --> 00:14:50.080 Sadness. 00:14:50.080 --> 00:14:53.100 How did all this happen? 00:14:54.620 --> 00:14:56.080 Where did it all go wrong? 00:14:57.400 --> 00:14:59.759 Well theologians call it the fall. 00:15:01.280 --> 00:15:05.320 Or for our purposes today we're going to call it D-Day. 00:15:06.540 --> 00:15:07.940 So here's all your D's. 00:15:08.000 --> 00:15:09.920 It's going to help you to remember everything. 00:15:10.639 --> 00:15:11.040 First. 00:15:11.920 --> 00:15:12.759 The devil. 00:15:12.940 --> 00:15:14.320 Chapter 3 verse 1. 00:15:14.320 --> 00:15:23.060 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. 00:15:23.680 --> 00:15:25.060 Now the serpent we know. 00:15:25.840 --> 00:15:32.540 Often pictured in kids books as a snake slithering around a tree with an apple in its mouth. 00:15:33.540 --> 00:15:36.760 We know this serpent to be Satan or the devil. 00:15:37.980 --> 00:15:41.740 Now some people will say the devil took the form of a serpent. 00:15:41.740 --> 00:15:45.500 Others will just say the serpent is a symbol for the devil. 00:15:47.259 --> 00:15:50.600 But our concern is not what the serpent looked like. 00:15:52.700 --> 00:15:55.440 Genesis 3 is all about how he works. 00:15:55.620 --> 00:15:57.159 That's what we're interested in. 00:15:57.200 --> 00:15:58.240 In how he works. 00:15:59.100 --> 00:15:59.779 We're told. 00:15:59.919 --> 00:16:00.639 Look at verse 1. 00:16:00.700 --> 00:16:01.899 That he was crafty. 00:16:02.700 --> 00:16:06.659 Meaning he was deceptive and disruptive. 00:16:07.980 --> 00:16:09.840 This is what the devil does. 00:16:09.840 --> 00:16:11.680 He deceives people. 00:16:12.240 --> 00:16:14.799 And he disrupts God's good order. 00:16:15.700 --> 00:16:18.360 He literally throws a spanner in the works. 00:16:19.000 --> 00:16:22.220 He tries to cog up the working mechanisms of life. 00:16:22.580 --> 00:16:24.759 He opposes God and his ways. 00:16:25.120 --> 00:16:26.519 That's what he wants to do. 00:16:28.580 --> 00:16:31.159 Now while we must take the devil seriously. 00:16:31.419 --> 00:16:34.279 We must not see him as the same as God. 00:16:34.600 --> 00:16:35.460 The devil is. 00:16:36.259 --> 00:16:37.019 In verse 1. 00:16:37.019 --> 00:16:37.680 And we're told. 00:16:38.080 --> 00:16:39.799 Made by God. 00:16:39.799 --> 00:16:41.859 So he is a created being. 00:16:42.419 --> 00:16:44.120 He's not above God. 00:16:44.759 --> 00:16:46.799 He's not equal with God. 00:16:47.319 --> 00:16:49.219 He is a created being. 00:16:49.419 --> 00:16:51.559 A dependent being. 00:16:52.299 --> 00:16:55.599 Not that we should think that God has created evil. 00:16:56.240 --> 00:17:02.120 Later in the Bible we're told that the devil was an angel who had fallen and had rebelled against God. 00:17:02.120 --> 00:17:06.380 But here we're introduced to one who is there. 00:17:07.079 --> 00:17:09.640 Whose main goal in life. 00:17:10.400 --> 00:17:12.740 In our life and in this world. 00:17:13.140 --> 00:17:15.539 Is to disrupt and deceive. 00:17:16.680 --> 00:17:19.339 And break all that is good. 00:17:19.339 --> 00:17:23.339 And all of this leads to doubt. 00:17:24.439 --> 00:17:25.699 Look at the rest of verse 1. 00:17:25.819 --> 00:17:26.879 Look at what he says. 00:17:28.079 --> 00:17:29.279 He said to the woman. 00:17:31.240 --> 00:17:33.480 Did God really say. 00:17:34.399 --> 00:17:36.779 You must not eat from any tree in the garden. 00:17:39.079 --> 00:17:40.659 He undermines. 00:17:41.299 --> 00:17:44.119 What God the good creator had said. 00:17:44.459 --> 00:17:46.159 Did God really say. 00:17:46.160 --> 00:17:48.420 He's like a cunning lawyer. 00:17:48.720 --> 00:17:51.259 Are you really sure that you heard correctly. 00:17:52.040 --> 00:17:53.240 Maybe you misunderstood. 00:17:54.120 --> 00:17:56.860 Maybe you're just a little bit confused on that point. 00:17:57.380 --> 00:17:59.100 Did God really say that. 00:18:00.480 --> 00:18:03.279 And so doubt begins to form in the mind. 00:18:04.060 --> 00:18:06.540 And this is always the way in which the devils work. 00:18:06.660 --> 00:18:07.860 This is his primary weapon. 00:18:08.279 --> 00:18:09.160 He makes us question. 00:18:09.160 --> 00:18:09.640 Question. 00:18:10.279 --> 00:18:11.240 God's word. 00:18:11.380 --> 00:18:11.860 The Bible. 00:18:12.460 --> 00:18:15.160 He makes us question what God has clearly said. 00:18:16.160 --> 00:18:19.420 Which leads to. 00:18:20.620 --> 00:18:22.820 A distortion of God's word. 00:18:23.740 --> 00:18:25.240 Look at how the woman responds. 00:18:26.300 --> 00:18:28.980 It seems like she responds correctly. 00:18:29.759 --> 00:18:31.220 But if we look carefully. 00:18:32.040 --> 00:18:33.620 It is a complete distortion. 00:18:34.580 --> 00:18:35.640 So look at verse 2. 00:18:36.580 --> 00:18:37.960 The woman said to the serpent. 00:18:39.300 --> 00:18:42.080 We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden. 00:18:42.079 --> 00:18:45.039 Sound familiar? 00:18:45.980 --> 00:18:48.899 Well compare that to what God had said. 00:18:49.439 --> 00:18:51.259 In chapter 2 verse 16. 00:18:53.259 --> 00:18:55.579 And the Lord God commanded the man. 00:18:56.699 --> 00:18:58.000 You are free. 00:18:59.339 --> 00:19:02.059 To eat from any tree. 00:19:02.659 --> 00:19:03.460 In the garden. 00:19:04.399 --> 00:19:05.740 Can you see what's happening? 00:19:05.740 --> 00:19:10.839 The woman begins to distort God's word. 00:19:11.620 --> 00:19:13.680 And makes God out to be mean. 00:19:13.920 --> 00:19:16.420 She doesn't say anything about the freedom they had. 00:19:16.680 --> 00:19:18.700 She doesn't say anything about any tree. 00:19:18.859 --> 00:19:19.039 It's. 00:19:20.200 --> 00:19:21.420 We can't have. 00:19:22.839 --> 00:19:24.220 As if God was stingy. 00:19:24.380 --> 00:19:26.019 And as if God was not good. 00:19:27.059 --> 00:19:28.299 And look how she continues. 00:19:28.440 --> 00:19:28.960 Verse 3. 00:19:28.960 --> 00:19:31.360 And God did say. 00:19:32.039 --> 00:19:35.920 You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden. 00:19:36.079 --> 00:19:38.079 And you must not touch it. 00:19:38.840 --> 00:19:39.960 Or you will die. 00:19:41.380 --> 00:19:42.220 Now we think. 00:19:42.299 --> 00:19:43.200 Well what's wrong with that? 00:19:43.279 --> 00:19:45.840 Well again go back to chapter 2 verse 17. 00:19:46.000 --> 00:19:48.200 And compare what Eve said. 00:19:48.299 --> 00:19:49.720 And what God had said. 00:19:50.380 --> 00:19:52.799 So chapter 2 verse 17 reads. 00:19:52.799 --> 00:19:59.899 God said you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 00:20:00.779 --> 00:20:04.940 You see the woman put in the word touch. 00:20:05.799 --> 00:20:07.700 Again it seems innocent enough. 00:20:07.819 --> 00:20:10.599 But again she's distorting God's word. 00:20:10.720 --> 00:20:13.539 And makes God out to be oppressive with his rules. 00:20:13.539 --> 00:20:15.220 We can't even touch it. 00:20:15.379 --> 00:20:17.460 God hadn't said anything about touching things. 00:20:17.559 --> 00:20:18.740 He just said don't eat it. 00:20:18.740 --> 00:20:24.720 Do you see what happens when we begin to distort God's word? 00:20:25.680 --> 00:20:29.640 We're making it out that God is withholding good things from us. 00:20:29.880 --> 00:20:32.680 That God is unfairly strict with mankind. 00:20:33.299 --> 00:20:35.279 That he's a party pooper. 00:20:35.420 --> 00:20:37.339 That he's spoiling all our fun. 00:20:40.039 --> 00:20:44.920 Which leads to a denial of who God is. 00:20:45.539 --> 00:20:46.460 Look at verse 4. 00:20:46.559 --> 00:20:48.620 Look at how the serpent responds. 00:20:48.740 --> 00:20:52.120 You will not surely die. 00:20:52.480 --> 00:20:53.859 The serpent said to the woman. 00:20:55.599 --> 00:20:56.519 Don't be silly. 00:20:56.660 --> 00:20:58.180 God's not going to judge you. 00:20:58.359 --> 00:20:59.500 You're not going to die. 00:21:00.480 --> 00:21:02.900 You don't want to believe that kind of stuff do you? 00:21:03.099 --> 00:21:04.980 You can't trust what God says. 00:21:05.779 --> 00:21:07.599 Don't take God's word seriously. 00:21:07.880 --> 00:21:09.019 After all it's all a myth. 00:21:09.099 --> 00:21:09.839 It's all made up. 00:21:09.940 --> 00:21:11.420 Don't believe this stuff at all. 00:21:13.440 --> 00:21:16.220 And so we go on and believe the lies. 00:21:16.220 --> 00:21:19.059 And we close God's word. 00:21:19.059 --> 00:21:20.960 And we deny God's word. 00:21:22.180 --> 00:21:26.640 And all of this leads to a terrible distrust. 00:21:26.640 --> 00:21:27.640 God's word. 00:21:27.640 --> 00:21:29.680 In the good creator. 00:21:30.020 --> 00:21:32.420 Who gave us all that we ever needed. 00:21:32.420 --> 00:21:34.539 verse 5. 00:21:35.740 --> 00:21:38.019 For God knows that when you eat of it. 00:21:38.140 --> 00:21:39.380 Your eyes will be opened. 00:21:39.600 --> 00:21:42.240 And you will be like God. 00:21:42.940 --> 00:21:44.240 Knowing good and evil. 00:21:45.560 --> 00:21:47.000 Don't trust God. 00:21:48.039 --> 00:21:51.279 God thinks he knows what's best for you in your life. 00:21:52.019 --> 00:21:52.779 But you know what? 00:21:52.960 --> 00:21:55.480 You're the only one who knows what's best for you. 00:21:56.380 --> 00:21:57.299 You can become. 00:21:57.380 --> 00:21:58.079 Look at verse 5. 00:21:58.400 --> 00:21:59.940 You will be like God. 00:22:00.660 --> 00:22:01.620 In other words. 00:22:01.740 --> 00:22:04.240 You can play the role of God too. 00:22:05.079 --> 00:22:05.980 That means. 00:22:06.160 --> 00:22:09.460 You and I get to decide what is good and what is evil. 00:22:10.000 --> 00:22:12.660 You and I get to make up the rules for life. 00:22:13.599 --> 00:22:15.839 Don't let God tell you what the rules are. 00:22:16.319 --> 00:22:17.880 You decide what they are. 00:22:18.500 --> 00:22:21.020 Don't trust God with what he says. 00:22:21.440 --> 00:22:22.960 You know what's best for you. 00:22:23.280 --> 00:22:25.620 You know what you need in your life. 00:22:26.000 --> 00:22:26.900 You go get it. 00:22:27.180 --> 00:22:27.920 You have it. 00:22:28.100 --> 00:22:29.380 Because you know best. 00:22:31.720 --> 00:22:35.240 And so we distrust our good creator. 00:22:36.340 --> 00:22:39.160 Who had given us the best of gifts. 00:22:40.900 --> 00:22:43.240 And of course that led to disobedience. 00:22:44.560 --> 00:22:45.160 Verse 6. 00:22:45.160 --> 00:22:48.300 When the woman saw the fruit of the tree. 00:22:49.420 --> 00:22:52.200 That was good for food and pleasing to the eye. 00:22:52.880 --> 00:22:55.140 And also desirable for gaining wisdom. 00:22:55.519 --> 00:22:57.720 She took some and ate it. 00:22:58.620 --> 00:23:01.440 She also gave some to her husband who was with her. 00:23:01.740 --> 00:23:03.080 And he ate it. 00:23:03.080 --> 00:23:04.060 You see Adam. 00:23:04.240 --> 00:23:06.680 This isn't just about the woman and blaming the woman. 00:23:07.560 --> 00:23:09.120 Adam was there all along. 00:23:10.580 --> 00:23:12.980 After all he was the one who had received the command. 00:23:13.120 --> 00:23:13.860 He knew it. 00:23:13.859 --> 00:23:17.779 He should have been the one who stood up and stopped it all. 00:23:18.519 --> 00:23:19.419 But he hadn't. 00:23:20.459 --> 00:23:21.579 They're both guilty. 00:23:23.519 --> 00:23:27.519 Now people get very excited about why God was so against eating apples. 00:23:27.719 --> 00:23:29.159 I mean what was wrong with the tree? 00:23:29.299 --> 00:23:31.019 And what was wrong with eating the apples? 00:23:32.379 --> 00:23:35.259 Well we don't even know if it was an apple or what the fruit was. 00:23:35.599 --> 00:23:37.679 And it's not so much about the fruit. 00:23:37.839 --> 00:23:38.979 It's about the action. 00:23:38.980 --> 00:23:42.799 God had made it so clear to them. 00:23:42.799 --> 00:23:43.759 You can. 00:23:44.000 --> 00:23:44.720 You're free. 00:23:44.960 --> 00:23:49.640 You're free to eat any of these fruits in this garden. 00:23:49.860 --> 00:23:51.380 Anything that you like. 00:23:52.799 --> 00:23:54.640 But don't eat of this one. 00:23:55.519 --> 00:23:57.200 Don't eat this one. 00:23:57.200 --> 00:24:00.240 And they disobeyed. 00:24:00.860 --> 00:24:02.720 It was open rebellion. 00:24:03.759 --> 00:24:07.920 When they took that fruit and they ate they were sending a clear message to God. 00:24:08.259 --> 00:24:09.740 I don't need you. 00:24:10.580 --> 00:24:11.880 You don't rule me. 00:24:11.880 --> 00:24:19.020 This is nothing less than an open revolution to remove God and replace God. 00:24:19.120 --> 00:24:21.160 To push them out of their lives completely. 00:24:23.340 --> 00:24:28.780 This is the day the human race became enemies with God. 00:24:29.960 --> 00:24:35.500 And broke the good gift that God had given us. 00:24:35.500 --> 00:24:42.779 The consequences are all plain to see. 00:24:43.779 --> 00:24:45.940 We live in a world of disorder. 00:24:46.819 --> 00:24:48.339 Of brokenness. 00:24:48.859 --> 00:24:49.660 Of decay. 00:24:50.380 --> 00:24:51.079 And death. 00:24:52.059 --> 00:24:54.960 We see this disorder in human relationships. 00:24:55.380 --> 00:24:56.480 Look at verse 16. 00:24:57.480 --> 00:24:59.420 At the very end of verse 16. 00:24:59.519 --> 00:25:01.319 The last couple of lines it says. 00:25:01.960 --> 00:25:03.259 God is speaking to the woman. 00:25:03.400 --> 00:25:03.799 He says. 00:25:03.799 --> 00:25:07.819 Your desire will be to rule over your husband. 00:25:09.099 --> 00:25:09.619 Or will be. 00:25:09.759 --> 00:25:09.960 Sorry. 00:25:10.059 --> 00:25:11.879 Your desire will be for your husband. 00:25:12.419 --> 00:25:14.940 And he will rule over you. 00:25:15.419 --> 00:25:17.180 Now that word there for desire. 00:25:17.680 --> 00:25:18.440 Means that. 00:25:18.899 --> 00:25:20.740 The woman will try to control. 00:25:21.480 --> 00:25:22.099 The husband. 00:25:23.559 --> 00:25:25.159 And in response to that. 00:25:25.279 --> 00:25:26.639 The man will rule over. 00:25:26.899 --> 00:25:28.319 This is a very strong word. 00:25:28.419 --> 00:25:29.740 It means to be oppressive. 00:25:30.119 --> 00:25:31.180 And against. 00:25:31.180 --> 00:25:33.480 So here we see. 00:25:33.640 --> 00:25:34.680 Right at the very beginning. 00:25:34.840 --> 00:25:36.320 The first human relationship. 00:25:36.860 --> 00:25:38.140 Shattered and broken. 00:25:38.600 --> 00:25:40.740 Because they had gone against God. 00:25:40.960 --> 00:25:42.700 And the pattern has been repeated. 00:25:43.039 --> 00:25:45.200 Right the way through the history of the world. 00:25:46.220 --> 00:25:47.560 There's not one of us. 00:25:47.700 --> 00:25:48.720 In this room. 00:25:49.519 --> 00:25:51.620 That does not have a broken relationship. 00:25:51.619 --> 00:25:51.919 Friendship. 00:25:51.919 --> 00:25:51.959 Friendship. 00:25:55.279 --> 00:25:56.379 Marriages break. 00:25:57.599 --> 00:25:58.559 Friendships break. 00:25:59.559 --> 00:26:00.939 And families fall apart. 00:26:00.940 --> 00:26:06.360 Not only do we see disorder. 00:26:06.500 --> 00:26:07.620 But we see the decay. 00:26:07.840 --> 00:26:08.720 All around us. 00:26:08.779 --> 00:26:09.539 Verse 17. 00:26:10.620 --> 00:26:11.480 To Adam he said. 00:26:11.559 --> 00:26:12.940 Because you listened to your wife. 00:26:13.000 --> 00:26:13.920 And ate from the tree. 00:26:14.000 --> 00:26:15.299 About which I commanded you. 00:26:15.380 --> 00:26:16.140 You must not eat. 00:26:16.640 --> 00:26:17.059 Cursed. 00:26:18.100 --> 00:26:19.880 Is the ground because of you. 00:26:20.400 --> 00:26:21.460 The whole world. 00:26:21.620 --> 00:26:22.440 Is under a curse. 00:26:23.320 --> 00:26:24.400 Through painful toil. 00:26:24.400 --> 00:26:25.240 You will eat of it. 00:26:25.320 --> 00:26:26.180 All the days. 00:26:26.820 --> 00:26:27.740 Of your life. 00:26:27.740 --> 00:26:30.599 Everything around us. 00:26:31.519 --> 00:26:33.579 Has been touched with the curse. 00:26:35.359 --> 00:26:36.980 Things are full of disease. 00:26:37.279 --> 00:26:37.859 And decay. 00:26:38.819 --> 00:26:39.980 Things don't work. 00:26:40.839 --> 00:26:41.160 Weather. 00:26:41.660 --> 00:26:43.059 And chaotic patterns. 00:26:43.339 --> 00:26:43.980 All around us. 00:26:44.359 --> 00:26:44.700 Ruin. 00:26:44.920 --> 00:26:45.880 And crush. 00:26:46.059 --> 00:26:47.120 And break lives. 00:26:48.740 --> 00:26:50.420 Not only is there decay. 00:26:51.099 --> 00:26:52.500 But there is death. 00:26:52.759 --> 00:26:53.539 Verse 19. 00:26:54.579 --> 00:26:55.980 By the sweat of your brow. 00:26:56.120 --> 00:26:57.220 You will eat your food. 00:26:57.740 --> 00:26:59.579 Until you return to the ground. 00:27:00.519 --> 00:27:02.200 Since from it you were taken. 00:27:03.180 --> 00:27:04.720 For dust you are. 00:27:05.579 --> 00:27:07.599 And to dust you will return. 00:27:09.700 --> 00:27:12.160 Only a few verses previously. 00:27:12.359 --> 00:27:14.180 There was this amazing picture. 00:27:14.940 --> 00:27:17.579 Of the world teeming with life. 00:27:18.259 --> 00:27:19.519 In all its beauty. 00:27:19.519 --> 00:27:20.700 In all its harmony. 00:27:21.279 --> 00:27:23.559 And now there is just the experience. 00:27:24.019 --> 00:27:24.920 Of pain. 00:27:25.380 --> 00:27:25.980 And the hurt. 00:27:26.279 --> 00:27:27.200 Of death itself. 00:27:27.740 --> 00:27:31.640 And above all of these things. 00:27:33.140 --> 00:27:35.620 There was the broken relationship with God. 00:27:35.720 --> 00:27:36.799 Look at verse 23. 00:27:36.799 --> 00:27:40.899 So the Lord God. 00:27:42.139 --> 00:27:44.379 Banished him from the garden of Eden. 00:27:45.339 --> 00:27:46.720 To work the ground. 00:27:47.379 --> 00:27:49.119 From which he had been taken. 00:27:49.119 --> 00:27:52.119 What a desperate conclusion. 00:27:53.460 --> 00:27:54.159 To the story. 00:27:55.319 --> 00:27:57.839 Man being shut out from God. 00:27:57.839 --> 00:27:58.839 Rather than. 00:27:58.839 --> 00:27:59.839 Rather than enjoying God. 00:27:59.839 --> 00:28:00.619 Rather than enjoying God. 00:28:00.619 --> 00:28:03.339 Rather than living and walking with God. 00:28:03.579 --> 00:28:05.220 Now fearing God. 00:28:05.359 --> 00:28:06.759 And hating God. 00:28:08.119 --> 00:28:09.939 It's all gone wrong. 00:28:10.699 --> 00:28:12.500 The gift has been broken. 00:28:12.500 --> 00:28:19.160 But this isn't just the story of the first man and the first woman. 00:28:20.079 --> 00:28:21.839 This is my story. 00:28:21.839 --> 00:28:26.500 I'm Adam in this story. 00:28:27.500 --> 00:28:29.159 Because we all distort. 00:28:29.459 --> 00:28:30.419 We all deny. 00:28:30.779 --> 00:28:31.939 We all distrust. 00:28:32.299 --> 00:28:33.720 We all disobey. 00:28:36.359 --> 00:28:37.879 Quite a number of years ago. 00:28:37.980 --> 00:28:39.319 The Times newspaper. 00:28:39.319 --> 00:28:42.359 Had a question in the paper. 00:28:42.500 --> 00:28:44.159 And they invited a number of writers. 00:28:44.159 --> 00:28:45.699 To respond to the question. 00:28:45.700 --> 00:28:48.480 And this was the question they put in the newspaper. 00:28:49.480 --> 00:28:51.620 What's wrong with the world? 00:28:53.080 --> 00:28:55.100 One well-known writer at the time. 00:28:55.200 --> 00:28:56.840 G.K. Chesterton replied. 00:28:57.920 --> 00:28:58.880 Dear sirs. 00:28:59.860 --> 00:29:00.860 I am. 00:29:02.299 --> 00:29:03.340 Sincerely yours. 00:29:03.960 --> 00:29:05.080 G.K. Chesterton. 00:29:06.640 --> 00:29:09.080 What happened to this good and beautiful world? 00:29:10.819 --> 00:29:12.559 You're looking at it right here. 00:29:13.059 --> 00:29:13.819 It's me. 00:29:15.700 --> 00:29:17.500 And look at yourself. 00:29:19.299 --> 00:29:21.380 Why is everything a mess? 00:29:22.360 --> 00:29:22.920 Me. 00:29:23.680 --> 00:29:27.440 We've all ruined God's good gift that he's given to us. 00:29:27.640 --> 00:29:31.380 Like a kid on Christmas Day who comes rushing down the stairs. 00:29:31.819 --> 00:29:33.460 And breaks open their presents. 00:29:33.840 --> 00:29:36.380 All because they thought they knew what was best. 00:29:36.480 --> 00:29:39.440 And they didn't listen to the instruction or read the label. 00:29:40.279 --> 00:29:42.620 We have not listened to God. 00:29:42.619 --> 00:29:47.899 We've gone on a revolution in saying we don't need you. 00:29:48.879 --> 00:29:50.159 Don't tell me what to do. 00:29:50.219 --> 00:29:51.679 I know what's best for my life. 00:29:51.979 --> 00:29:53.759 I know what's best for my relationships. 00:29:54.179 --> 00:29:55.679 I know what's best for me. 00:29:58.059 --> 00:29:59.500 And the world is broken. 00:29:59.500 --> 00:30:03.680 What do we do? 00:30:03.680 --> 00:30:06.619 How can we fix it? 00:30:06.619 --> 00:30:10.639 Well, we need another gift. 00:30:11.639 --> 00:30:14.019 The gift we all need. 00:30:14.019 --> 00:30:22.779 Because Genesis 3 is full of terrible things. 00:30:23.400 --> 00:30:27.339 But it's full of goodness and it's full of grace. 00:30:27.339 --> 00:30:33.399 Because in chapter 3 someone is promised who can fix it. 00:30:34.159 --> 00:30:36.959 Genesis 3 is not all doom and gloom. 00:30:37.319 --> 00:30:39.599 There are the seeds of hope. 00:30:39.939 --> 00:30:44.099 The promise of an amazing gift that is to come. 00:30:45.579 --> 00:30:46.679 What is this gift? 00:30:47.439 --> 00:30:49.399 Or who is this gift? 00:30:49.400 --> 00:30:55.980 Well, this person will come and destroy the devil and death. 00:30:56.500 --> 00:30:58.300 Look at chapter 3 verse 15. 00:31:00.019 --> 00:31:02.660 You could just read through it and not see it. 00:31:03.060 --> 00:31:04.480 Chapter 3 verse 15. 00:31:05.200 --> 00:31:06.580 God is speaking to the woman. 00:31:06.740 --> 00:31:08.040 This is what he says will happen. 00:31:08.500 --> 00:31:08.880 He says, 00:31:08.880 --> 00:31:12.320 I will put enmity between you and the woman. 00:31:13.240 --> 00:31:14.680 And between your offspring. 00:31:14.900 --> 00:31:16.540 Sorry, I'll start again. 00:31:16.660 --> 00:31:19.500 God is speaking to the devil. 00:31:20.200 --> 00:31:20.980 And this is what he says. 00:31:21.100 --> 00:31:23.700 I will put enmity between you and the woman. 00:31:24.200 --> 00:31:26.560 And between your offspring and hers. 00:31:27.640 --> 00:31:30.540 He will crush your head. 00:31:31.540 --> 00:31:34.460 And you will strike his heel. 00:31:34.460 --> 00:31:39.299 God is promising and saying from the woman. 00:31:41.240 --> 00:31:43.220 From the human race. 00:31:44.000 --> 00:31:47.000 One is going to come out of the human race. 00:31:47.400 --> 00:31:49.960 One special person is going to be born. 00:31:50.279 --> 00:31:51.900 And they are going to grow up. 00:31:52.059 --> 00:31:55.259 And they are going to crush the devil. 00:31:56.480 --> 00:31:57.340 Defeating him. 00:31:57.740 --> 00:31:59.259 And destroying him. 00:31:59.259 --> 00:32:04.720 You may remember Mel Gibson's film, The Passion. 00:32:05.920 --> 00:32:10.319 The very opening scene has Jesus walking through the garden of Gethsemane. 00:32:10.480 --> 00:32:12.599 Where he goes to pray to his father. 00:32:14.819 --> 00:32:20.359 And as Jesus is praying, Mel Gibson in his interpretation has a snake. 00:32:21.140 --> 00:32:23.660 And it crawls over Jesus. 00:32:23.660 --> 00:32:30.920 And in reaction, Jesus stands on the snake's head and crushes it. 00:32:32.620 --> 00:32:41.500 Now while that never actually happened, Gibson is using the symbolism to try and explain what Jesus came to do. 00:32:42.519 --> 00:32:45.480 He was the one who came to crush Satan. 00:32:45.480 --> 00:33:15.460 Hebrews chapter 2. 00:33:15.480 --> 00:33:25.079 Since the children, that's people like you and me, have flesh and blood. 00:33:26.380 --> 00:33:27.839 Normal human people. 00:33:28.339 --> 00:33:31.500 He too, that's Jesus, shared in their humanity. 00:33:31.880 --> 00:33:36.720 It's talking about the God who came to this earth in the person of Jesus Christ. 00:33:37.000 --> 00:33:38.360 He took on flesh and blood. 00:33:38.460 --> 00:33:40.339 He walked this world like you and me. 00:33:40.339 --> 00:33:42.339 He shared in their humanity. 00:33:42.339 --> 00:33:51.599 So that by his death, he might destroy him who holds the power of death. 00:33:52.240 --> 00:33:53.939 That is the devil. 00:33:53.940 --> 00:34:12.240 Jesus Christ is the special one who was born, who comes to destroy the devil by his own death on the cross. 00:34:12.239 --> 00:34:16.859 Jesus crushes his head so that we could be set free. 00:34:18.059 --> 00:34:23.239 So that we no longer have to distort or distrust or disobey God. 00:34:23.239 --> 00:34:25.239 But rather we read his word. 00:34:25.239 --> 00:34:25.739 But rather we read his word. 00:34:26.059 --> 00:34:27.759 We obey it and we follow it. 00:34:27.819 --> 00:34:32.500 Because we are now in a right relationship again with our creator God. 00:34:32.979 --> 00:34:36.119 Jesus came to overpower the evil one. 00:34:36.379 --> 00:34:38.439 And give us a new way to live. 00:34:38.739 --> 00:34:40.339 To set us free. 00:34:41.979 --> 00:34:43.799 To live God's way. 00:34:43.800 --> 00:34:48.440 God in his grace at the very beginning. 00:34:51.440 --> 00:34:54.039 Promised the one who would come. 00:34:54.900 --> 00:34:56.780 And that's what we celebrate at Christmas. 00:34:57.640 --> 00:34:58.580 The baby. 00:34:58.900 --> 00:34:59.680 The Lord Jesus. 00:35:00.039 --> 00:35:00.920 Who grew up. 00:35:01.920 --> 00:35:04.640 But not only does he destroy evil and death. 00:35:05.060 --> 00:35:09.860 He comes to cover our guilt and our shame. 00:35:10.640 --> 00:35:11.920 Look at chapter 3. 00:35:11.920 --> 00:35:15.240 This is back in Genesis chapter 3 verse 7. 00:35:16.420 --> 00:35:19.740 We're told there that Adam and Eve after they had eaten the fruit. 00:35:21.079 --> 00:35:22.480 In verse 7 it says. 00:35:22.700 --> 00:35:24.500 Then both of their eyes were opened. 00:35:25.059 --> 00:35:27.079 And they realised that they were naked. 00:35:28.180 --> 00:35:30.700 So they sewed fig leaves together. 00:35:31.000 --> 00:35:33.480 And made coverings of them for themselves. 00:35:35.860 --> 00:35:37.840 What a stupid thing to do. 00:35:38.639 --> 00:35:39.519 We can picture it. 00:35:39.519 --> 00:35:40.720 We've seen the pictures. 00:35:40.719 --> 00:35:42.779 Sticking leaves on each other. 00:35:44.079 --> 00:35:45.639 What are they trying to hide? 00:35:46.119 --> 00:35:47.839 You see when we turn against God. 00:35:47.980 --> 00:35:49.259 We lose our innocence. 00:35:50.039 --> 00:35:52.000 We take all his good gifts. 00:35:52.339 --> 00:35:54.379 And we can't use them for good any longer. 00:35:54.500 --> 00:35:56.619 We just break them and destroy them. 00:35:57.939 --> 00:35:59.119 And when we try to. 00:35:59.459 --> 00:36:01.419 And then we try to cover it all up. 00:36:01.459 --> 00:36:02.859 As if nothing has ever happened. 00:36:03.219 --> 00:36:05.000 And that's what Adam and Eve were doing. 00:36:05.000 --> 00:36:07.860 They're trying to cover up their sin. 00:36:08.380 --> 00:36:10.380 They're pretending that nothing happened. 00:36:10.380 --> 00:36:11.820 That they didn't take the fruit. 00:36:12.159 --> 00:36:13.900 Let's put leaves on ourselves. 00:36:14.119 --> 00:36:15.579 Let's hide our guilt and shame. 00:36:15.900 --> 00:36:17.280 And God won't see. 00:36:17.400 --> 00:36:18.360 And God won't know. 00:36:21.039 --> 00:36:22.139 How ridiculous. 00:36:22.139 --> 00:36:27.299 But again look at the grace of God in all of this. 00:36:27.299 --> 00:36:28.759 Look at verse 21. 00:36:30.400 --> 00:36:31.940 Look what God did. 00:36:32.599 --> 00:36:33.659 Look what he provided. 00:36:34.859 --> 00:36:35.579 Verse 21. 00:36:35.739 --> 00:36:39.099 The Lord God made garments of skin. 00:36:39.199 --> 00:36:41.879 That is he took the skin of an animal. 00:36:41.880 --> 00:36:44.519 For Adam and Eve. 00:36:44.840 --> 00:36:46.059 And he clothed them. 00:36:47.460 --> 00:36:50.119 God provides a covering for them. 00:36:50.900 --> 00:36:51.880 Not leaves. 00:36:52.680 --> 00:36:54.800 But something a bit more substantial. 00:36:55.140 --> 00:36:56.800 Something better. 00:36:58.280 --> 00:37:00.440 Now if we know anything of the Bible story. 00:37:00.539 --> 00:37:02.300 We know this is deeply symbolic. 00:37:03.420 --> 00:37:05.180 Because centuries later. 00:37:05.660 --> 00:37:07.640 His promised one would come. 00:37:07.740 --> 00:37:08.920 The Lord Jesus Christ. 00:37:09.200 --> 00:37:10.380 What did he come to do? 00:37:10.780 --> 00:37:11.559 To cover. 00:37:12.460 --> 00:37:13.340 Our guilt. 00:37:13.800 --> 00:37:14.559 And our shame. 00:37:15.559 --> 00:37:16.740 How did he do that? 00:37:17.559 --> 00:37:20.920 Well Jesus takes our disobedience. 00:37:22.500 --> 00:37:24.099 He covers himself. 00:37:24.260 --> 00:37:27.220 He takes our guilt and shame off us. 00:37:27.280 --> 00:37:29.079 He takes those clothes off us. 00:37:29.280 --> 00:37:31.340 And he puts them on himself. 00:37:32.660 --> 00:37:35.700 And he suffers and dies in our place. 00:37:35.920 --> 00:37:36.900 But in his place. 00:37:37.019 --> 00:37:37.660 Not only that. 00:37:37.920 --> 00:37:39.160 He takes off. 00:37:39.160 --> 00:37:39.820 If you like. 00:37:40.099 --> 00:37:41.519 His perfect obedience. 00:37:41.880 --> 00:37:43.400 And he covers us. 00:37:43.400 --> 00:37:44.400 With his beauty. 00:37:44.400 --> 00:37:46.180 And his purity. 00:37:46.559 --> 00:37:48.880 He takes off our old clothes. 00:37:49.200 --> 00:37:51.599 And he puts on the new clothes. 00:37:52.880 --> 00:37:55.340 And when God looks at us. 00:37:56.340 --> 00:37:58.840 He doesn't see me. 00:37:58.840 --> 00:37:59.460 He sees me. 00:37:59.460 --> 00:38:00.100 He sees me. 00:38:00.100 --> 00:38:03.240 He sees me in Jesus. 00:38:03.239 --> 00:38:05.599 All his perfection. 00:38:05.599 --> 00:38:07.699 All his perfection put on me. 00:38:08.699 --> 00:38:11.219 So that I might be right with him. 00:38:11.219 --> 00:38:11.539 You know. 00:38:11.539 --> 00:38:13.579 You know. 00:38:13.639 --> 00:38:15.939 Too often we deal with our guilt and shame. 00:38:16.939 --> 00:38:18.639 As if nothing ever happened. 00:38:19.879 --> 00:38:22.019 We cover it all up with excuses. 00:38:22.019 --> 00:38:24.840 We do the blame game. 00:38:24.840 --> 00:38:24.860 We do the blame game. 00:38:24.860 --> 00:38:25.360 And we say. 00:38:25.440 --> 00:38:26.259 Oh they did this. 00:38:26.380 --> 00:38:27.059 They said that. 00:38:27.179 --> 00:38:28.039 They started that. 00:38:28.440 --> 00:38:29.880 They said this about me. 00:38:31.619 --> 00:38:33.500 We blame our circumstances. 00:38:33.900 --> 00:38:35.119 We blame our childhood. 00:38:35.539 --> 00:38:37.099 We blame all sorts of things. 00:38:37.300 --> 00:38:38.659 But it's never me. 00:38:40.340 --> 00:38:43.239 And we ignore everything that has gone on. 00:38:44.619 --> 00:38:46.460 Putting leaves on ourselves. 00:38:46.460 --> 00:38:48.000 Trying to cover it all up. 00:38:48.000 --> 00:38:51.880 Instead we should be running to Jesus. 00:38:52.860 --> 00:38:54.940 Who covers all our guilt. 00:38:55.920 --> 00:38:57.579 Covers all of our shame. 00:38:58.880 --> 00:39:00.420 So that we can live. 00:39:01.079 --> 00:39:03.760 Just like Adam and Eve lived. 00:39:04.119 --> 00:39:05.260 In the very beginning. 00:39:06.539 --> 00:39:07.900 That perfect harmony. 00:39:08.960 --> 00:39:10.179 To walk with God. 00:39:10.300 --> 00:39:10.940 To know him. 00:39:11.059 --> 00:39:11.920 To delight in him. 00:39:12.039 --> 00:39:13.019 To enjoy him. 00:39:13.420 --> 00:39:15.079 This is what he called us to do. 00:39:15.980 --> 00:39:17.880 This is the gift we need. 00:39:18.000 --> 00:39:21.159 The one who comes to renew this disordered world. 00:39:21.480 --> 00:39:24.719 The one who came to restore our broken lives. 00:39:25.820 --> 00:39:27.860 This is what Christmas is all about. 00:39:29.460 --> 00:39:31.199 And this is why we celebrate. 00:39:32.260 --> 00:39:34.059 The Lord Jesus who came. 00:39:34.900 --> 00:39:37.219 To destroy the devil and death. 00:39:38.219 --> 00:39:39.380 And to cover. 00:39:40.380 --> 00:39:41.539 All of our guilt. 00:39:42.480 --> 00:39:43.400 And our shame. 00:39:43.400 --> 00:39:47.700 Let's thank God. 00:39:48.039 --> 00:39:49.840 For his amazing gift. 00:40:04.840 --> 00:40:05.559 Father. 00:40:05.559 --> 00:40:05.639 Father. 00:40:05.639 --> 00:40:06.079 Father. 00:40:07.599 --> 00:40:09.199 We see ourselves. 00:40:09.199 --> 00:40:10.460 All too clearly. 00:40:10.460 --> 00:40:11.659 In this story. 00:40:15.460 --> 00:40:16.839 We see ourselves. 00:40:16.839 --> 00:40:18.480 As people who ignore you. 00:40:20.219 --> 00:40:21.139 Deny you. 00:40:21.259 --> 00:40:21.980 And distrust. 00:40:22.599 --> 00:40:23.839 That you are good. 00:40:23.940 --> 00:40:24.839 And what you give us. 00:40:24.960 --> 00:40:25.980 Is best and right. 00:40:25.980 --> 00:40:30.320 And so we confess. 00:40:30.320 --> 00:40:30.760 Father. 00:40:32.079 --> 00:40:33.199 The times. 00:40:34.199 --> 00:40:35.119 This week. 00:40:35.300 --> 00:40:35.639 Today. 00:40:37.440 --> 00:40:38.960 Where we have decided. 00:40:39.119 --> 00:40:40.320 What is best for ourselves. 00:40:41.980 --> 00:40:43.579 Where we have ignored you. 00:40:44.820 --> 00:40:46.380 And turned against you. 00:40:48.760 --> 00:40:49.320 Father. 00:40:49.440 --> 00:40:50.420 Please forgive us. 00:40:50.420 --> 00:40:52.960 And we thank you. 00:40:52.960 --> 00:40:53.720 That in Jesus. 00:40:54.720 --> 00:40:56.700 We have one who covers us. 00:40:57.940 --> 00:40:59.119 Covers all our guilt. 00:40:59.240 --> 00:40:59.980 And all our shame. 00:41:01.820 --> 00:41:02.800 Takes it away. 00:41:04.159 --> 00:41:06.820 So that we might be in fellowship with you. 00:41:08.880 --> 00:41:09.720 So Father. 00:41:09.800 --> 00:41:10.400 Help us. 00:41:11.539 --> 00:41:13.539 To enjoy your good gifts. 00:41:14.740 --> 00:41:16.920 Help us to celebrate the good gifts. 00:41:17.059 --> 00:41:18.380 That you have given to us. 00:41:18.380 --> 00:41:21.420 But we pray above all. 00:41:21.559 --> 00:41:22.559 That we will worship. 00:41:23.180 --> 00:41:24.740 The greatest gift of all. 00:41:24.820 --> 00:41:25.519 The Lord Jesus. 00:41:26.720 --> 00:41:28.079 That we might live. 00:41:28.900 --> 00:41:30.180 In harmony with you. 00:41:30.920 --> 00:41:32.680 In harmony with one another. 00:41:34.039 --> 00:41:34.940 We thank you. 00:41:35.019 --> 00:41:36.599 That you have come to do something. 00:41:36.720 --> 00:41:37.480 About this world. 00:41:38.500 --> 00:41:39.500 And we thank you. 00:41:39.559 --> 00:41:40.920 That Jesus is the answer. 00:41:41.960 --> 00:41:43.720 We praise you for that. 00:41:44.619 --> 00:41:45.860 In Jesus name. 00:41:45.960 --> 00:41:46.619 We all pray. 00:41:47.640 --> 00:41:48.119 Amen. 00:41:48.380 --> 00:41:48.880 Amen. 00:41:48.880 --> 00:41:48.940 Amen. 00:41:48.940 --> 00:41:49.380 Amen. 00:41:49.380 --> 00:41:49.420 Amen. 00:41:54.880 --> 00:41:56.180 We are going to sing. 00:41:58.920 --> 00:42:03.340 A song which reminds us of how things have gone wrong. 00:42:06.019 --> 00:42:08.579 The prayer for us to call out to God. 00:42:08.740 --> 00:42:09.640 To have mercy. 00:42:10.000 --> 00:42:11.099 To forgive us Lord. 00:42:11.740 --> 00:42:12.920 To renew us. 00:42:12.920 --> 00:42:13.400 Amen. 00:42:13.400 --> 00:42:13.460 Amen. 00:42:13.460 --> 00:42:13.480 Amen. 00:42:13.480 --> 00:42:13.539 Amen. 00:42:13.539 --> 00:42:13.599 Amen. 00:42:13.599 --> 00:42:13.619 Amen. 00:42:13.619 --> 00:42:13.660 Amen. 00:42:13.660 --> 00:42:13.740 Amen. 00:42:13.740 --> 00:42:14.160 Amen. 00:42:14.160 --> 00:42:14.640 Amen. 00:42:14.640 --> 00:42:14.680 Amen. 00:42:14.680 --> 00:42:14.700 Amen. 00:42:14.700 --> 00:42:15.599 Amen. 00:42:15.599 --> 00:42:16.680 Amen. 00:42:16.680 --> 00:42:17.680 Amen. 00:42:17.680 --> 00:42:18.360 Amen.