WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.759 Good morning, everybody. There are some movies or shows, some bits of history that, 00:00:09.679 --> 00:00:18.420 especially movies and shows, if you miss the opening scene, you won't understand anything 00:00:18.420 --> 00:00:28.000 else in the story. The opening scene in some miniseries, in some shows, it's so critical, 00:00:28.000 --> 00:00:33.320 that sets the tone for the rest of the show, that if you miss it, it's a big problem. You won't 00:00:33.320 --> 00:00:37.859 understand the plot. There'll be holes, there'll be misunderstandings, there'll be question marks 00:00:37.859 --> 00:00:43.539 that will be in your head that you won't quite understand. We'll be in Genesis chapter 3 this 00:00:43.539 --> 00:00:53.500 morning, and this is one of those bits of scripture that if you don't get it, the story arc of the 00:00:53.500 --> 00:00:57.480 rest of the Bible will be hard to understand. In fact, you won't be able to understand it. 00:00:58.619 --> 00:01:05.500 Matt read from a bit of Genesis 2, but then in Genesis 3 as well, and it's the story of when 00:01:05.500 --> 00:01:11.420 sin entered the world. So we'll be talking about sin this morning. We're taking a break from George's 00:01:11.420 --> 00:01:23.060 series in Colossians, and we'll be talking about sin. Sin, for you, if you hear the term, you might 00:01:23.060 --> 00:01:30.879 think, I'm not really feeling like, I don't know, a guilt trip this morning, or that reminds 00:01:30.879 --> 00:01:38.659 me of Prohibition, or religious fundamentalist zealots that the media make as caricatures of 00:01:38.659 --> 00:01:48.620 us Christians. Sin is one of those touchy subjects, but it's actually very important for us to 00:01:48.620 --> 00:01:55.679 understand what sin is, and especially in the opening chapters of Genesis. Let me just tell you 00:01:55.679 --> 00:02:02.640 that a proper biblical understanding of sin is absolutely crucial and relevant if we are to figure 00:02:02.640 --> 00:02:10.340 out not just what the Bible is about, but what our lives are all about. So if you have a Bible, 00:02:10.560 --> 00:02:15.379 please turn with me to Genesis chapter 3 to follow along. There's some Bibles here at the front. If 00:02:15.379 --> 00:02:21.520 you have forgotten yours, if you don't have one, by all means grab a Bible. If you want to keep it 00:02:21.520 --> 00:02:28.560 and take it home, it's our gift to you. Genesis chapter 3. We'll jump in, but first, we'll see 00:02:28.560 --> 00:02:36.100 three things that this text tells us about sin. First, the cause of sin. Second, the consequence of sin. 00:02:37.200 --> 00:02:46.020 And third, and most importantly, the cure for sin. So the cause, the consequence, and the cure. So first, 00:02:46.020 --> 00:02:57.200 the cause of sin. What exactly is sin? I'll define it as this, and then I'll unpack it because this is 00:02:57.200 --> 00:03:02.160 a mouthful. What you're going to hear right now is going to be a mouthful. Sin is the overwhelming 00:03:02.160 --> 00:03:12.360 desire for self. Self-actualization, self-fulfillment, self-gratification, apart from the good and act of God. 00:03:12.360 --> 00:03:34.200 So it was a mouthful. It's still a mouthful. I'll unpack it. In chapter 2 of Genesis, God tells Adam that 00:03:34.200 --> 00:03:42.080 everything is good and it's legitimate for him to eat except for one thing. Let's take another read at it. 00:03:42.360 --> 00:03:43.820 Verses 16 and 17. 00:03:45.100 --> 00:03:49.440 And the Lord commanded the man, saying, You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 00:03:49.800 --> 00:03:55.360 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it, 00:03:56.000 --> 00:04:04.060 you shall surely die. It's interesting that this is the only prohibition that is given to the man 00:04:04.060 --> 00:04:13.180 and the woman. Man's entrusted to communicate this to his wife. And just a quick thing I want to draw 00:04:13.180 --> 00:04:16.740 your attention to, and kind of keep it in the back of your mind because it'll come up later, 00:04:17.160 --> 00:04:22.840 is that even the tree of life isn't prohibited for them to eat. 00:04:22.839 --> 00:04:34.139 All the trees, including the tree of life, is theirs to eat except for one tree, the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 00:04:35.719 --> 00:04:37.719 But why? Why this prohibition? 00:04:39.979 --> 00:04:43.839 Theologians, I mean, have had a ton of different... 00:04:45.299 --> 00:04:48.539 They're trying to figure this out. What does this mean? Why the prohibition? 00:04:48.540 --> 00:04:52.100 I just, not to get into any controversy, I'll put forward this to you. 00:04:52.819 --> 00:04:59.740 I want to suggest that the reason that God prohibited the eating of fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil 00:04:59.740 --> 00:05:04.740 is that he wanted to test the trust of Adam and Eve. 00:05:05.480 --> 00:05:09.379 He wanted to see if Adam, who had everything at his fingertips, 00:05:10.280 --> 00:05:13.740 including this wondrous task of tending God's creation, 00:05:14.500 --> 00:05:18.120 and knowing the Creator would trust that God was good, 00:05:18.540 --> 00:05:22.819 and that his way was trustworthy and worthy of complete obedience, 00:05:23.700 --> 00:05:29.260 that God was truly the King over all, the Creator over all, 00:05:29.460 --> 00:05:32.439 and that his presence was more than enough for fulfillment, 00:05:32.439 --> 00:05:37.340 to live under the good and complete rule of God. 00:05:38.780 --> 00:05:40.120 So what happens? 00:05:41.360 --> 00:05:43.439 Adam fails to communicate this to Eve. 00:05:44.040 --> 00:05:45.560 Eve is tempted by the serpent. 00:05:45.560 --> 00:05:50.959 Both her and Adam eat the prohibited fruit. 00:05:51.899 --> 00:05:53.060 Everything is a mess. 00:05:53.240 --> 00:05:55.540 And then they go on to blame each other, 00:05:56.040 --> 00:05:56.839 blame the serpent. 00:05:57.259 --> 00:05:59.980 It is a terrible, terrible mess. 00:06:01.800 --> 00:06:05.259 So this tree was called the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 00:06:05.259 --> 00:06:09.159 And the serpent, deceiving them, 00:06:10.420 --> 00:06:14.159 said that if you eat of it, you won't actually die. 00:06:14.639 --> 00:06:16.500 It's important for us to understand that 00:06:16.500 --> 00:06:19.759 the tree of the knowledge of good and evil 00:06:19.759 --> 00:06:24.379 isn't just a tree that somehow gives them knowledge, 00:06:24.379 --> 00:06:26.420 as if they were dummies beforehand. 00:06:26.420 --> 00:06:29.980 That they didn't know left from right, 00:06:30.100 --> 00:06:32.460 or they didn't know right from wrong. 00:06:34.340 --> 00:06:36.060 It's more than that. 00:06:36.819 --> 00:06:39.140 In Genesis 3, 4, and 5, this is what the serpent says. 00:06:39.139 --> 00:06:42.279 But the serpent said to the woman, 00:06:42.479 --> 00:06:44.479 You will not surely die, 00:06:45.120 --> 00:06:47.779 for God knows when you eat of it, 00:06:48.019 --> 00:06:49.319 your eyes will be opened, 00:06:49.459 --> 00:06:50.800 and you will be like God, 00:06:50.939 --> 00:06:52.339 knowing good and evil. 00:06:54.319 --> 00:06:56.599 The thing with this tree is that to eat of it, 00:06:56.620 --> 00:06:57.639 to know good and evil, 00:06:57.639 --> 00:07:02.240 is to actually say that you are the authority of good and evil. 00:07:03.259 --> 00:07:05.219 That's why the serpent says, 00:07:05.719 --> 00:07:08.459 Listen, God, he doesn't know what he's talking about. 00:07:08.459 --> 00:07:11.439 He's just afraid that you're going to be just like him. 00:07:12.719 --> 00:07:14.739 That you're going to steal his thunder, 00:07:14.899 --> 00:07:15.959 steal his authority. 00:07:17.259 --> 00:07:20.680 That somehow, you know, that the throne is just his, 00:07:20.939 --> 00:07:23.719 and he's just this egomaniac. 00:07:24.919 --> 00:07:26.299 Like, his rule isn't very good. 00:07:26.379 --> 00:07:29.439 You could do a better job than God. 00:07:30.779 --> 00:07:34.779 What the serpent is tempting Adam and Eve with 00:07:34.779 --> 00:07:38.019 is rebellion against God's rule. 00:07:38.019 --> 00:07:40.599 As if they could do it better than him. 00:07:42.500 --> 00:07:43.699 So they eat of it. 00:07:43.779 --> 00:07:46.180 They rebel against God's goodness and rule. 00:07:46.359 --> 00:07:48.240 They launch a coup against God. 00:07:48.240 --> 00:07:50.259 As if that is even possible. 00:07:52.000 --> 00:07:54.680 And they were saying that their ultimate form of existence, 00:07:54.799 --> 00:07:57.779 the ultimate human experience, 00:07:58.139 --> 00:08:00.479 is autonomy from their creator. 00:08:00.480 --> 00:08:04.780 Their standards, not God's standards, 00:08:04.900 --> 00:08:06.360 but their standards would be absolute. 00:08:08.360 --> 00:08:10.140 We see this today 00:08:10.140 --> 00:08:15.140 because our culture wants the good life of God. 00:08:16.140 --> 00:08:17.680 And just pause real quick. 00:08:17.780 --> 00:08:20.580 I say our culture as if they're out there and they're not here. 00:08:20.819 --> 00:08:21.060 Okay? 00:08:21.060 --> 00:08:24.540 We want the kingdom, 00:08:25.220 --> 00:08:26.699 but we don't want the king. 00:08:27.339 --> 00:08:31.540 We want all the goodness of what it means to live in peace and harmony, 00:08:31.699 --> 00:08:33.519 to know true fulfillment, 00:08:34.220 --> 00:08:36.460 but just not under the rule of God. 00:08:36.600 --> 00:08:37.659 We'll figure it out ourselves. 00:08:37.659 --> 00:08:50.620 It's like all the pursuits of many, many political ideologies have at the end utopia. 00:08:51.299 --> 00:08:56.120 Or movies picture this good life. 00:08:56.120 --> 00:09:02.820 It's this collective thought that seems to haunt the human condition. 00:09:04.100 --> 00:09:07.320 We want the good life. 00:09:07.440 --> 00:09:10.279 We want to get back to Eden, 00:09:10.899 --> 00:09:14.220 but we just don't want to get back to Eden 00:09:14.220 --> 00:09:16.159 if it means coming under God's rule. 00:09:22.379 --> 00:09:24.840 So how, in a way, in addition to that, 00:09:24.840 --> 00:09:26.500 how does this apply to us personally? 00:09:26.639 --> 00:09:27.580 Well, it means that, 00:09:28.720 --> 00:09:33.560 I mean, it's not like as if you and I have launched a coup against God. 00:09:34.680 --> 00:09:36.160 Something so ridiculous 00:09:36.160 --> 00:09:39.480 as if somehow we could ascend to the heavens 00:09:39.480 --> 00:09:40.960 and kick God off his throne. 00:09:41.019 --> 00:09:41.740 It's not like that. 00:09:41.780 --> 00:09:44.639 But our actions say otherwise. 00:09:46.740 --> 00:09:50.400 If the essence of sin is the overwhelming desire for the self, 00:09:51.540 --> 00:09:53.680 apart from God, 00:09:53.679 --> 00:09:56.000 we all live in a way 00:09:56.000 --> 00:09:58.139 where our actions, first and foremost, 00:09:58.319 --> 00:09:59.099 benefit us. 00:09:59.939 --> 00:10:01.839 That our motives are self-centered. 00:10:02.239 --> 00:10:04.379 Now, our motives oftentimes, 00:10:04.779 --> 00:10:06.120 and this is generalization, 00:10:07.099 --> 00:10:09.199 but I think it's a good and apt generalization 00:10:09.199 --> 00:10:12.299 that our motivations are fueled by fear or pride. 00:10:13.639 --> 00:10:14.599 What do I mean? 00:10:14.600 --> 00:10:17.180 So pride, for example, 00:10:17.759 --> 00:10:21.519 if one is doing charity, 00:10:21.620 --> 00:10:22.620 it's a very good thing, 00:10:23.320 --> 00:10:27.740 but how often are people doing charity 00:10:27.740 --> 00:10:29.279 on a consistent basis 00:10:29.279 --> 00:10:31.620 completely anonymously, 00:10:32.000 --> 00:10:35.200 apart from all of the wonderful anonymous givers 00:10:35.200 --> 00:10:37.519 that gave to the Bible House project? 00:10:37.519 --> 00:10:39.519 But in general, 00:10:40.539 --> 00:10:41.579 people do charity 00:10:41.579 --> 00:10:43.639 and they do it in a loud kind of way. 00:10:44.480 --> 00:10:46.360 They want a pat on the back, 00:10:46.659 --> 00:10:47.319 a plaque, 00:10:48.179 --> 00:10:51.679 maybe an article in some periodical 00:10:51.679 --> 00:10:53.220 or something online, 00:10:53.579 --> 00:10:54.519 a news, whatever. 00:10:55.899 --> 00:10:56.539 And by the way, 00:10:57.059 --> 00:10:59.759 it's still good that charity happens. 00:10:59.879 --> 00:11:00.679 I'm not trying to say, 00:11:00.799 --> 00:11:00.980 you know, 00:11:01.019 --> 00:11:03.159 if you can't do charity with good motives, 00:11:03.419 --> 00:11:04.480 then you shouldn't give 00:11:04.480 --> 00:11:05.500 and you shouldn't be charitable. 00:11:05.659 --> 00:11:06.200 No, I mean, 00:11:06.899 --> 00:11:08.039 just trying to draw your attention 00:11:08.039 --> 00:11:11.740 to what motivates us to be charitable. 00:11:12.440 --> 00:11:13.240 I think it's pride. 00:11:14.180 --> 00:11:18.560 We want to be seen as excellent people, 00:11:18.700 --> 00:11:19.480 upright people. 00:11:20.399 --> 00:11:21.779 But then there's fear as well. 00:11:21.779 --> 00:11:24.060 This is an example that hits closer to home. 00:11:24.860 --> 00:11:27.180 So growing up in Southern Ontario, 00:11:27.940 --> 00:11:28.220 I mean, 00:11:28.279 --> 00:11:31.279 I worked from when I was in like grade five, 00:11:31.399 --> 00:11:32.460 but when I was in high school, 00:11:32.460 --> 00:11:34.680 I had a job at a grocery store 00:11:34.680 --> 00:11:37.759 and myself and a few others, 00:11:38.340 --> 00:11:39.920 it turns out there was a lot more than us, 00:11:40.019 --> 00:11:41.820 but we all got fired for stealing 00:11:41.820 --> 00:11:43.700 at the grocery store. 00:11:43.840 --> 00:11:45.480 And we didn't do this in like, 00:11:45.580 --> 00:11:47.920 we didn't think of ourselves as thieves 00:11:47.920 --> 00:11:49.860 because we would know somebody 00:11:49.860 --> 00:11:50.980 in the meat department 00:11:50.980 --> 00:11:52.780 or the deli or the bakery 00:11:52.780 --> 00:11:54.879 and they would just print off 00:11:54.879 --> 00:11:58.840 a new barcode with a way cheaper price. 00:11:58.840 --> 00:12:01.700 Like when you're getting tenderloin for 12 cents, 00:12:02.300 --> 00:12:02.519 you know, 00:12:02.560 --> 00:12:03.240 it's stealing. 00:12:04.280 --> 00:12:06.320 I don't say that to brag. 00:12:06.399 --> 00:12:08.800 I say it because I was a stupid 15 year old. 00:12:09.259 --> 00:12:11.200 I was completely boneheaded 00:12:11.200 --> 00:12:12.580 and I deserve to get fired. 00:12:14.899 --> 00:12:16.200 Thank God I got fired. 00:12:16.600 --> 00:12:19.259 But I got a job right after that at Zellers 00:12:19.259 --> 00:12:21.580 back when Zellers existed in Canada. 00:12:21.580 --> 00:12:25.940 And I thought I'm going to steal 00:12:25.940 --> 00:12:28.100 and I was going to steal an item 00:12:28.100 --> 00:12:29.379 and I had it in my pocket. 00:12:30.080 --> 00:12:32.280 And then fear came on me 00:12:32.280 --> 00:12:34.440 because I didn't want to be seen as a thief. 00:12:35.440 --> 00:12:36.379 It's a good thing, 00:12:36.520 --> 00:12:39.660 but my motivation wasn't like an altruistic, 00:12:39.879 --> 00:12:41.340 I am not going to steal 00:12:41.340 --> 00:12:44.440 because stealing destroys our social fabric 00:12:44.440 --> 00:12:45.720 and it hurts God. 00:12:45.960 --> 00:12:46.960 And, you know, 00:12:47.020 --> 00:12:47.700 my parents, 00:12:47.840 --> 00:12:48.780 they're lovely people 00:12:48.779 --> 00:12:50.959 and they don't want the reputation 00:12:50.959 --> 00:12:52.500 of having a son as a thief. 00:12:52.779 --> 00:12:53.199 No, 00:12:53.399 --> 00:12:54.980 I didn't want to get in trouble. 00:12:55.620 --> 00:12:57.159 So I snuck to the back, 00:12:57.519 --> 00:12:58.639 took the item out of my pocket, 00:12:59.259 --> 00:12:59.860 tossed it, 00:13:00.319 --> 00:13:01.379 I have no idea where, 00:13:01.919 --> 00:13:04.019 and just spent the rest of my shift 00:13:04.019 --> 00:13:05.779 in fear that I'd get caught somehow, 00:13:05.939 --> 00:13:10.959 that I'd get fired again for stealing. 00:13:11.959 --> 00:13:13.539 It's still good that I didn't steal 00:13:13.539 --> 00:13:14.839 even though my motivation was fear. 00:13:14.840 --> 00:13:17.100 But I'm pointing out that my motivation 00:13:17.100 --> 00:13:18.879 was still so selfish. 00:13:21.040 --> 00:13:22.480 The point is this, 00:13:23.000 --> 00:13:24.600 we seldom, if ever, 00:13:24.780 --> 00:13:27.340 do good things because they're inherently good 00:13:27.340 --> 00:13:29.800 or not do bad things 00:13:29.800 --> 00:13:31.340 because they're inherently bad. 00:13:33.080 --> 00:13:34.019 And just to be clear, 00:13:34.840 --> 00:13:36.639 so we have these mixed motives, 00:13:36.720 --> 00:13:37.540 but just to be clear, 00:13:38.180 --> 00:13:41.180 it's good in a sense that our society 00:13:41.179 --> 00:13:44.179 operates in this way 00:13:44.179 --> 00:13:45.139 and there's checks and balances. 00:13:45.319 --> 00:13:45.879 But again, 00:13:46.339 --> 00:13:48.839 I want to put forward to you 00:13:48.839 --> 00:13:50.219 that our motivations 00:13:50.219 --> 00:13:52.319 are inherently selfish. 00:13:56.439 --> 00:13:57.939 This reveals something 00:13:57.939 --> 00:14:00.159 very telling about the human condition, 00:14:00.239 --> 00:14:01.159 about who you are 00:14:01.159 --> 00:14:02.039 and who I am, 00:14:02.319 --> 00:14:03.539 that at the heart level, 00:14:03.739 --> 00:14:04.859 we are about ourselves. 00:14:05.459 --> 00:14:06.699 We are about our fulfillment, 00:14:07.339 --> 00:14:08.120 our future, 00:14:08.319 --> 00:14:08.979 our reputation, 00:14:08.980 --> 00:14:09.620 our pleasure, 00:14:10.060 --> 00:14:10.759 our rule, 00:14:10.899 --> 00:14:11.519 our legacy. 00:14:13.259 --> 00:14:13.659 And yet, 00:14:13.860 --> 00:14:16.500 creation was set up by God, 00:14:16.920 --> 00:14:17.639 the Creator, 00:14:18.139 --> 00:14:20.139 for us to live under God's rule, 00:14:20.279 --> 00:14:21.759 to work and live with 00:14:21.759 --> 00:14:23.639 an eternal purpose, 00:14:23.980 --> 00:14:26.420 to know incredible fellowship and love 00:14:26.420 --> 00:14:29.000 with the One who created us. 00:14:30.659 --> 00:14:32.060 So what then is sin? 00:14:34.639 --> 00:14:37.100 Sin is an overwhelming desire for self, 00:14:37.100 --> 00:14:38.680 self-actualization, 00:14:38.879 --> 00:14:39.700 self-fulfillment, 00:14:39.940 --> 00:14:41.440 and self-gratification 00:14:41.440 --> 00:14:42.519 apart 00:14:42.519 --> 00:14:45.040 from the good 00:14:45.040 --> 00:14:46.220 and act of God. 00:14:46.500 --> 00:14:48.259 Sin is rebellion against God. 00:14:51.560 --> 00:14:53.680 So if sin is rebellion against God, 00:14:53.779 --> 00:14:55.100 what are the consequences? 00:14:55.259 --> 00:14:55.840 Look with me 00:14:55.840 --> 00:14:57.500 in chapter 3, 00:14:57.540 --> 00:14:58.800 verses 7 and 8. 00:14:59.700 --> 00:15:00.759 It says this, 00:15:01.700 --> 00:15:02.080 Then 00:15:02.080 --> 00:15:04.300 the eyes of both, 00:15:04.399 --> 00:15:04.879 Adam and Eve, 00:15:04.920 --> 00:15:05.340 were opened. 00:15:05.480 --> 00:15:06.680 This is after they eat the fruit. 00:15:07.100 --> 00:15:09.519 And they knew that they were naked, 00:15:09.779 --> 00:15:11.659 and they sewed fig leaves together 00:15:11.659 --> 00:15:13.240 and made themselves loincloths. 00:15:13.659 --> 00:15:15.820 And they heard the sound of the Lord God 00:15:15.820 --> 00:15:16.860 walking in the garden 00:15:16.860 --> 00:15:18.120 in the cool of the day. 00:15:18.440 --> 00:15:20.019 And the man and his wife 00:15:20.019 --> 00:15:21.920 hid themselves from the presence 00:15:21.920 --> 00:15:23.399 of the Lord God 00:15:23.399 --> 00:15:24.000 because, 00:15:24.340 --> 00:15:24.920 sorry, 00:15:25.000 --> 00:15:25.540 of the Lord God 00:15:25.540 --> 00:15:27.440 among the trees of the garden. 00:15:27.960 --> 00:15:29.399 And it was because they were afraid. 00:15:30.860 --> 00:15:33.120 The consequences of sin 00:15:33.120 --> 00:15:35.660 are shame and fear. 00:15:35.659 --> 00:15:37.500 They were naked, 00:15:37.919 --> 00:15:39.039 the man and the woman. 00:15:40.620 --> 00:15:42.759 Not because they were, 00:15:42.860 --> 00:15:44.120 that's just the way they rolled. 00:15:44.480 --> 00:15:45.100 They, you know, 00:15:45.219 --> 00:15:47.079 they liked to hit up, 00:15:48.179 --> 00:15:48.600 I don't know, 00:15:48.659 --> 00:15:50.120 a beach and sunbathe. 00:15:50.219 --> 00:15:51.279 It's not like that. 00:15:51.679 --> 00:15:53.399 It's this picture of vulnerability. 00:15:53.399 --> 00:15:58.120 of intimacy 00:15:58.120 --> 00:16:01.019 without this fear 00:16:01.019 --> 00:16:02.399 of getting stomped on, 00:16:02.500 --> 00:16:03.980 this communion 00:16:03.980 --> 00:16:06.679 that is completely pure. 00:16:08.379 --> 00:16:09.639 And all of a sudden, 00:16:10.000 --> 00:16:11.240 they ate of the fruit 00:16:11.240 --> 00:16:12.459 and then they were naked 00:16:12.459 --> 00:16:13.840 and they felt shame. 00:16:17.220 --> 00:16:17.779 Embarrassment, 00:16:18.019 --> 00:16:18.799 brokenness, 00:16:18.799 --> 00:16:21.279 and also fear. 00:16:22.719 --> 00:16:24.620 They ran and hid from God 00:16:24.620 --> 00:16:26.779 and what's implied in verse 8 00:16:26.779 --> 00:16:27.679 when it says that 00:16:27.679 --> 00:16:30.439 they heard the sound of the Lord God 00:16:30.439 --> 00:16:31.419 walking in the garden 00:16:31.419 --> 00:16:32.899 in the cool of the day. 00:16:33.219 --> 00:16:34.240 What's implied is that 00:16:34.240 --> 00:16:36.019 that's where Adam and Eve 00:16:36.019 --> 00:16:37.059 ought to have been. 00:16:38.099 --> 00:16:39.240 Walking with God, 00:16:39.779 --> 00:16:40.899 enjoying His presence. 00:16:40.979 --> 00:16:42.979 It says that they hid themselves 00:16:42.979 --> 00:16:43.879 from His presence. 00:16:44.339 --> 00:16:44.939 But why? 00:16:45.180 --> 00:16:46.360 What's implied is that 00:16:46.360 --> 00:16:48.700 they were to be in His presence, 00:16:48.800 --> 00:16:50.300 to know His presence 00:16:50.300 --> 00:16:54.380 in the most perfect, pure way, 00:16:54.520 --> 00:16:55.320 to know peace 00:16:55.320 --> 00:16:57.320 in the most perfect, pure way. 00:16:57.640 --> 00:16:58.480 But what happens? 00:16:58.580 --> 00:16:59.360 They have fear. 00:16:59.540 --> 00:17:00.300 They're hiding. 00:17:00.840 --> 00:17:01.400 All of a sudden, 00:17:01.540 --> 00:17:02.480 the presence of the Lord 00:17:02.480 --> 00:17:04.400 is not this wonderful thing 00:17:04.400 --> 00:17:06.759 that is the high point 00:17:06.759 --> 00:17:07.799 of human experience. 00:17:07.799 --> 00:17:10.059 It becomes the very thing 00:17:10.059 --> 00:17:12.759 that elicits all this fear, 00:17:12.980 --> 00:17:13.640 so much so that 00:17:13.640 --> 00:17:14.820 they're hiding themselves. 00:17:15.940 --> 00:17:18.299 Creation is turned on its head. 00:17:19.420 --> 00:17:21.480 No longer did they walk in innocence. 00:17:22.620 --> 00:17:24.420 No longer were they now stewards 00:17:24.420 --> 00:17:25.900 of God's good creation. 00:17:27.100 --> 00:17:28.860 They're not tending to the work 00:17:28.860 --> 00:17:32.320 of creation for God's glory, 00:17:32.519 --> 00:17:33.900 enjoying it. 00:17:34.340 --> 00:17:35.160 But rather, 00:17:35.720 --> 00:17:37.299 they're focused on the self. 00:17:38.220 --> 00:17:39.140 Inwardly looking. 00:17:39.559 --> 00:17:40.160 All of a sudden, 00:17:40.240 --> 00:17:42.080 they experience shame and fear. 00:17:42.779 --> 00:17:44.539 You can feel the loss. 00:17:44.539 --> 00:17:50.879 Adam and Eve were ousted 00:17:50.879 --> 00:17:51.920 from the garden forever, 00:17:52.139 --> 00:17:53.940 all because they acted 00:17:53.940 --> 00:17:54.819 on the temptation 00:17:54.819 --> 00:17:56.420 to take and eat. 00:17:56.420 --> 00:18:04.120 what's really broken in all of this 00:18:04.120 --> 00:18:08.320 is that no longer do they know God. 00:18:09.420 --> 00:18:11.400 No longer do they know God. 00:18:12.960 --> 00:18:16.820 To be no longer connected to the creator, 00:18:17.660 --> 00:18:20.320 to no longer be connected to the life giver, 00:18:20.319 --> 00:18:23.799 or to be no longer connected to the very source 00:18:23.799 --> 00:18:26.859 of power for your existence, 00:18:26.859 --> 00:18:27.819 results in death. 00:18:28.599 --> 00:18:30.220 In emotional death, 00:18:30.419 --> 00:18:31.679 in relational death, 00:18:31.759 --> 00:18:32.919 in psychological death, 00:18:32.980 --> 00:18:33.919 in physical death. 00:18:33.920 --> 00:18:36.420 both temporal death, 00:18:36.420 --> 00:18:37.420 and eternal death. 00:18:38.620 --> 00:18:40.800 Sometimes the death is immediate, 00:18:40.960 --> 00:18:44.640 but oftentimes it's this gradual death. 00:18:45.920 --> 00:18:47.960 We are alienated from God, 00:18:48.019 --> 00:18:49.140 who is the source of life. 00:18:49.539 --> 00:18:51.120 We are now subject to decay. 00:18:52.080 --> 00:18:52.740 George has this, 00:18:53.000 --> 00:18:54.900 it really is a fantastic illustration 00:18:54.900 --> 00:18:58.540 of a clipped rose. 00:18:59.600 --> 00:19:00.519 No matter, 00:19:00.880 --> 00:19:01.440 you know, 00:19:01.480 --> 00:19:02.120 what spray, 00:19:02.460 --> 00:19:03.860 or what kind of vase, 00:19:03.980 --> 00:19:04.519 or vase, 00:19:04.800 --> 00:19:05.840 however you pronounce that, 00:19:06.300 --> 00:19:08.100 you put the cut rose in, 00:19:08.300 --> 00:19:09.540 to make it look great, 00:19:09.780 --> 00:19:11.060 it's still a cut rose. 00:19:11.600 --> 00:19:12.120 Eventually, 00:19:12.240 --> 00:19:12.820 it will die, 00:19:13.200 --> 00:19:14.600 or it will decay. 00:19:15.519 --> 00:19:15.899 In fact, 00:19:15.939 --> 00:19:19.119 it's already severed from its life. 00:19:20.279 --> 00:19:22.839 This is exactly what God said would happen. 00:19:23.299 --> 00:19:23.519 You, 00:19:23.779 --> 00:19:26.259 if you eat of the fruit of the knowledge of the tree 00:19:26.259 --> 00:19:26.980 of good and evil, 00:19:27.259 --> 00:19:29.079 you will surely die. 00:19:32.559 --> 00:19:33.039 So, 00:19:33.519 --> 00:19:34.919 the cause of sin, 00:19:35.139 --> 00:19:36.139 the consequence of sin, 00:19:36.199 --> 00:19:37.419 how about the cure for sin? 00:19:37.719 --> 00:19:40.879 Just in case anybody's feeling super bummed out, 00:19:40.879 --> 00:19:41.699 and lo, 00:19:42.139 --> 00:19:43.839 why don't we start making our way up? 00:19:43.839 --> 00:19:45.659 The cure for sin. 00:19:48.339 --> 00:19:48.779 Well, 00:19:48.899 --> 00:19:50.919 before we can talk about the cure for sin, 00:19:51.259 --> 00:19:53.099 we have to acknowledge that God curses 00:19:53.099 --> 00:19:54.679 the woman, 00:19:55.439 --> 00:19:56.079 the man, 00:19:56.119 --> 00:19:56.759 and the serpent. 00:19:57.240 --> 00:19:58.559 Starting in verse 14, 00:19:58.899 --> 00:20:00.240 on to verse 19. 00:20:00.359 --> 00:20:01.500 We're not going to get into it, 00:20:01.679 --> 00:20:03.779 but we'll just read verse 15, 00:20:03.839 --> 00:20:04.679 and this is what it says. 00:20:07.319 --> 00:20:09.939 I will put enmity between you and the woman, 00:20:10.299 --> 00:20:12.379 this is God cursing the serpent, 00:20:12.380 --> 00:20:14.960 and between your offspring and her offspring. 00:20:15.580 --> 00:20:17.140 He shall bruise your head, 00:20:17.360 --> 00:20:19.280 and you shall bruise his heel. 00:20:21.360 --> 00:20:23.480 Theologians understand verse 15 00:20:23.480 --> 00:20:26.960 as the first announcement of the gospel. 00:20:27.760 --> 00:20:30.060 And this is why it's so important that we understand 00:20:30.060 --> 00:20:32.000 Genesis chapter 3, 00:20:32.000 --> 00:20:33.119 and we understand sin, 00:20:33.119 --> 00:20:36.099 because we need to understand verse 15, 00:20:36.220 --> 00:20:39.319 this first pronouncement of the good news, 00:20:39.619 --> 00:20:43.559 that the serpent would eventually be crushed. 00:20:43.619 --> 00:20:46.460 And it's not as if this serpent is, 00:20:46.599 --> 00:20:50.420 it's some enemy that if only we kill, 00:20:50.579 --> 00:20:52.359 everything will go back to normal. 00:20:52.539 --> 00:20:55.160 The serpent represents all the brokenness, 00:20:55.160 --> 00:20:56.140 and all of the rebellion, 00:20:57.019 --> 00:21:00.460 all of the cheating and murder, 00:21:01.019 --> 00:21:02.400 all of the alienation, 00:21:02.640 --> 00:21:03.680 and broken families, 00:21:03.800 --> 00:21:04.360 and divorce, 00:21:05.360 --> 00:21:08.019 all of the abuse, 00:21:08.220 --> 00:21:09.100 and all of the rape, 00:21:09.779 --> 00:21:12.560 and all of the lonely holidays, 00:21:12.560 --> 00:21:14.400 all of that kind of brokenness 00:21:14.400 --> 00:21:15.259 that we go through. 00:21:15.360 --> 00:21:16.740 That's what the serpent represents. 00:21:16.740 --> 00:21:20.339 So verse 15 says, 00:21:21.180 --> 00:21:24.059 I will put enmity between you and the woman, 00:21:24.279 --> 00:21:26.680 and between your offspring and her offspring. 00:21:27.120 --> 00:21:28.359 He shall bruise your head, 00:21:28.559 --> 00:21:29.880 and you shall bruise his heel. 00:21:31.039 --> 00:21:33.000 Saying that right in the curses, 00:21:33.140 --> 00:21:33.779 God is saying, 00:21:33.940 --> 00:21:35.779 it's not always going to be this way. 00:21:37.579 --> 00:21:40.720 The effects of sin won't be forever. 00:21:40.720 --> 00:21:40.839 However, 00:21:41.360 --> 00:21:44.079 it's a wonderful, 00:21:44.299 --> 00:21:44.940 wonderful, 00:21:45.480 --> 00:21:46.039 subtle, 00:21:46.220 --> 00:21:48.339 but extremely powerful announcement 00:21:48.339 --> 00:21:49.579 of what the gospel is. 00:21:51.880 --> 00:21:53.960 This theme, 00:21:54.279 --> 00:21:55.079 this gospel, 00:21:55.539 --> 00:21:58.940 is developed throughout the rest of the Old Testament, 00:21:59.160 --> 00:22:00.900 through the writings of Moses, 00:22:01.120 --> 00:22:02.720 and into the prophets, 00:22:03.299 --> 00:22:04.259 into the writings, 00:22:04.360 --> 00:22:05.740 and then into the New Testament, 00:22:05.900 --> 00:22:08.220 where it crescendos with Christ. 00:22:08.220 --> 00:22:11.200 That Christ is the seed. 00:22:13.559 --> 00:22:15.860 The New Testament writers pick this up. 00:22:16.600 --> 00:22:18.980 In Hebrews chapter 2, verse 14, 00:22:19.039 --> 00:22:19.539 it says this, 00:22:19.600 --> 00:22:21.960 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, 00:22:22.620 --> 00:22:23.400 he himself, 00:22:23.880 --> 00:22:24.259 likewise, 00:22:24.600 --> 00:22:25.500 talking about Jesus, 00:22:25.759 --> 00:22:27.660 partook of the same things, 00:22:27.720 --> 00:22:28.519 that through death, 00:22:28.799 --> 00:22:32.079 he might destroy the one who has the power of death, 00:22:32.100 --> 00:22:32.900 that is the devil. 00:22:34.220 --> 00:22:35.400 Romans 16, 20, 00:22:35.400 --> 00:22:37.680 The God of peace will soon crush Satan, 00:22:37.680 --> 00:22:39.019 under your feet. 00:22:40.180 --> 00:22:42.860 1 John chapter 3 says this, 00:22:43.019 --> 00:22:45.240 The reason the Son of God appeared, 00:22:45.620 --> 00:22:47.580 was to destroy the works of the devil. 00:22:49.400 --> 00:22:52.060 This theme that we see in Genesis 3, 00:22:52.519 --> 00:22:53.060 it's just, 00:22:53.240 --> 00:22:56.600 it's woven throughout the entire story of Scripture. 00:22:57.200 --> 00:22:58.140 That God himself, 00:22:58.620 --> 00:23:00.700 immediately after the first rebellion, 00:23:01.140 --> 00:23:01.960 had taken place, 00:23:02.100 --> 00:23:03.380 orchestrated redemption. 00:23:03.380 --> 00:23:08.780 Three things happen after the curses are given. 00:23:09.320 --> 00:23:11.560 I'll draw your attention to all three, 00:23:11.660 --> 00:23:14.580 but really we'll spend a bit of time on the third one. 00:23:14.640 --> 00:23:15.560 The first thing is this, 00:23:16.560 --> 00:23:20.260 in verse 21, 00:23:20.360 --> 00:23:20.640 it says, 00:23:20.640 --> 00:23:33.980 It's a theme, 00:23:33.980 --> 00:23:35.220 a theme, 00:23:35.380 --> 00:23:35.940 and a picture, 00:23:35.940 --> 00:23:36.819 and a pattern, 00:23:36.819 --> 00:23:38.059 that we'll see throughout the Scriptures, 00:23:38.620 --> 00:23:40.799 that the sacrificial system, 00:23:41.120 --> 00:23:43.539 that God commanded, 00:23:43.839 --> 00:23:44.980 in the Old Testament, 00:23:45.319 --> 00:23:46.599 to be done at the temple, 00:23:47.000 --> 00:23:47.960 would be to cover, 00:23:48.160 --> 00:23:49.880 the sacrifice of an animal, 00:23:50.000 --> 00:23:51.620 would cover the shame of the people. 00:23:52.240 --> 00:23:53.039 That ultimately, 00:23:53.240 --> 00:23:54.339 Jesus Christ himself, 00:23:54.420 --> 00:23:55.920 would die on the cross, 00:23:56.539 --> 00:23:57.940 and as a result, 00:23:58.160 --> 00:23:59.460 our shame would be no more. 00:24:00.360 --> 00:24:03.079 We see little foreshadowings here. 00:24:03.759 --> 00:24:05.600 It's not just verse 15. 00:24:06.460 --> 00:24:08.400 It's verse 21 as well. 00:24:09.900 --> 00:24:11.799 The second thing I want to bring to your attention, 00:24:11.799 --> 00:24:17.400 is when Adam and Eve are removed from the garden, 00:24:17.960 --> 00:24:20.319 God puts a cherubim, 00:24:20.559 --> 00:24:24.100 a warrior angel with a flaming sword at the east gate. 00:24:24.819 --> 00:24:26.940 We have a kid's book at home, 00:24:26.940 --> 00:24:29.620 and it calls that, 00:24:30.320 --> 00:24:31.980 God's big keep out sign. 00:24:32.240 --> 00:24:32.440 So, 00:24:32.580 --> 00:24:33.940 if that helps you to think of it, 00:24:34.500 --> 00:24:35.559 to understand it, 00:24:35.600 --> 00:24:35.900 then great. 00:24:35.980 --> 00:24:37.059 It's a big keep out sign. 00:24:37.360 --> 00:24:39.259 It's this picture of God, 00:24:39.640 --> 00:24:40.140 saying, 00:24:40.460 --> 00:24:42.380 no longer can you enjoy my presence. 00:24:43.320 --> 00:24:44.440 And it's interesting that, 00:24:45.059 --> 00:24:46.480 later on in Exodus, 00:24:46.620 --> 00:24:48.180 when God is giving the, 00:24:48.180 --> 00:24:50.160 the blueprint, 00:24:50.380 --> 00:24:52.160 for what the temple is supposed to look like, 00:24:52.160 --> 00:24:55.160 there's these giant curtains, 00:24:55.600 --> 00:24:58.840 and embroidered in them are to be two cherubim. 00:24:59.680 --> 00:25:03.600 And these curtains are to separate the holy place from the most holy place. 00:25:04.320 --> 00:25:05.440 God's presence 00:25:05.440 --> 00:25:09.160 from the rest of the nation. 00:25:09.680 --> 00:25:10.940 And when Jesus dies, 00:25:10.940 --> 00:25:14.960 we see this in Matthew's account of Jesus' death. 00:25:15.360 --> 00:25:17.140 Immediately after Jesus dies, 00:25:17.220 --> 00:25:18.320 the curtains are torn. 00:25:18.319 --> 00:25:22.639 It's this wonderful picture of all of a sudden, 00:25:22.799 --> 00:25:25.220 us being allowed through Jesus, 00:25:25.480 --> 00:25:27.259 back into the presence of God. 00:25:27.879 --> 00:25:30.679 But it's the third thing that I want to draw your attention to, 00:25:30.839 --> 00:25:32.179 in a bit more detail. 00:25:32.919 --> 00:25:33.799 God says this, 00:25:33.859 --> 00:25:34.939 remember when I, 00:25:35.000 --> 00:25:38.000 I told you to keep in the back of your mind, 00:25:38.079 --> 00:25:39.339 this idea that prior, 00:25:40.119 --> 00:25:41.059 to the, 00:25:41.059 --> 00:25:43.480 the Adam and Eve eating of the forbidden fruit, 00:25:43.799 --> 00:25:44.939 that all the fruit, 00:25:44.940 --> 00:25:47.000 including the fruit from the tree of life, 00:25:47.000 --> 00:25:48.000 was, 00:25:48.200 --> 00:25:48.680 was, 00:25:48.860 --> 00:25:49.720 was good to eat. 00:25:50.160 --> 00:25:51.480 It's back in chapter two. 00:25:52.160 --> 00:25:52.600 Well, 00:25:52.620 --> 00:25:54.000 this is what God says in, 00:25:54.120 --> 00:25:56.340 in chapter three, 00:25:56.380 --> 00:25:57.000 verse 22. 00:25:58.140 --> 00:26:00.039 Then the Lord God said, 00:26:00.100 --> 00:26:00.440 behold, 00:26:00.539 --> 00:26:03.700 the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. 00:26:03.940 --> 00:26:04.400 Now, 00:26:04.460 --> 00:26:09.480 lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat and live 00:26:09.480 --> 00:26:09.880 forever. 00:26:10.240 --> 00:26:11.820 And in the original language, 00:26:12.240 --> 00:26:13.700 the sentence is cut off. 00:26:13.700 --> 00:26:15.200 It's as, 00:26:15.259 --> 00:26:16.600 it's as if the, 00:26:17.100 --> 00:26:17.700 I mean, 00:26:17.779 --> 00:26:18.819 the sentence is cut off. 00:26:18.940 --> 00:26:20.420 It's an unfinished sentence. 00:26:21.539 --> 00:26:25.380 All of a sudden there's a new prohibition to not eat of the fruit of life. 00:26:28.200 --> 00:26:28.819 And the, 00:26:28.819 --> 00:26:29.779 the tree of life, 00:26:29.880 --> 00:26:35.980 it's not like the Holy Grail that was popularized with Indiana Jones or the 00:26:35.980 --> 00:26:37.180 search for the fountain of youth, 00:26:37.220 --> 00:26:38.340 that if you only have it, 00:26:38.400 --> 00:26:39.180 you will live forever. 00:26:39.180 --> 00:26:40.420 Uh, 00:26:40.420 --> 00:26:46.420 the tree of life is this picture throughout scripture of God's, 00:26:47.060 --> 00:26:47.720 um, 00:26:47.940 --> 00:26:49.420 perfect rule, 00:26:50.060 --> 00:26:51.420 his perfect peace. 00:26:51.680 --> 00:26:54.480 At the end of the book of revelation, 00:26:54.480 --> 00:26:57.640 we see the tree that is, 00:26:57.779 --> 00:27:01.100 that is the source of life for all of the new creation. 00:27:01.099 --> 00:27:03.240 That's all throughout scripture. 00:27:03.240 --> 00:27:03.619 The, 00:27:03.619 --> 00:27:06.179 the tree is this wonderful, 00:27:06.439 --> 00:27:08.199 beautiful picture of, 00:27:08.319 --> 00:27:09.719 of God as, 00:27:09.919 --> 00:27:10.740 as the creator, 00:27:10.859 --> 00:27:11.699 as the life giver, 00:27:11.699 --> 00:27:13.000 as the source of life, 00:27:13.000 --> 00:27:14.539 as the wellspring. 00:27:14.539 --> 00:27:20.319 It represents everything that humanity strives for. 00:27:20.440 --> 00:27:22.859 Everything that you and I strive for perfect peace, 00:27:23.220 --> 00:27:23.639 bounty, 00:27:23.799 --> 00:27:24.359 never to, 00:27:24.420 --> 00:27:26.519 to want no more pain, 00:27:26.619 --> 00:27:27.519 no more tears, 00:27:27.639 --> 00:27:28.879 no more broken relationships, 00:27:29.019 --> 00:27:29.879 no more shame, 00:27:30.059 --> 00:27:31.480 no more sin, 00:27:31.480 --> 00:27:35.519 but also being in the presence of God, 00:27:35.599 --> 00:27:36.559 what we were made for. 00:27:36.619 --> 00:27:36.740 It's, 00:27:36.879 --> 00:27:38.159 it represents all of that. 00:27:38.200 --> 00:27:39.299 It's a beautiful picture. 00:27:39.299 --> 00:27:39.859 This, 00:27:40.019 --> 00:27:41.480 this idea of the tree of life, 00:27:41.480 --> 00:27:44.960 except in Exodus, 00:27:45.259 --> 00:27:51.720 where it says this interesting little bit about any person that is hung on a tree is cursed. 00:27:53.240 --> 00:27:56.639 Any person that is hung on a tree is cursed. 00:27:58.440 --> 00:28:03.119 Jesus is hung on a tree, 00:28:03.379 --> 00:28:04.659 on a cross. 00:28:05.139 --> 00:28:07.899 And the new Testament writers pick this up. 00:28:07.900 --> 00:28:09.660 They pick this up, 00:28:09.660 --> 00:28:12.640 both in first Peter and also in, 00:28:12.640 --> 00:28:14.420 in Galatians, 00:28:14.519 --> 00:28:14.640 in, 00:28:14.720 --> 00:28:17.560 in the apostle Paul's letter to the church in Galatia, 00:28:17.660 --> 00:28:20.259 that Jesus was hung on a tree. 00:28:20.980 --> 00:28:22.160 And that because of that, 00:28:22.220 --> 00:28:22.840 he was cursed, 00:28:22.980 --> 00:28:26.940 but he wasn't cursed because of something he did or just, 00:28:27.900 --> 00:28:29.000 you know, 00:28:29.019 --> 00:28:29.920 because he was a good guy, 00:28:29.980 --> 00:28:30.560 but not really. 00:28:30.720 --> 00:28:33.200 He messed up and he got what was coming to him on the tree. 00:28:33.300 --> 00:28:33.900 He was cursed. 00:28:34.360 --> 00:28:35.900 He was cursed for you and I, 00:28:36.019 --> 00:28:37.780 he took on our curse. 00:28:37.900 --> 00:28:42.780 He dies on a tree. 00:28:42.780 --> 00:28:43.220 So that, 00:28:43.259 --> 00:28:54.680 that crucifix that for centuries in the Roman world was this picture of death and evil and destruction. 00:28:54.680 --> 00:28:56.500 And if you were to be crucified, 00:28:56.500 --> 00:29:02.000 it was the very low point of what it meant to be a human being in the ancient world. 00:29:02.200 --> 00:29:03.380 And he took it. 00:29:03.860 --> 00:29:06.600 And no longer was it a tree of, 00:29:06.600 --> 00:29:06.920 of, 00:29:06.920 --> 00:29:08.080 of cursedness, 00:29:08.080 --> 00:29:09.840 but it became a tree of life. 00:29:09.839 --> 00:29:14.159 And Jesus on the night that he was betrayed. 00:29:14.159 --> 00:29:14.799 Um, 00:29:16.000 --> 00:29:18.199 and we're actually, 00:29:18.199 --> 00:29:19.579 we've switched things up a bit, 00:29:19.579 --> 00:29:20.079 uh, 00:29:20.079 --> 00:29:22.259 today so that we could go right into communion, 00:29:22.259 --> 00:29:25.659 just to illustrate something that's absolutely wonderful. 00:29:25.660 --> 00:29:28.920 because on the night that Jesus was betrayed, 00:29:28.920 --> 00:29:30.340 he said, 00:29:30.440 --> 00:29:30.740 take, 00:29:30.860 --> 00:29:31.120 eat, 00:29:31.220 --> 00:29:32.120 this is my body. 00:29:32.259 --> 00:29:32.620 Take, 00:29:32.840 --> 00:29:33.160 eat, 00:29:34.160 --> 00:29:34.360 uh, 00:29:34.400 --> 00:29:35.120 take drink. 00:29:35.240 --> 00:29:36.120 This is my blood. 00:29:37.380 --> 00:29:38.940 So that the, 00:29:39.000 --> 00:29:39.240 the, 00:29:39.240 --> 00:29:42.540 the very command that Adam and Eve listened, 00:29:42.540 --> 00:29:44.100 the, 00:29:44.100 --> 00:29:44.160 the, 00:29:44.160 --> 00:29:44.300 the, 00:29:44.300 --> 00:29:44.620 of the, 00:29:44.620 --> 00:29:46.200 of the serpent to take and eat that, 00:29:46.200 --> 00:29:49.840 that resulted in cursedness and brokenness and sin. 00:29:50.240 --> 00:29:52.740 All of a sudden Jesus has taken eat. 00:29:54.420 --> 00:29:55.240 And it all, 00:29:55.360 --> 00:29:58.100 and it becomes a fruit that brings life. 00:29:58.259 --> 00:29:59.019 He is saying, 00:29:59.120 --> 00:30:02.740 take and eat of me for I am the tree of life. 00:30:02.779 --> 00:30:03.700 It doesn't say this, 00:30:03.759 --> 00:30:07.080 but what is implied is that Jesus is the life giver, 00:30:07.140 --> 00:30:11.060 that he has reversed the curse and that partaking of, 00:30:11.240 --> 00:30:12.060 of him, 00:30:12.240 --> 00:30:13.460 of his life. 00:30:14.160 --> 00:30:22.220 Brings us back to what life was truly like in God's presence before sin entered. 00:30:22.960 --> 00:30:28.060 All of a sudden the prohibition to not eat of the tree of life is, 00:30:28.240 --> 00:30:28.740 it's, 00:30:28.740 --> 00:30:30.080 it's no longer a prohibition. 00:30:31.180 --> 00:30:32.779 Not only that, 00:30:34.300 --> 00:30:34.640 but, 00:30:34.740 --> 00:30:37.960 but Jesus says, 00:30:38.120 --> 00:30:41.480 I am the vine and you are the branches. 00:30:41.480 --> 00:30:46.099 And that he commands us to bear good fruit. 00:30:47.019 --> 00:30:49.880 So it's not just that he is the tree of life, 00:30:49.880 --> 00:30:51.539 but somehow mysteriously, 00:30:52.279 --> 00:30:53.779 we become part of him. 00:30:54.480 --> 00:30:55.259 We are, 00:30:55.680 --> 00:31:02.779 we come into union with Christ so that we somehow mysteriously by God's goodness and kindness. 00:31:02.779 --> 00:31:06.000 And we become a part of this tree. 00:31:08.000 --> 00:31:11.240 That when we testify to the goodness of God, 00:31:11.319 --> 00:31:11.579 to the, 00:31:11.639 --> 00:31:14.819 to the good news of being redeemed of, 00:31:14.899 --> 00:31:15.039 of, 00:31:15.099 --> 00:31:16.339 of the rule and reign, 00:31:16.420 --> 00:31:17.839 the good rule and reign of Christ, 00:31:17.839 --> 00:31:22.180 that we produce fruit for other people to partake in, 00:31:22.279 --> 00:31:22.940 to taste. 00:31:22.940 --> 00:31:26.360 not our fruit, 00:31:26.799 --> 00:31:27.700 not by our power, 00:31:27.880 --> 00:31:30.220 but because this is what God has chosen to, 00:31:30.360 --> 00:31:31.100 to do, 00:31:31.200 --> 00:31:33.160 to use us broken people. 00:31:33.740 --> 00:31:35.259 We become a part of the, 00:31:35.259 --> 00:31:36.860 the tree of life. 00:31:37.000 --> 00:31:37.259 It's, 00:31:37.980 --> 00:31:38.799 I mean, 00:31:38.820 --> 00:31:39.140 it just, 00:31:39.220 --> 00:31:40.360 it really is remarkable. 00:31:41.539 --> 00:31:45.000 So we'll go into communion and, 00:31:45.000 --> 00:31:52.200 communion is this wonderful, 00:31:52.579 --> 00:31:53.019 this, 00:31:53.119 --> 00:31:53.559 this, 00:31:53.660 --> 00:31:56.299 this meal that we have, 00:31:56.359 --> 00:31:57.839 that is a symbol, 00:31:58.839 --> 00:32:00.220 in one sense, 00:32:00.559 --> 00:32:00.819 that, 00:32:00.819 --> 00:32:03.200 that we are remembering Christ, 00:32:03.299 --> 00:32:04.380 but it is more than that. 00:32:04.859 --> 00:32:10.140 We are partaking of him by faith with thanksgiving. 00:32:10.940 --> 00:32:11.500 We, 00:32:11.599 --> 00:32:14.980 we actually taste and see that the Lord is, 00:32:15.000 --> 00:32:20.119 is good that we get to partake of the fruit of the tree of life. 00:32:21.319 --> 00:32:22.640 So as we, 00:32:22.779 --> 00:32:25.180 as we consider these things, 00:32:25.920 --> 00:32:31.660 I would encourage you guys to think afresh of Genesis three and of sin. 00:32:32.680 --> 00:32:36.039 Think about what it is and how destructive it is and how it's not just, 00:32:36.640 --> 00:32:37.160 don't do this. 00:32:38.160 --> 00:32:39.339 You should do this. 00:32:39.480 --> 00:32:41.200 And these series of commands, 00:32:41.299 --> 00:32:42.880 although that's a part of it, 00:32:42.880 --> 00:32:47.780 that it is this deep brokenness inside of you and me. 00:32:47.780 --> 00:32:50.540 It is rebellion against the good rule of God. 00:32:51.620 --> 00:32:55.280 But I also want you to think afresh of Genesis 15, 00:32:55.540 --> 00:32:55.740 uh, 00:32:55.780 --> 00:32:56.820 Genesis three, 00:32:56.960 --> 00:32:57.840 verse 15, 00:32:58.080 --> 00:33:06.480 about this wonderful pronouncement that the gospel is that Christ came to destroy the works of the enemy, 00:33:06.480 --> 00:33:13.099 that he is the tree of life and that you are a part of that. 00:33:15.640 --> 00:33:16.079 You, 00:33:16.720 --> 00:33:20.220 that you are a part of that, 00:33:20.480 --> 00:33:22.880 not just partaking of the fruit, 00:33:23.120 --> 00:33:24.539 but a part of that. 00:33:24.960 --> 00:33:28.319 I want you to meditate on it this week and think about it. 00:33:28.319 --> 00:33:32.500 Think about how that would actually change the way. 00:33:36.500 --> 00:33:37.339 God. 00:33:39.619 --> 00:33:42.059 I would encourage you guys to meditate that, 00:33:42.539 --> 00:33:43.259 meditate on that, 00:33:43.259 --> 00:33:43.599 uh, 00:33:43.599 --> 00:33:43.819 uh, 00:33:43.819 --> 00:33:43.939 uh, 00:33:43.939 --> 00:33:44.259 fresh. 00:33:44.399 --> 00:33:48.879 So we're going to go right into communion and, 00:33:49.019 --> 00:33:49.279 uh, 00:33:49.339 --> 00:33:50.159 and let me pray. 00:33:50.379 --> 00:33:52.200 And then we will get into, 00:33:52.200 --> 00:33:52.319 um, 00:33:52.319 --> 00:34:02.759 and we will get into, 00:34:02.759 --> 00:34:03.179 uh, 00:34:04.259 --> 00:34:04.599 um, 00:34:04.679 --> 00:34:05.000 the, 00:34:05.000 --> 00:34:07.399 the communion service. 00:34:07.500 --> 00:34:08.039 Let me pray. 00:34:11.099 --> 00:34:11.759 Lord God, 00:34:11.779 --> 00:34:16.880 we thank you so much that what Christ has done on the cross is not just taking away our sin, 00:34:17.519 --> 00:34:17.739 but, 00:34:17.860 --> 00:34:18.159 uh, 00:34:18.199 --> 00:34:22.299 but he takes away our shame and he allows us to go into the cross. 00:34:22.300 --> 00:34:23.400 And to the very presence, 00:34:23.780 --> 00:34:25.060 your very presence to, 00:34:25.180 --> 00:34:28.380 to know you in this wonderful, 00:34:28.560 --> 00:34:29.039 beautiful way, 00:34:29.080 --> 00:34:29.800 not fully, 00:34:30.900 --> 00:34:32.560 but, 00:34:32.660 --> 00:34:32.860 uh, 00:34:32.860 --> 00:34:33.580 but in part, 00:34:33.680 --> 00:34:39.080 but that we have the promise that one day we will know what that presence is to be in your, 00:34:39.160 --> 00:34:39.920 to be in your presence. 00:34:40.019 --> 00:34:40.880 We will know it fully. 00:34:41.200 --> 00:34:45.780 And that your son took the despicable, 00:34:46.420 --> 00:34:47.060 disgusting, 00:34:47.460 --> 00:34:47.980 evil, 00:34:48.260 --> 00:34:49.660 Cruz Roman crucifix, 00:34:49.760 --> 00:34:49.880 that, 00:34:49.960 --> 00:34:51.900 that picture of brokenness in, 00:34:51.900 --> 00:34:52.400 and, 00:34:52.400 --> 00:34:52.880 and death. 00:34:53.039 --> 00:34:54.220 And he made it life. 00:34:55.579 --> 00:34:57.519 And he made the crucifix. 00:34:57.780 --> 00:34:58.940 He made the cross, 00:34:58.940 --> 00:35:01.500 a tree of life. 00:35:01.500 --> 00:35:02.460 And not just that, 00:35:02.519 --> 00:35:03.980 that he is the tree of life. 00:35:03.980 --> 00:35:04.860 And that we, 00:35:05.099 --> 00:35:07.160 if we have faith and trust in, 00:35:07.220 --> 00:35:07.860 in him, 00:35:07.860 --> 00:35:10.940 that we are ingrafted into this tree of life. 00:35:10.940 --> 00:35:13.039 And that by his strength, 00:35:13.440 --> 00:35:13.780 by, 00:35:13.900 --> 00:35:14.260 by the, 00:35:14.260 --> 00:35:15.639 the Holy Spirit's work, 00:35:15.760 --> 00:35:16.820 we bear fruit. 00:35:17.200 --> 00:35:17.659 Lord, 00:35:17.700 --> 00:35:19.460 we don't understand why you choose us, 00:35:19.539 --> 00:35:20.300 but we are thankful. 00:35:20.920 --> 00:35:22.059 Help us to, 00:35:22.139 --> 00:35:23.139 to know you more. 00:35:23.260 --> 00:35:23.940 Help us to, 00:35:23.940 --> 00:35:24.559 um, 00:35:24.740 --> 00:35:26.659 approach your table here, 00:35:27.059 --> 00:35:30.059 remembering what Christ has done on the cross for us. 00:35:30.059 --> 00:35:31.519 remembering that, 00:35:31.639 --> 00:35:33.759 that he has brought us from death to life. 00:35:34.279 --> 00:35:37.619 Remembering that we are now a part of his family, 00:35:37.900 --> 00:35:39.320 a part of his very body, 00:35:39.420 --> 00:35:39.920 the church, 00:35:40.259 --> 00:35:44.960 that he is making his appeal to the lost through us. 00:35:45.799 --> 00:35:46.320 Lord, 00:35:46.400 --> 00:35:47.059 thank you for, 00:35:47.699 --> 00:35:48.000 um, 00:35:48.000 --> 00:35:49.139 your word. 00:35:49.280 --> 00:35:49.980 Thank you for, 00:35:50.460 --> 00:35:50.719 uh, 00:35:51.820 --> 00:35:55.260 along with the curse that you, 00:35:55.260 --> 00:35:55.719 uh, 00:35:55.719 --> 00:35:57.840 immediately proclaim the, 00:35:57.940 --> 00:35:58.860 the good news. 00:35:59.380 --> 00:35:59.820 Lord, 00:35:59.900 --> 00:36:00.539 help us to, 00:36:00.619 --> 00:36:00.780 uh, 00:36:00.780 --> 00:36:02.679 to grow in this truth. 00:36:02.780 --> 00:36:03.380 We love you. 00:36:03.719 --> 00:36:06.340 We ask that you'll help us to love you more in Jesus name.