1
00:00:02,440 --> 00:00:04,160
All right, good morning, church 
family. 

2
00:00:05,520 --> 00:00:07,280
Let me invite you all to find 
your seat. 

3
00:00:14,160 --> 00:00:18,080
And as you find your seat, let 
me invite you to open to the 

4
00:00:18,080 --> 00:00:23,320
book of Genesis chapter 3. 
This morning. 

5
00:00:23,320 --> 00:00:27,760
We're going to be in Genesis 3, 
verses 16 to 24. 

6
00:00:29,800 --> 00:00:33,200
One thing I was going to just 
share real quick, I, I ran into 

7
00:00:33,320 --> 00:00:39,560
a former regular tender of our 
church on Friday and we were 

8
00:00:39,560 --> 00:00:41,680
talking, they, they had to move.
And so they're out there at a 

9
00:00:41,680 --> 00:00:43,240
new church. 
They're at like a mega church 

10
00:00:43,240 --> 00:00:45,440
kind of. 
And he was telling me that one 

11
00:00:45,440 --> 00:00:48,600
of the things that he really 
missed about our church was the 

12
00:00:48,600 --> 00:00:52,560
worship, the the praise. 
And he said that the church that

13
00:00:52,560 --> 00:00:55,120
they're currently at, it's, it's
more of a kind of a concert 

14
00:00:55,120 --> 00:00:57,520
performance with fog machines 
and so forth. 

15
00:00:57,520 --> 00:01:00,920
And nothing necessarily against 
that, but he said he really 

16
00:01:01,320 --> 00:01:04,920
missed the genuine worship. 
And so just want to thank you 

17
00:01:04,920 --> 00:01:10,320
praise team for leading us and 
reminding us that our worship is

18
00:01:10,320 --> 00:01:12,640
is not a performance, it's not a
concert. 

19
00:01:12,680 --> 00:01:15,000
It is worship. 
It is an opportunity for us to 

20
00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:19,520
worship the Lord. 
So what what a what a testimony 

21
00:01:19,520 --> 00:01:22,720
it is to hear that from former 
tenders of our church and 

22
00:01:22,720 --> 00:01:27,560
members of our church who have 
have testified this morning. 

23
00:01:27,680 --> 00:01:31,680
We are continuing our study in 
the book of Genesis and we are 

24
00:01:31,680 --> 00:01:36,960
in Genesis 316 to 24. 
So let's read the text, open us 

25
00:01:36,960 --> 00:01:39,840
in a word of prayer and then 
we'll jump into the sermon this 

26
00:01:39,840 --> 00:01:43,920
morning. 
Genesis 3 beginning in verse 16 

27
00:01:45,600 --> 00:01:50,520
to the woman he said, I will 
surely multiply your pain and 

28
00:01:50,520 --> 00:01:54,360
childbearing in pain you shall 
bring forth children. 

29
00:01:54,880 --> 00:01:59,040
Your desire shall be for your 
husband, and he shall rule over 

30
00:01:59,040 --> 00:02:02,480
you. 
And to Adam he said, because you

31
00:02:02,480 --> 00:02:05,280
have listened to the voice of 
your wife, and have eaten of the

32
00:02:05,280 --> 00:02:08,600
tree of which I commanded you, 
you shall not eat of it. 

33
00:02:09,000 --> 00:02:11,000
Cursed is the ground because of 
you. 

34
00:02:11,480 --> 00:02:15,680
In pain you shall eat of it all 
the days of your life, thorns 

35
00:02:15,680 --> 00:02:18,800
and thistles that shall bring 
forth for you, and you shall eat

36
00:02:18,800 --> 00:02:22,120
the plants of the field by the 
sweat of your face. 

37
00:02:22,120 --> 00:02:25,680
You shall eat bread till you 
return to the ground, for out of

38
00:02:25,680 --> 00:02:30,400
it you were taken, for you are 
dust, and to dust you shall 

39
00:02:30,400 --> 00:02:33,920
return. 
The man called his wife's name 

40
00:02:33,920 --> 00:02:36,760
Eve, because she was the mother 
of all living. 

41
00:02:37,400 --> 00:02:40,160
And the Lord God made for Adam 
and for his wife garments of 

42
00:02:40,160 --> 00:02:44,480
skin and clothed them. 
Then the Lord God said, Behold, 

43
00:02:44,720 --> 00:02:48,160
the man has become like one of 
us, and knowing good and evil 

44
00:02:48,480 --> 00:02:52,360
now, lest he reach out his hand 
and take also of the tree of 

45
00:02:52,360 --> 00:02:57,720
life, and eat and live forever. 
Therefore the Lord God sent him 

46
00:02:57,720 --> 00:03:00,760
out from the Garden of Eden to 
work the ground from which he 

47
00:03:00,760 --> 00:03:05,480
was taken. 
He drove out the man, and at the

48
00:03:05,480 --> 00:03:08,560
east of the Garden of Eden he 
placed the cherubim and a 

49
00:03:08,560 --> 00:03:13,040
flaming sword that turned every 
way to guard the way to the Tree

50
00:03:13,040 --> 00:03:20,760
of Life. 
Let's pray, Father, I pray this 

51
00:03:20,760 --> 00:03:26,480
morning that as we look at the 
the curse that you placed upon 

52
00:03:26,480 --> 00:03:31,800
this world, as we look at the 
punishment that not only Adam 

53
00:03:31,800 --> 00:03:34,680
and Eve suffered for their sin, 
but that we are still suffering 

54
00:03:34,680 --> 00:03:38,120
today and we still feel the 
consequences of our sin. 

55
00:03:38,120 --> 00:03:45,400
Lord, we feel the curse, we feel
the effects that our sin has 

56
00:03:45,960 --> 00:03:50,480
upon this world, upon ourselves,
upon our family and our our 

57
00:03:50,480 --> 00:03:53,880
friends. 
Lord, I pray that you would 

58
00:03:53,880 --> 00:04:00,640
remind us that sin, that there 
are consequences to sin, that 

59
00:04:00,640 --> 00:04:09,240
when we sin it, it is, it is not
just, it's not a small matter 

60
00:04:10,400 --> 00:04:15,120
that it, it affects everything. 
And we see that in this world, 

61
00:04:15,120 --> 00:04:17,240
Lord, we see how broken this 
world is. 

62
00:04:17,760 --> 00:04:21,640
We long to be back in the 
garden. 

63
00:04:22,040 --> 00:04:29,240
We long to be in, in a better 
garden where Jesus Christ walks 

64
00:04:29,240 --> 00:04:32,520
among us. 
And so, Lord, would you help us 

65
00:04:32,520 --> 00:04:37,520
this morning to, to, to 
cultivate a longing for this 

66
00:04:37,520 --> 00:04:40,240
world to be renewed, to be made 
whole. 

67
00:04:41,160 --> 00:04:45,360
And one day we know that it 
will, that Jesus will come and 

68
00:04:45,360 --> 00:04:49,200
he will rule and reign one day 
and that the curse will be no 

69
00:04:49,200 --> 00:04:52,280
more. 
I pray this in Jesus name, Amen.

70
00:04:55,000 --> 00:04:58,280
Have you ever received something
in the mail that you had to put 

71
00:04:58,280 --> 00:05:00,880
together? 
You know, could be a coffee 

72
00:05:00,880 --> 00:05:07,040
table or it could be a bookshelf
or vacuum cleaner or anything 

73
00:05:07,040 --> 00:05:09,640
that you know that had pieces 
and you needed to put this thing

74
00:05:09,640 --> 00:05:13,480
together. 
And you ever begun putting this 

75
00:05:13,480 --> 00:05:17,000
item together and you realize 
that something was wrong. 

76
00:05:18,440 --> 00:05:21,520
You're not quite sure what is 
wrong, but something is 

77
00:05:21,520 --> 00:05:25,840
definitely wrong. 
You're maybe missing pieces. 

78
00:05:26,600 --> 00:05:28,960
And if you're missing pieces, no
matter how much you may try to 

79
00:05:28,960 --> 00:05:32,680
put this thing together, it's 
not going to work properly. 

80
00:05:32,960 --> 00:05:35,520
It's not going to function the 
way that it is intended to 

81
00:05:35,520 --> 00:05:38,080
function because you are missing
pieces. 

82
00:05:38,080 --> 00:05:42,000
This item is broken. 
It's flawed. 

83
00:05:45,720 --> 00:05:50,880
If we try to make sense of this 
world, we will quickly learn 

84
00:05:50,880 --> 00:05:56,360
that something is broken. 
We will quickly realize that 

85
00:05:58,200 --> 00:06:02,680
there's some missing pieces. 
In fact, everything is broken. 

86
00:06:03,640 --> 00:06:08,680
Every screw is bent, every nut 
is the wrong size. 

87
00:06:09,760 --> 00:06:14,760
We have been delivered a 
defective package and the reason

88
00:06:14,760 --> 00:06:18,240
is because we are all under a 
curse. 

89
00:06:20,040 --> 00:06:23,880
We all feel the effects of this 
curse and it goes all the way 

90
00:06:23,880 --> 00:06:30,320
back to the garden. 
Sin has infected this world and 

91
00:06:30,320 --> 00:06:34,920
now we are trying to get back to
the garden, trying to get back 

92
00:06:34,920 --> 00:06:41,120
to a place where things are not 
broken, where the infection of 

93
00:06:41,120 --> 00:06:44,920
sin does not infiltrate 
everything that we care about 

94
00:06:44,920 --> 00:06:47,240
and we love. 
We're waiting for the day when 

95
00:06:47,240 --> 00:06:53,440
God will restore this world back
to its original state and there 

96
00:06:53,440 --> 00:06:56,360
will be a new heaven and a new 
earth. 

97
00:06:58,040 --> 00:07:01,840
But for now, we feel the effects
of the curse. 

98
00:07:03,040 --> 00:07:07,040
We feel them everyday. 
This morning we're looking at a 

99
00:07:07,040 --> 00:07:12,760
text where God continues His 
punishment because of the man 

100
00:07:12,760 --> 00:07:16,280
and woman's sin. 
Let me give the context and I'll

101
00:07:16,280 --> 00:07:19,200
give exposition and then I'll 
give us application. 

102
00:07:19,840 --> 00:07:22,920
Here's the context. 
The man and woman are enjoying a

103
00:07:22,960 --> 00:07:26,080
beautiful garden that God had 
made for them. 

104
00:07:26,320 --> 00:07:30,280
But one day a creature, a 
serpent, comes to the woman. 

105
00:07:30,720 --> 00:07:34,000
This creature is the the 
craftiest creature that the Lord

106
00:07:34,000 --> 00:07:37,320
God had made. 
And the serpent asked the woman 

107
00:07:37,320 --> 00:07:41,840
a question. 
He says, did God actually say 

108
00:07:42,680 --> 00:07:45,360
that you can't eat from any of 
these trees? 

109
00:07:46,160 --> 00:07:50,240
To which the woman replies, no, 
we can eat from all of them 

110
00:07:51,280 --> 00:07:57,080
except that one, for on the day 
that we eat of that one, we will

111
00:07:57,400 --> 00:08:01,000
die. 
The serpent deceptively says. 

112
00:08:01,760 --> 00:08:06,440
You will not die. 
In fact, God knows that when you

113
00:08:06,480 --> 00:08:08,600
eat of this tree, you will be 
like him. 

114
00:08:08,600 --> 00:08:13,960
You will know good and evil. 
The serpent's statement is 

115
00:08:13,960 --> 00:08:17,600
enough to plant a seed of 
discontentment in the woman's 

116
00:08:17,600 --> 00:08:21,320
heart. 
She reaches out, she grabs the 

117
00:08:21,320 --> 00:08:24,680
forbidden fruit, and she eats of
it. 

118
00:08:25,880 --> 00:08:28,560
To make matters worse, she then 
gives some to her husband who 

119
00:08:28,560 --> 00:08:33,280
was with her, and he eats of it.
Upon doing so, their eyes are 

120
00:08:33,280 --> 00:08:36,640
opened and they realize they are
naked. 

121
00:08:39,000 --> 00:08:41,760
They hear the sound of the Lord 
walking in the garden one day 

122
00:08:41,760 --> 00:08:45,280
and they are afraid, so they 
hide themselves among the trees.

123
00:08:45,520 --> 00:08:50,880
God calls out to Adam and his 
hiding and he says, Where are 

124
00:08:51,080 --> 00:08:56,880
you Adam? 
Adam says he's afraid because he

125
00:08:56,880 --> 00:09:01,000
was naked so he hid himself when
God asked him, have you eaten of

126
00:09:01,000 --> 00:09:03,880
the tree that I told you not to 
eat from? 

127
00:09:04,040 --> 00:09:09,760
Instead of owning up to his sin,
Adam deflects blame. 

128
00:09:10,560 --> 00:09:17,600
He has become a Sinner and his 
sin infects his responsibility. 

129
00:09:18,640 --> 00:09:21,360
He blames the woman, He blames 
God. 

130
00:09:22,760 --> 00:09:25,120
When God confronts the woman, 
she does the same. 

131
00:09:25,120 --> 00:09:29,120
She learns from her husband. 
She deflects blame to the 

132
00:09:29,120 --> 00:09:32,680
serpent, and as a result, God 
curses the serpent. 

133
00:09:32,680 --> 00:09:34,680
But God has not done with the 
man and the woman. 

134
00:09:35,360 --> 00:09:37,320
It was not just the serpent who 
was punished. 

135
00:09:39,560 --> 00:09:42,080
So will the man. 
So will the woman. 

136
00:09:43,160 --> 00:09:47,840
So will all of us. 
Let's start by looking at an 

137
00:09:47,840 --> 00:09:50,520
exposition of the text. 
We're going to look at it verse 

138
00:09:50,520 --> 00:09:52,960
by verse and then I'll give you 
application at the end. 

139
00:09:52,960 --> 00:09:55,360
Let's start in verse 16 to the 
woman. 

140
00:09:55,480 --> 00:10:00,120
He said, I will surely multiply 
your pain and childbearing in 

141
00:10:00,120 --> 00:10:02,760
pain you shall bring forth 
children. 

142
00:10:02,960 --> 00:10:08,240
Your desire shall be for your 
husband, and he shall rule over 

143
00:10:08,320 --> 00:10:11,720
you. 
God starts with the woman. 

144
00:10:11,720 --> 00:10:15,040
That's interesting because when 
God held them accountable, he 

145
00:10:15,040 --> 00:10:18,520
started with the man, then he 
went to the woman, then he went 

146
00:10:18,520 --> 00:10:21,200
to the serpent. 
And when he punishes them, he 

147
00:10:21,200 --> 00:10:24,520
reverses this order. 
He starts with the serpent, then

148
00:10:24,520 --> 00:10:27,080
he goes to the woman, then he 
goes to the man. 

149
00:10:27,480 --> 00:10:29,920
He gives the woman 2 
punishments. 

150
00:10:30,120 --> 00:10:34,760
Let's look at them #1 He says, I
will surely multiply your pain 

151
00:10:35,000 --> 00:10:40,080
and childbearing in pain you 
shall bring forth children. 

152
00:10:40,840 --> 00:10:46,360
Now, we've all seen either in 
person or in movies or TV shows,

153
00:10:46,840 --> 00:10:51,160
or we've heard stories of how 
painful childbearing is, or 

154
00:10:51,160 --> 00:10:53,800
maybe you have experienced it 
first hand. 

155
00:10:54,320 --> 00:10:57,960
Mothers out there, women 
screaming at the top of their 

156
00:10:57,960 --> 00:11:01,960
lungs. 
Childbearing, I imagine, is got 

157
00:11:01,960 --> 00:11:04,560
to be one of the most painful 
experiences a woman will ever 

158
00:11:04,560 --> 00:11:07,520
have. 
In fact, for centuries and 

159
00:11:07,520 --> 00:11:11,640
centuries, many women died 
giving birth to their children. 

160
00:11:11,840 --> 00:11:14,360
It's probably one of the leading
causes of death for women. 

161
00:11:15,360 --> 00:11:17,280
All of it is a result of the 
fall. 

162
00:11:18,240 --> 00:11:21,680
This means that prior to the 
fall, it appears to me that 

163
00:11:21,680 --> 00:11:27,000
women would have had babies with
maybe little to no pain, but now

164
00:11:27,000 --> 00:11:31,520
they will feel their pain. 
That's the first punishment. 

165
00:11:31,960 --> 00:11:35,040
Here's the second one. 
Your desire shall be for your 

166
00:11:35,040 --> 00:11:39,120
husband, and he shall rule over 
you. 

167
00:11:39,560 --> 00:11:43,040
This is one of the most debated 
lines in the book of Genesis. 

168
00:11:43,040 --> 00:11:47,760
What does this mean? 
Your desire shall be for your 

169
00:11:47,840 --> 00:11:50,440
husband. 
Now, at first glance, that seems

170
00:11:50,440 --> 00:11:52,680
like a good thing. 
Is it not a good thing for a 

171
00:11:52,680 --> 00:11:56,120
wife to desire her husband? 
How is that a punishment? 

172
00:11:56,480 --> 00:12:00,800
Given that it is a punishment, I
don't think it means that it's 

173
00:12:00,800 --> 00:12:03,720
like a good desire. 
I think it means this. 

174
00:12:03,960 --> 00:12:09,880
Your desire shall be for your 
husband's authority. 

175
00:12:11,800 --> 00:12:20,160
Your desire will be to rule and 
to reign over your husband, but 

176
00:12:20,160 --> 00:12:23,120
he shall rule over you is what 
the text says. 

177
00:12:24,320 --> 00:12:29,200
The husband though, will attempt
to dominate his wife. 

178
00:12:30,040 --> 00:12:34,560
So what we have here basically 
is that both parties in marriage

179
00:12:34,800 --> 00:12:38,200
are going to attempt to rule 
over each other. 

180
00:12:39,120 --> 00:12:42,360
Prior to the fall, it appears 
that what we would have had in 

181
00:12:42,360 --> 00:12:45,520
marriage is sacrificial 
leadership and joyful 

182
00:12:45,520 --> 00:12:49,040
submission. 
After the fall, what we now have

183
00:12:49,200 --> 00:12:53,640
is a power struggle. 
A power struggle that almost, I 

184
00:12:53,640 --> 00:12:56,400
will say almost every marriage 
has in some form of another. 

185
00:12:57,640 --> 00:12:59,920
There will now be a power 
struggle going on in every 

186
00:12:59,920 --> 00:13:05,400
marriage. 
Look at verse 17 to 19 A and to 

187
00:13:05,400 --> 00:13:08,800
Adam, he said, because you have 
listened to the voice of your 

188
00:13:08,800 --> 00:13:12,320
wife, and I've eaten of the tree
of which I commanded you, you 

189
00:13:12,320 --> 00:13:15,200
shall not eat of it. 
Cursed is the ground because of 

190
00:13:15,200 --> 00:13:18,440
you in pain. 
You shall eat of it all the days

191
00:13:18,440 --> 00:13:21,400
of your life, thorns and 
thistles that shall bring forth 

192
00:13:21,400 --> 00:13:25,040
for you, and you shall eat the 
plants of the field by the sweat

193
00:13:25,040 --> 00:13:28,040
of your face. 
You shall eat bread. 

194
00:13:28,760 --> 00:13:33,000
After addressing the woman, God 
next addresses the man. 

195
00:13:33,880 --> 00:13:36,200
Look at the first line that God 
tells him. 

196
00:13:36,200 --> 00:13:40,600
This is pivotal. 
God says to Adam, because you 

197
00:13:40,600 --> 00:13:45,840
have listened to the voice of 
your wife. 

198
00:13:47,960 --> 00:13:50,680
Remember what Adam said when God
confronted him? 

199
00:13:53,400 --> 00:13:57,600
God asked him, where are you? 
Did you eat of this tree? 

200
00:13:57,720 --> 00:14:01,960
Here's what Adam said. 
The woman whom you gave to be 

201
00:14:01,960 --> 00:14:06,120
with me, she gave me the fruit 
and I ate. 

202
00:14:06,480 --> 00:14:10,920
Adam is implying that it's not 
his fault because the woman gave

203
00:14:10,920 --> 00:14:13,640
him the fruit. 
He's almost implying like, I 

204
00:14:13,640 --> 00:14:15,640
mean, I just, she just gave it 
to me and I just ate it. 

205
00:14:15,640 --> 00:14:17,440
I didn't, you know, I I don't 
know. 

206
00:14:17,680 --> 00:14:20,840
No. 
But God says no, no, no, no. 

207
00:14:21,160 --> 00:14:27,840
It is your fault. 
You listen to the voice of your 

208
00:14:27,840 --> 00:14:33,040
wife. 
You should have listened to my 

209
00:14:33,040 --> 00:14:39,240
voice, but you chose your wife's
voice over mine. 

210
00:14:40,360 --> 00:14:43,280
As a result, you ate of the tree
which I commanded you not to 

211
00:14:43,280 --> 00:14:45,640
eat. 
Because of this, God also 

212
00:14:45,640 --> 00:14:48,960
punishes the man. 
He gives them five statements of

213
00:14:48,960 --> 00:14:50,840
punishment. 
Let's look at them individually.

214
00:14:51,440 --> 00:14:55,120
A Cursed is the ground because 
of you. 

215
00:14:55,320 --> 00:14:58,800
For the second time, now God has
cursed to something. 

216
00:14:59,000 --> 00:15:03,640
First he cursed the serpent. 
Now he has also cursed the 

217
00:15:03,640 --> 00:15:05,240
ground. 
B. 

218
00:15:05,440 --> 00:15:11,160
In pain, you shall eat of it all
the days of your life. 

219
00:15:11,480 --> 00:15:15,000
There's our word pain again. 
God tells the woman, I will 

220
00:15:15,000 --> 00:15:19,360
surely multiply your pain and 
childbearing and pain. 

221
00:15:19,480 --> 00:15:23,400
You shall bring four children. 
And God tells the man in pain, 

222
00:15:23,520 --> 00:15:27,760
you shall eat of it all the days
of your life prior to the fall. 

223
00:15:27,840 --> 00:15:31,320
It appears that God would have 
simply caused fruit trees to 

224
00:15:31,320 --> 00:15:34,200
just produce fruit. 
It would have just come and, and

225
00:15:34,240 --> 00:15:36,960
we would just walk up and just 
take it and, and we'd have 

226
00:15:37,120 --> 00:15:39,720
plenty of food and, and no work 
needed. 

227
00:15:39,720 --> 00:15:43,400
But but now man will have to 
work and he will have to work 

228
00:15:43,400 --> 00:15:48,920
hard to get his food. 
The ground will now be his enemy

229
00:15:49,040 --> 00:15:56,400
rather than his servant. 
See, Thorns and thistles it 

230
00:15:56,400 --> 00:16:00,240
shall bring forth for you. 
We have a church work day 

231
00:16:00,240 --> 00:16:02,280
scheduled in a few weeks, and I 
don't think we've sent an e-mail

232
00:16:02,280 --> 00:16:04,600
out about it, but we are going 
to be having a church work day 

233
00:16:04,840 --> 00:16:08,680
in a few weeks and we are going 
to be quickly reminded of the 

234
00:16:08,680 --> 00:16:12,520
effects of the curse when we 
attempt to tackle those 

235
00:16:12,520 --> 00:16:15,440
BlackBerry thorns and thistles 
out front there. 

236
00:16:15,560 --> 00:16:20,200
Yes, we are going to clear all 
of them out and we will be 

237
00:16:20,200 --> 00:16:22,840
reminded quickly of the curse 
when we do so. 

238
00:16:23,880 --> 00:16:29,040
Dee, you shall eat of the plants
of the field. 

239
00:16:30,000 --> 00:16:32,480
Now why is that a curse or why 
is that a punishment? 

240
00:16:32,480 --> 00:16:34,560
You shall eat of the plants of 
the field. 

241
00:16:35,040 --> 00:16:38,400
This is a foreshadowing of being
driven from the garden. 

242
00:16:39,360 --> 00:16:43,160
In other words, God says that 
you will not just eat of the 

243
00:16:43,320 --> 00:16:46,640
fruit from the garden. 
You will now have to eat of the 

244
00:16:46,640 --> 00:16:50,440
plants of the field rather than 
the garden, which means God's 

245
00:16:50,440 --> 00:16:52,760
foreshadowing here. 
You will not be living in the 

246
00:16:52,760 --> 00:16:55,960
garden anymore. 
E. 

247
00:16:56,520 --> 00:17:00,360
By the sweat of your face you 
shall eat bread. 

248
00:17:00,560 --> 00:17:03,320
Getting food will no longer be a
delight. 

249
00:17:03,560 --> 00:17:06,280
It will be a chore. 
It will be work. 

250
00:17:06,760 --> 00:17:09,119
It will require the sweat of our
brow. 

251
00:17:09,640 --> 00:17:14,119
Ask any farmer if their job is 
tiring. 

252
00:17:16,280 --> 00:17:20,480
I imagine it is. 
Look at verse 19. 

253
00:17:20,480 --> 00:17:24,880
B Until you return to the 
ground, for out of it you were 

254
00:17:24,880 --> 00:17:30,680
taken, for you are dust, and to 
dust you shall return. 

255
00:17:32,040 --> 00:17:34,560
Up until this point it hasn't 
been clear what is going to 

256
00:17:34,560 --> 00:17:36,800
happen to the man and the woman 
at the end of their life. 

257
00:17:37,720 --> 00:17:41,440
Will they live forever? 
Is God's will for them to live 

258
00:17:41,440 --> 00:17:43,920
forever? 
Will they be swept up into 

259
00:17:43,920 --> 00:17:46,640
heaven like Elijah? 
What is going to happen at the 

260
00:17:46,640 --> 00:17:48,840
end of their life? 
But now God tells them their 

261
00:17:48,840 --> 00:17:52,080
fate. 
God says till you return to the 

262
00:17:52,080 --> 00:17:55,240
ground, for out of it you were 
taken. 

263
00:17:55,360 --> 00:17:59,200
If you remember when God made 
man, he made him from the dust 

264
00:17:59,200 --> 00:18:02,960
of the ground. 
And God says that dust that I 

265
00:18:02,960 --> 00:18:05,560
made you from, that's where 
you're going to return. 

266
00:18:06,440 --> 00:18:10,400
Essentially, God is telling 
Adam, you're going to die one 

267
00:18:10,400 --> 00:18:15,640
day. 
Death will now be introduced to 

268
00:18:15,640 --> 00:18:19,160
the world. 
Look at what God says, for you 

269
00:18:19,640 --> 00:18:24,400
are dust, and to dust you shall 
return. 

270
00:18:26,120 --> 00:18:28,480
This is quite an existential 
statement, isn't it? 

271
00:18:29,360 --> 00:18:38,960
You are dust, God reminds Adam. 
He reminds us who we truly are. 

272
00:18:39,160 --> 00:18:45,520
Apart from him. 
We are dust, no more, no less. 

273
00:18:47,280 --> 00:18:51,120
Look at verse 20. 
The man called his wife's name 

274
00:18:51,120 --> 00:18:54,440
Eve because she was the mother 
of all living. 

275
00:18:54,840 --> 00:18:58,240
Up until this point I have been 
referring to her as the woman 

276
00:18:58,400 --> 00:19:00,720
because we have not been given a
name for her yet. 

277
00:19:01,080 --> 00:19:09,360
But finally we learned her name.
Adam calls his wife Eve and just

278
00:19:10,720 --> 00:19:13,840
it'd be strange if we named our 
wives like they didn't get their

279
00:19:13,840 --> 00:19:16,040
own names. 
We just husbands decided what 

280
00:19:16,040 --> 00:19:22,760
our wife's name was. 
Adam names his wife just as a 

281
00:19:22,760 --> 00:19:24,360
reminder. 
Naming something signifies 

282
00:19:24,360 --> 00:19:28,120
authority over it. 
God has called Adam to be the 

283
00:19:28,120 --> 00:19:30,320
spiritual authority over his 
wife. 

284
00:19:31,040 --> 00:19:34,240
Why did he call her Eve? 
Texas? 

285
00:19:34,240 --> 00:19:36,240
Because she was the mother of 
all living. 

286
00:19:37,240 --> 00:19:38,760
You may have a note in your 
Bible there. 

287
00:19:39,080 --> 00:19:42,640
Eve sounds like the Hebrew for 
life giver. 

288
00:19:43,040 --> 00:19:45,560
It resembles the word for living
in the Hebrew. 

289
00:19:46,280 --> 00:19:50,000
Now this is important because 
this is a hopeful note here. 

290
00:19:50,760 --> 00:19:54,360
Even though death has now been 
introduced to the world, God 

291
00:19:54,360 --> 00:19:56,840
just said you're all going to 
die. 

292
00:19:57,200 --> 00:19:59,200
Even though death has been 
introduced to the world, God 

293
00:19:59,200 --> 00:20:04,080
will continue to bring life. 
Notice the contrast there. 

294
00:20:04,240 --> 00:20:06,560
You will return to the dust. 
You're going to die. 

295
00:20:06,760 --> 00:20:09,840
But fear not, Eve will be the 
mother of all living. 

296
00:20:09,840 --> 00:20:13,280
I will continue to bring life 
from you. 

297
00:20:13,840 --> 00:20:17,800
Eve will give birth, reminding 
them that God has not forsaken 

298
00:20:17,800 --> 00:20:19,520
them, He has not given up on 
them. 

299
00:20:19,720 --> 00:20:24,480
God will continue to bring new 
life in this world through Eve. 

300
00:20:25,920 --> 00:20:31,400
Look at verse 21 and the Lord 
God made for Adam and for his 

301
00:20:31,400 --> 00:20:35,200
wife garments of skins and 
clothes them. 

302
00:20:35,240 --> 00:20:37,160
Now remember Adam and Eve are 
still naked. 

303
00:20:37,920 --> 00:20:41,240
All they have are these pitiful 
fig leaves that they've sewed 

304
00:20:41,240 --> 00:20:45,000
together for loincloths that I 
imagine are not very effective. 

305
00:20:45,400 --> 00:20:48,320
So God does for them what they 
cannot do for themselves. 

306
00:20:48,480 --> 00:20:52,240
God clothes them. 
God made for them garments of 

307
00:20:52,240 --> 00:20:55,560
skin. 
Now here's a question, if it's 

308
00:20:55,560 --> 00:20:58,240
God made garments of skin, does 
this mean that God had to kill 

309
00:20:58,240 --> 00:21:04,200
some animals to get this text 
doesn't say, but it is a fair 

310
00:21:04,200 --> 00:21:09,920
assumption if so. 
Unless God made these skins ex 

311
00:21:09,920 --> 00:21:14,880
nihilo, which he could do. 
But if so, it means that Adam 

312
00:21:14,880 --> 00:21:20,640
and Eve's sin has ushered in the
death of the first animals. 

313
00:21:22,440 --> 00:21:26,360
The verse 22. 
Then the Lord God said, behold, 

314
00:21:26,360 --> 00:21:29,880
the man has become like one of 
us and knowing good and evil 

315
00:21:30,360 --> 00:21:33,680
now, lest he reach out his hand 
and take also the tree of life 

316
00:21:33,680 --> 00:21:38,080
and eat and live forever. 
Now if you remember what the 

317
00:21:38,080 --> 00:21:42,120
serpent said to the woman, he 
said God knows that when you eat

318
00:21:42,120 --> 00:21:46,720
of this tree you will be like 
God knowing good and evil. 

319
00:21:46,960 --> 00:21:51,360
As I mentioned a few weeks back,
what makes the serpent so crafty

320
00:21:51,600 --> 00:21:54,240
is that he does not tell bold 
faced lies. 

321
00:21:55,440 --> 00:21:59,920
He tells half truths. 
Here's an example where he was 

322
00:21:59,920 --> 00:22:04,040
telling a measure of truth. 
God affirms that when they ate 

323
00:22:04,040 --> 00:22:06,480
of this tree they did become 
like God. 

324
00:22:06,480 --> 00:22:10,240
God said they have become like 
us. 

325
00:22:11,120 --> 00:22:16,680
They did no good and evil. 
And so God says, now let's reach

326
00:22:16,680 --> 00:22:22,160
out his hand and also take and 
eat of the tree of life and live

327
00:22:22,160 --> 00:22:24,840
forever. 
What is the tree of life? 

328
00:22:24,840 --> 00:22:28,840
Do you remember back in chapter 
2, verse 9, God said that in the

329
00:22:28,840 --> 00:22:31,280
midst of the garden there were 
two trees, the tree of 

330
00:22:31,280 --> 00:22:34,400
knowledge, good of evil, and the
tree of life. 

331
00:22:35,320 --> 00:22:38,200
We are given every indication 
that the man and woman were 

332
00:22:38,200 --> 00:22:40,400
allowed to eat from the tree of 
life. 

333
00:22:40,400 --> 00:22:44,080
Remember God said you may eat 
from every tree except for one. 

334
00:22:44,400 --> 00:22:47,200
So we're given the indication 
that they had been eating from 

335
00:22:47,200 --> 00:22:49,520
the tree of life. 
It was only the tree of 

336
00:22:49,520 --> 00:22:51,200
knowledge of good and evil they 
didn't eat from. 

337
00:22:51,440 --> 00:22:55,240
But now that they have eaten 
from that tree, they are now 

338
00:22:55,240 --> 00:22:58,080
forbidden to eat from the tree 
of life. 

339
00:22:58,960 --> 00:23:03,120
The reason it appears to me that
God doesn't want them to eat of 

340
00:23:03,120 --> 00:23:07,240
this tree anymore, because if 
they do, they will live forever.

341
00:23:07,600 --> 00:23:09,720
But that is no longer God's will
for them. 

342
00:23:10,920 --> 00:23:13,880
God says my will is no longer 
that you would live on this 

343
00:23:13,880 --> 00:23:19,040
earth forever. 
They are now going to die at the

344
00:23:19,040 --> 00:23:22,000
appointed time. 
That is now God's will for them 

345
00:23:22,480 --> 00:23:26,280
to die at that point in time. 
Look at verse 23 to 24. 

346
00:23:27,880 --> 00:23:30,760
Therefore, the Lord God sent him
out from the Garden of Eden to 

347
00:23:30,760 --> 00:23:32,560
work the ground from which he 
was taken. 

348
00:23:32,880 --> 00:23:36,440
He drove out the man, and at the
east of the Garden of Eden he 

349
00:23:36,440 --> 00:23:39,840
placed the cherubim and a 
flaming sword that turned every 

350
00:23:39,840 --> 00:23:42,240
way to guard the way to the tree
of life. 

351
00:23:43,280 --> 00:23:48,280
This last punishment that the 
man and woman will experience, 

352
00:23:50,080 --> 00:23:56,960
they lose the garden. 
They had this beautiful garden 

353
00:23:56,960 --> 00:23:59,320
to enjoy and now they have lost 
it. 

354
00:24:00,240 --> 00:24:03,000
The Lord God sent him out of the
garden to work the ground. 

355
00:24:03,000 --> 00:24:06,520
The text says that he drove out 
the man. 

356
00:24:06,720 --> 00:24:08,560
The Hebrew word therefore drive 
out. 

357
00:24:08,560 --> 00:24:10,480
It's a very forceful term in the
Hebrew. 

358
00:24:10,800 --> 00:24:13,560
It could be translated, 
banished, or expelled. 

359
00:24:14,480 --> 00:24:17,320
God basically banished them from
the garden. 

360
00:24:17,320 --> 00:24:19,640
He expelled them from the 
garden. 

361
00:24:19,920 --> 00:24:24,000
Not only did God drive them out,
but he also produced a guardian.

362
00:24:24,120 --> 00:24:26,760
Also placed a guardian to guard 
the garden. 

363
00:24:27,280 --> 00:24:30,560
At the east of the Garden of 
Eden, he placed a cherubim. 

364
00:24:30,880 --> 00:24:32,280
What's he's like? 
What's a cherubim? 

365
00:24:32,720 --> 00:24:36,600
A cherubim is a class of a 
winged supernatural beings which

366
00:24:36,600 --> 00:24:38,960
serve God in several functions. 
In heaven, there will not only 

367
00:24:38,960 --> 00:24:40,960
be angels, there will be 
cherubim as well. 

368
00:24:41,360 --> 00:24:44,920
No idea what they look like, but
they will be there. 

369
00:24:46,400 --> 00:24:50,680
This cherubim has a flaming 
sword that turned every way to 

370
00:24:50,680 --> 00:24:52,240
guard the way of the tree of 
life. 

371
00:24:54,720 --> 00:24:58,720
So the man and the woman, they 
have lost the garden, they have 

372
00:24:58,720 --> 00:25:04,400
lost the tree of life, and they 
have lost unbroken fellowship 

373
00:25:04,400 --> 00:25:12,280
with God. 
The effects of our sin are great

374
00:25:12,280 --> 00:25:17,120
indeed. 
Stop there with exposition 

375
00:25:17,280 --> 00:25:19,400
application. 
I have 9 points of application 

376
00:25:20,240 --> 00:25:28,560
#1 Pain is a reminder of the 
effects of our sin. 

377
00:25:30,520 --> 00:25:35,840
Pain is a reminder of the 
effects of our sin. 

378
00:25:37,960 --> 00:25:42,080
Nobody likes pain. 
I mean, if if you do, 

379
00:25:42,160 --> 00:25:48,040
something's wrong with you. 
Nobody likes pain. 

380
00:25:48,240 --> 00:25:52,680
Pain is one of those universal 
aspects of life that we can all 

381
00:25:52,680 --> 00:25:56,400
agree on. 
We can all agree that we wish it

382
00:25:56,400 --> 00:26:01,920
didn't exist. 
Headaches, migraines, 

383
00:26:02,760 --> 00:26:10,200
toothaches, pulled muscles, 
joint pain, back pain, neck 

384
00:26:10,200 --> 00:26:16,480
pain, sciatica, stomach aches, 
menstrual cramps, bruises, 

385
00:26:16,640 --> 00:26:23,320
sunburn, arthritis, ingrown 
toenails, sore throats, acid 

386
00:26:23,320 --> 00:26:29,520
reflux, and on and on. 
Nobody likes pain. 

387
00:26:32,560 --> 00:26:37,560
When sin entered this world, so 
did pain. 

388
00:26:40,680 --> 00:26:45,440
We see it twice in this passage.
I will surely multiply your pain

389
00:26:45,720 --> 00:26:51,080
and childbearing in pain. 
You shall eat of it all the days

390
00:26:51,200 --> 00:26:55,440
of your life. 
Pain is a reminder of the 

391
00:26:55,440 --> 00:27:00,600
effects of our sin. 
It is a reminder that this world

392
00:27:00,600 --> 00:27:05,360
is broken. 
It is a reminder that something 

393
00:27:05,360 --> 00:27:10,960
is wrong with this world. 
This, this world is not as it 

394
00:27:10,960 --> 00:27:17,080
should be. 
Two weeks ago I got the flu and 

395
00:27:17,080 --> 00:27:19,120
I was laid up in bed for an 
entire week. 

396
00:27:20,640 --> 00:27:26,200
I lost 18 lbs. 
I kept having one thought. 

397
00:27:26,480 --> 00:27:31,680
Why God, why? 
Why do we get sick? 

398
00:27:36,120 --> 00:27:46,160
We get sick because we are sick,
CS Lewis writes. 

399
00:27:46,160 --> 00:27:49,960
God whispers to us in our 
pleasures, speaks in our 

400
00:27:49,960 --> 00:27:54,000
conscience, but shouts in our 
pains. 

401
00:27:55,200 --> 00:28:07,600
It is his megaphone to rouse a 
deaf world #2 Marriage struggles

402
00:28:08,080 --> 00:28:10,920
are a reminder of the effects of
our sin. 

403
00:28:12,000 --> 00:28:15,320
Marriage struggles are a 
reminder of the effects of our 

404
00:28:15,320 --> 00:28:18,840
sin. 
Marriage is wonderful, and it is

405
00:28:18,840 --> 00:28:23,600
wonderfully difficult. 
Marriage is a lot like Disney 

406
00:28:23,600 --> 00:28:27,440
World. 
You are in the happiest place on

407
00:28:27,440 --> 00:28:31,360
earth and yet it still requires 
an awful lot of patience. 

408
00:28:34,880 --> 00:28:38,760
When I do premarital counseling,
I tell couples you are going to 

409
00:28:38,760 --> 00:28:44,560
have conflict more than you 
realize and the reason is 

410
00:28:44,560 --> 00:28:47,080
because the curse has affected 
our marriages. 

411
00:28:48,800 --> 00:28:53,000
God said your desire shall be 
for your husband and He shall 

412
00:28:53,000 --> 00:28:57,640
rule over you. 
There is now going to be a power

413
00:28:57,640 --> 00:29:04,320
struggle in marriage. 
Growing up I after I became a 

414
00:29:04,320 --> 00:29:07,400
Christian, I, I said you know 
what, I want to marry a woman 

415
00:29:07,400 --> 00:29:13,800
that will not fight me. 
And for the most part I got 1. 

416
00:29:16,880 --> 00:29:18,200
But the power struggle is still 
there. 

417
00:29:22,680 --> 00:29:25,400
There is now going to be a power
struggle in every marriage. 

418
00:29:25,560 --> 00:29:30,560
Who is going to get their way? 
Who is going to call the shots? 

419
00:29:31,680 --> 00:29:36,200
Who is going to wear the 
proverbial pants in the family? 

420
00:29:38,520 --> 00:29:41,360
I tell husbands, don't get 
offended if your wife doesn't 

421
00:29:41,360 --> 00:29:45,680
immediately submit to you. 
She struggles to submit to God. 

422
00:29:47,400 --> 00:29:49,520
I tell wives, don't get 
offended. 

423
00:29:49,960 --> 00:29:52,920
Your husband doesn't gently 
shepherd you. 

424
00:29:53,840 --> 00:29:57,280
The devil has told him the rod 
is far more effective than a 

425
00:29:57,280 --> 00:30:02,120
staff. 
Marriage. 

426
00:30:02,120 --> 00:30:11,800
Struggles are a reminder of the 
effects of our sin #3 the 

427
00:30:11,800 --> 00:30:19,520
physical, emotional and mental 
drain of our work is a reminder 

428
00:30:19,880 --> 00:30:24,360
of the effects of our sin. 
We learned a few weeks ago that 

429
00:30:24,360 --> 00:30:26,360
work is not a byproduct of the 
fall. 

430
00:30:27,840 --> 00:30:29,640
Right? 
If, if, if anybody is thinking 

431
00:30:29,640 --> 00:30:32,440
that I can't wait to get to 
heaven so I can get rid of this 

432
00:30:32,440 --> 00:30:36,080
deadbeat job, we will still be 
working in heaven. 

433
00:30:36,680 --> 00:30:38,760
Work is not a byproduct of the 
fall. 

434
00:30:39,040 --> 00:30:42,120
Prior to the fall, God placed 
the man in the garden to keep it

435
00:30:42,120 --> 00:30:44,640
and work it. 
We are given the impression 

436
00:30:44,640 --> 00:30:49,040
though that the keeping of this 
garden was a delight, but once 

437
00:30:49,040 --> 00:30:52,560
sent out of the world, God 
increased the difficulty of work

438
00:30:52,880 --> 00:30:58,480
and the pain associated with it.
God says cursed is the ground 

439
00:30:58,480 --> 00:31:01,760
because of you thorns and 
thistles that shall bring forth 

440
00:31:01,760 --> 00:31:05,400
for you by the sweat of your 
face, you will eat bread. 

441
00:31:05,960 --> 00:31:10,160
Now I know that most of us do 
not work manual labor jobs. 

442
00:31:11,920 --> 00:31:13,680
All of us don't work for our 
food. 

443
00:31:13,920 --> 00:31:18,560
We just go to the store and buy 
what we want, but all of us have

444
00:31:18,560 --> 00:31:23,280
experienced the physical, 
emotional and mental drain of 

445
00:31:23,280 --> 00:31:26,600
our work, Charles Spurgeon 
writes. 

446
00:31:26,600 --> 00:31:30,320
The curse of the fall has fallen
on our very tools. 

447
00:31:30,920 --> 00:31:34,120
The pen will not always write, 
the tongue will not always 

448
00:31:34,120 --> 00:31:36,880
speak, and the brain will not 
always think. 

449
00:31:38,680 --> 00:31:42,560
How many of us have come home 
from work and we're just 

450
00:31:42,560 --> 00:31:47,640
mentally, emotionally, 
physically, or even spiritually 

451
00:31:47,640 --> 00:31:52,120
drained? 
Or perhaps we feel like the 

452
00:31:52,120 --> 00:31:56,320
author of Ecclesiastes? 
What's the point? 

453
00:31:57,720 --> 00:32:05,360
My work seems so meaningless, CS
Lewis writes. 

454
00:32:05,360 --> 00:32:09,840
The fact that our work is often 
difficult and unrewarding is a 

455
00:32:09,840 --> 00:32:13,520
constant reminder that this 
world is not our final home. 

456
00:32:14,360 --> 00:32:19,040
The friction we feel in our 
labor is a mercy that prevents 

457
00:32:19,040 --> 00:32:22,200
us from being too satisfied with
the present age. 

458
00:32:25,480 --> 00:32:31,120
Brothers and sisters, one day 
all work will be joyful work. 

459
00:32:33,880 --> 00:32:37,920
One day everything we do will be
joyful. 

460
00:32:40,920 --> 00:32:47,520
Number four, death is a reminder
of the effects of our sin. 

461
00:32:49,080 --> 00:32:51,880
Death is a reminder of the 
effects of our sin. 

462
00:32:52,040 --> 00:32:55,520
When Adam and Eve ate of the 
fruit, the serpent was partially

463
00:32:55,520 --> 00:32:59,280
right. 
They didn't immediately die, but

464
00:32:59,280 --> 00:33:03,080
he was also wrong. 
As a result of their sin, they 

465
00:33:03,080 --> 00:33:10,680
would now experience death. 
God says till you return to the 

466
00:33:10,680 --> 00:33:13,960
ground, implying one day you are
going to die. 

467
00:33:15,000 --> 00:33:20,200
Just like pain, death is another
consequence that we can all 

468
00:33:20,200 --> 00:33:28,200
agree on that we don't like. 
Death is emotionally painful 

469
00:33:30,360 --> 00:33:32,240
sometimes, maybe the most 
painful thing that we 

470
00:33:32,240 --> 00:33:37,760
experience. 
I was watching this documentary 

471
00:33:37,760 --> 00:33:41,320
this past week on Jerry West. 
He was a basketball player back 

472
00:33:41,320 --> 00:33:44,760
in the 60s and the 70s. 
He was in later became an NBA 

473
00:33:44,760 --> 00:33:46,520
executive. 
He passed away a few years back.

474
00:33:48,360 --> 00:33:51,640
In the documentary he was 
sharing about his childhood and 

475
00:33:51,640 --> 00:33:56,240
how his dad was abusive growing 
up. 

476
00:33:56,240 --> 00:33:59,440
He said the only person that 
made him feel like he was worth 

477
00:33:59,480 --> 00:34:02,520
anything was his older brother 
David. 

478
00:34:04,200 --> 00:34:06,560
And Jerry grew up very close to 
his older brother. 

479
00:34:08,440 --> 00:34:10,840
But then one day his older 
brother David was shipped off to

480
00:34:10,840 --> 00:34:13,800
Korea and he was killed in the 
Korean War. 

481
00:34:18,520 --> 00:34:22,320
His dad was a strange man. 
He he had the casket brought to 

482
00:34:22,320 --> 00:34:25,000
his house and it stayed in his 
house for like a month. 

483
00:34:29,480 --> 00:34:33,320
It was sobering and sad to 
listen to him describe the pain 

484
00:34:33,320 --> 00:34:36,920
that he felt losing his brother.
He was the only person that made

485
00:34:36,920 --> 00:34:39,239
him feel like he was worth 
anything and now he was dead. 

486
00:34:42,400 --> 00:34:44,280
Death is an enemy that we all 
have. 

487
00:34:48,000 --> 00:34:51,120
I have heard parents share about
the pain they have felt losing a

488
00:34:51,120 --> 00:34:55,199
child. 
They describe it as a whole that

489
00:34:55,199 --> 00:34:56,679
runs right through the middle of
you. 

490
00:35:00,360 --> 00:35:04,520
Husbands and wives losing their 
spouses, friends losing their 

491
00:35:04,520 --> 00:35:09,120
best friends, children losing 
their parents, brothers and 

492
00:35:09,120 --> 00:35:15,360
sisters losing their siblings. 
Nobody escapes the pain of this 

493
00:35:15,360 --> 00:35:20,800
consequence. 
Death is a reminder of the 

494
00:35:20,800 --> 00:35:32,400
effects of our sin. #5 Whose 
voice in your head are you 

495
00:35:32,400 --> 00:35:39,000
listening to? 
Whose voice in your head are you

496
00:35:39,000 --> 00:35:43,040
listening to? 
Everybody has a hierarchy of 

497
00:35:43,040 --> 00:35:45,240
voices in their head that they 
listen to. 

498
00:35:45,760 --> 00:35:50,600
Could be ourselves, could be our
parents, could be our friends, 

499
00:35:51,200 --> 00:35:54,840
could be our boss, could be our 
spouse, could be celebrities, 

500
00:35:54,840 --> 00:35:57,360
could be social media. 
Could be the spirit, could be 

501
00:35:57,360 --> 00:36:02,840
the flesh, could be the devil. 
Whose voice are you listening 

502
00:36:02,840 --> 00:36:08,720
to? 
Adam had the voice of God in his

503
00:36:08,720 --> 00:36:12,320
head. 
God's voice said, You may surely

504
00:36:12,320 --> 00:36:16,000
eat of every tree in the garden,
but of the tree of the knowledge

505
00:36:16,000 --> 00:36:18,160
of good and evil you may not eat
from. 

506
00:36:18,280 --> 00:36:21,880
From the day that you eat of it,
you will surely die. 

507
00:36:22,040 --> 00:36:27,920
But on this particular day 
another voice supplanted the 

508
00:36:27,920 --> 00:36:32,280
voice of God, and it was the 
voice of his wife. 

509
00:36:35,200 --> 00:36:41,480
God said to Adam, because you 
have listened to the voice of 

510
00:36:41,480 --> 00:36:46,520
your wife. 
We don't know what she said to 

511
00:36:46,520 --> 00:36:52,320
her husband, but her voice 
became louder in his head than 

512
00:36:52,320 --> 00:36:58,480
God's. 
Everybody has a sound board in 

513
00:36:58,480 --> 00:37:02,040
their head. 
That sound board we have back 

514
00:37:02,040 --> 00:37:04,800
there with all those knobs. 
I have no idea what they do, but

515
00:37:04,800 --> 00:37:08,160
everybody has a sound board in 
their head. 

516
00:37:08,760 --> 00:37:14,200
You have all kinds of knobs and 
controls and you can determine 

517
00:37:14,280 --> 00:37:18,200
which voice is going to be 
turned up and which is going to 

518
00:37:18,200 --> 00:37:23,240
be turned down. 
You have control over that. 

519
00:37:27,960 --> 00:37:32,240
Brothers and sisters, make sure 
the loudest voice in your head 

520
00:37:33,800 --> 00:37:41,360
is the voice of the spirit. 
Don't let any other voice take 

521
00:37:41,520 --> 00:37:51,360
his part. 
Number six, Nothing humbles 

522
00:37:51,680 --> 00:37:59,240
quite like a pile of dust. 
Nothing humbles quite like a 

523
00:37:59,240 --> 00:38:04,200
pile of dust. 
I find it fascinating how easily

524
00:38:04,200 --> 00:38:07,360
man can boast. 
I think it is one of the most 

525
00:38:07,360 --> 00:38:10,760
fascinating aspects of humans, 
the fact that we can boast. 

526
00:38:12,480 --> 00:38:15,520
We are like a bunch of ants in 
an Ant colony, you know, sitting

527
00:38:15,520 --> 00:38:17,160
there boasting of how great they
are. 

528
00:38:22,200 --> 00:38:25,040
I'm sure that many of you saw 
that recently there was another 

529
00:38:25,040 --> 00:38:26,960
assassination attempt on the 
president's life. 

530
00:38:28,800 --> 00:38:32,800
One of the reporters afterward 
asked him, why do you think this

531
00:38:32,800 --> 00:38:38,080
keeps happening to you? 
This was his answer. 

532
00:38:39,400 --> 00:38:43,120
Well, if you look at history, 
the most impactful presidents 

533
00:38:43,120 --> 00:38:46,280
have all been targeted. 
I hate to say it, but I'm 

534
00:38:46,280 --> 00:38:47,880
honored to be a part of that 
list. 

535
00:38:52,480 --> 00:38:56,560
It is fascinating how easily we 
can boast. 

536
00:38:56,560 --> 00:39:06,680
As humans, we are all guilty of 
this, even in just small ways. 

537
00:39:07,320 --> 00:39:10,520
Anytime that we do something 
well, we can think it's 

538
00:39:10,520 --> 00:39:17,560
attributed to our hard work. 
And yet nothing humbles quite 

539
00:39:17,720 --> 00:39:27,960
like a pile of dust. 
God says for you are dust. 

540
00:39:29,680 --> 00:39:31,600
That would be a good tattoo to 
get. 

541
00:39:31,600 --> 00:39:34,320
I don't agree with tattoos, but 
if you're going to get a tattoo,

542
00:39:34,320 --> 00:39:40,440
that'd be a good one to get. 
For you are dust. 

543
00:39:43,840 --> 00:39:49,800
It would be a constant reminder 
that this is who I am apart from

544
00:39:49,800 --> 00:39:53,440
God. 
A pile of dust. 

545
00:39:56,560 --> 00:39:58,880
I see people in the gym. 
We go to the I go to the gym 

546
00:39:58,880 --> 00:40:02,000
like six days a week. 
I see people in the gym working 

547
00:40:02,000 --> 00:40:04,560
out. 
It's so funny to me. 

548
00:40:04,560 --> 00:40:06,480
They're sitting there in front 
of the mirror admiring their 

549
00:40:06,480 --> 00:40:07,840
bodies. 
I love it. 

550
00:40:07,840 --> 00:40:10,440
I it's like one of the my 
favorite things is to watch 

551
00:40:10,440 --> 00:40:18,400
people to sit there and just go.
No shame, no shame. 

552
00:40:20,080 --> 00:40:24,040
And I think to myself, as I 
watch them admire their bodies, 

553
00:40:24,040 --> 00:40:30,040
I think one day this body that 
you have spent so much time on 

554
00:40:30,240 --> 00:40:35,840
and so much money on is going to
be a pile of dust. 

555
00:40:40,720 --> 00:40:51,920
Don't forget that church family 
#7 God covers our nakedness and 

556
00:40:51,920 --> 00:40:55,480
shame with something far more 
effective than fig leaves. 

557
00:40:57,000 --> 00:40:59,760
He covers our shame and naked as
something far more effective 

558
00:40:59,760 --> 00:41:01,960
than fig leaves. 
When Adam and Eve realized they 

559
00:41:01,960 --> 00:41:05,520
were naked, they attempted to 
cover up their nakedness by 

560
00:41:05,520 --> 00:41:08,680
sewing together some fig leaves 
and making for themselves some 

561
00:41:08,680 --> 00:41:11,280
loincloths. 
It was a pitiful attempt to 

562
00:41:11,280 --> 00:41:15,040
cover their nakedness. 
Now, God could just leave them 

563
00:41:15,040 --> 00:41:17,560
like this. 
He could say, you know what, 

564
00:41:18,320 --> 00:41:21,960
y'all can just stay like that. 
You can walk around with these 

565
00:41:21,960 --> 00:41:26,640
fig leaves, but God and his 
mercy and his grace came to 

566
00:41:26,640 --> 00:41:28,520
them. 
The Lord God made for Adam and 

567
00:41:28,520 --> 00:41:31,880
his wife garments of skins and 
he clothed them. 

568
00:41:32,200 --> 00:41:37,160
This is such a metaphor for how 
we deal with our nakedness of 

569
00:41:37,160 --> 00:41:43,280
shame and how God deals with it 
when we feel shame. 

570
00:41:43,280 --> 00:41:48,600
When we feel guilt, we attempt 
to cover it up through busyness,

571
00:41:49,360 --> 00:41:52,960
through medication, through 
sleep, through emotional 

572
00:41:52,960 --> 00:41:57,600
guardrails, through alcohol, 
through food, through work. 

573
00:41:58,000 --> 00:42:01,560
And all of these methods are 
pitiful attempts to deal with 

574
00:42:01,560 --> 00:42:05,000
our shame. 
But God gives us something far 

575
00:42:05,000 --> 00:42:08,680
more effective. 
He comes to us and he offers us 

576
00:42:09,640 --> 00:42:16,120
a robe. 
A robe that is dipped Crimson in

577
00:42:16,120 --> 00:42:21,920
blood. 
It's a robe that he has made, He

578
00:42:21,920 --> 00:42:27,560
has fashioned for you and he 
clothes us with it. 

579
00:42:30,480 --> 00:42:33,880
Brothers and sisters, you don't 
need multiple outfits. 

580
00:42:35,040 --> 00:42:47,880
Your wardrobe only needs 1. 
And it is a good one #8 Sin 

581
00:42:48,200 --> 00:42:52,640
drives us out from unbroken 
fellowship with God. 

582
00:42:54,360 --> 00:42:57,800
Prior to the fall, the man and 
the woman, they enjoy this 

583
00:42:57,800 --> 00:43:00,360
beautiful garden. 
The Lord would come, and he 

584
00:43:00,360 --> 00:43:02,720
would walk among them in the 
cool of the day. 

585
00:43:02,720 --> 00:43:05,680
We were given the impression 
that they had unbroken 

586
00:43:05,680 --> 00:43:08,520
fellowship with God. 
They enjoyed the presence of 

587
00:43:08,520 --> 00:43:10,560
God, and God enjoyed their 
presence. 

588
00:43:10,800 --> 00:43:15,400
But once sin entered the world, 
this fellowship was now broken. 

589
00:43:16,160 --> 00:43:17,520
They were driven from the 
garden. 

590
00:43:17,520 --> 00:43:19,280
They were banished from the 
garden. 

591
00:43:19,800 --> 00:43:22,360
They would still enjoy the 
presence of God, but they would 

592
00:43:22,360 --> 00:43:27,360
enjoy it now in a different way.
There was no longer an unbroken 

593
00:43:27,360 --> 00:43:30,440
fellowship with God. 
This is what sin does. 

594
00:43:32,040 --> 00:43:34,480
We have all felt this when we 
sinned, have we not? 

595
00:43:35,840 --> 00:43:40,320
We feel distant from God. 
We know that God has not 

596
00:43:40,320 --> 00:43:42,920
forsaken us. 
We know that God is still for 

597
00:43:42,920 --> 00:43:44,880
us. 
But there is a distance, there 

598
00:43:44,880 --> 00:43:48,080
isn't there. 
We all feel it. 

599
00:43:49,760 --> 00:43:53,480
This is one of the motivations 
to not sin, that when we are 

600
00:43:53,480 --> 00:43:59,080
tempted to sin with our minds or
our mouths or our hands or our 

601
00:43:59,080 --> 00:44:04,560
emotions, we think to ourself, I
can be close to sin and distant 

602
00:44:04,560 --> 00:44:10,360
from God, or I can be close to 
God and distant from sin. 

603
00:44:12,600 --> 00:44:16,040
And I choose in this moment to 
walk in righteousness. 

604
00:44:17,400 --> 00:44:21,000
Why? 
I choose right now that I will 

605
00:44:21,000 --> 00:44:21,880
not send. 
Why? 

606
00:44:22,000 --> 00:44:25,720
Because I don't want to feel 
distant from God. 

607
00:44:28,040 --> 00:44:30,080
I don't want to feel distant 
from Him. 

608
00:44:32,400 --> 00:44:41,920
So I will not choose to do this 
#9 Last point. 

609
00:44:42,520 --> 00:44:47,240
The curse reminds us this is not
our home, and it cultivates A 

610
00:44:47,240 --> 00:44:52,800
longing to go home. 
The curse reminds us this is not

611
00:44:52,800 --> 00:44:56,840
our home, it cultivates A 
longing to go home. 

612
00:44:58,600 --> 00:45:02,240
One of the most perennial 
debated questions is the problem

613
00:45:02,280 --> 00:45:06,400
of evil, isn't it? 
And never go a year without 

614
00:45:06,400 --> 00:45:08,760
hearing somebody ask this 
question about the problem of 

615
00:45:08,760 --> 00:45:11,440
evil. 
Why is there so much evil in 

616
00:45:11,440 --> 00:45:13,640
this world? 
If God is loving, if God is 

617
00:45:13,640 --> 00:45:18,880
good, if God is omnipotent, why 
is there so much evil in this 

618
00:45:19,000 --> 00:45:21,240
world? 
Just, I mean, just turn on the 

619
00:45:21,240 --> 00:45:25,720
news and you will immediately be
reminded that something is very,

620
00:45:25,720 --> 00:45:32,800
very wrong with this world. 
A few weeks ago, you I saw the 

621
00:45:32,800 --> 00:45:34,280
story. 
You may have seen it yourself 

622
00:45:35,640 --> 00:45:42,240
where this man in Louisiana 
killed 8 children, seven of his 

623
00:45:42,280 --> 00:45:48,680
own, killed seven of his own 
children and a nephew, and then 

624
00:45:48,680 --> 00:45:58,840
wounded two women as well. 
How do we explain this kind of 

625
00:45:58,840 --> 00:46:00,840
father kills seven of his 
children? 

626
00:46:06,080 --> 00:46:11,800
Something is very wrong with 
this world, and it's because 

627
00:46:11,800 --> 00:46:16,840
we're under a curse. 
The curse has infected 

628
00:46:16,840 --> 00:46:19,880
everything. 
There's nothing that is not 

629
00:46:20,240 --> 00:46:24,960
under this curse. 
But if there is any silver 

630
00:46:24,960 --> 00:46:30,480
lining to this, it is this. 
The curse reminds us this is not

631
00:46:30,480 --> 00:46:35,760
our home and it cultivates a 
longing in us to go home. 

632
00:46:36,960 --> 00:46:41,200
Every time that we experience 
the pain and the sadness and the

633
00:46:41,200 --> 00:46:44,520
destruction of this life, let it
be a reminder. 

634
00:46:44,640 --> 00:46:47,240
This is not how God made this 
world. 

635
00:46:47,520 --> 00:46:50,360
This is not how God intended 
this world. 

636
00:46:50,800 --> 00:46:53,160
There is a perfect world out 
there. 

637
00:46:53,280 --> 00:46:57,400
It does exist. 
One word, death and sadness and 

638
00:46:57,400 --> 00:47:02,600
pain do not exist, and I long to
be there. 

639
00:47:04,480 --> 00:47:11,000
I long to go there. 
Brothers and sisters, let the 

640
00:47:11,000 --> 00:47:17,160
curse cultivate A craving for 
Christ in your life. 

641
00:47:19,880 --> 00:47:20,360
Let's pray.