1
00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:06,000
If you know where we are in 
Genesis 3, you are aware that 

2
00:00:07,280 --> 00:00:10,560
the second part of Genesis 3 is 
about the gospel. 

3
00:00:10,640 --> 00:00:14,280
We've already sing it explicitly
and a few of our songs, and 

4
00:00:14,280 --> 00:00:16,600
we're going to sing it again in 
the closing. 

5
00:00:17,600 --> 00:00:19,840
So I can just walk off the stage
right now, right? 

6
00:00:22,880 --> 00:00:25,640
No, if, if you would go ahead 
and turn in your Bibles to 

7
00:00:25,640 --> 00:00:33,280
Genesis chapter 3. 
We'll finish out chapter 3 this 

8
00:00:33,280 --> 00:00:37,080
morning. 
And then next week, of course, 

9
00:00:38,480 --> 00:00:41,960
is Christmas. 
So we'll begin our Advent series

10
00:00:43,960 --> 00:00:47,480
in Indiana Jones and the Raiders
of the Lost Ark. 

11
00:00:48,360 --> 00:00:52,440
Indy and company have found a a 
buried temple that they believe 

12
00:00:52,440 --> 00:00:55,320
houses the the Ark of the 
Covenant. 

13
00:00:56,320 --> 00:00:59,880
So in order to assess the 
situation and conditions, they, 

14
00:01:00,480 --> 00:01:05,040
they, they drop a torch down 
into the opening of the roof 

15
00:01:05,040 --> 00:01:15,680
upon the realization that the 
temple is filled with snakes in 

16
00:01:15,680 --> 00:01:23,200
the response snakes. 
Why did it have to be snakes? 

17
00:01:24,680 --> 00:01:28,560
I think we can all all sorry 
young ones, you probably have no

18
00:01:28,560 --> 00:01:30,040
idea what we're what I'm talking
about here. 

19
00:01:30,440 --> 00:01:34,040
But the rest of us, we all can 
envision this week. 

20
00:01:34,040 --> 00:01:39,520
We remember this in our minds. 
In general, people have a great 

21
00:01:39,520 --> 00:01:44,000
revulsion for snakes and and 
they can sympathize with Indy's 

22
00:01:44,320 --> 00:01:49,320
condition here in his attitude. 
I would venture to say 

23
00:01:49,320 --> 00:01:55,920
humanity's feelings towards 
snakes probably stems from this 

24
00:01:56,080 --> 00:02:00,880
moment in Scripture. 
So if you would, if you're able,

25
00:02:01,240 --> 00:02:04,360
would you stand? 
As we read from Genesis chapter 

26
00:02:04,360 --> 00:02:13,360
3, and this is going to be a 
pretty lengthy section, we're 

27
00:02:13,360 --> 00:02:17,640
going from chap from chapter, 
from verse 8 all the way through

28
00:02:17,720 --> 00:02:22,680
the end to verse 24. 
We will read the entire section.

29
00:02:24,040 --> 00:02:27,480
Verse 8. 
And they heard the sound of the 

30
00:02:27,480 --> 00:02:30,320
Lord God walking in the garden 
in the cool of the day. 

31
00:02:30,320 --> 00:02:33,640
And the man and his wife hid 
themselves from the presence of 

32
00:02:33,640 --> 00:02:35,880
the Lord God among the trees of 
the garden. 

33
00:02:36,800 --> 00:02:40,160
But the Lord God called to the 
man and said to him, Where are 

34
00:02:40,160 --> 00:02:41,680
you? 
And he said, I heard the sound 

35
00:02:41,680 --> 00:02:44,960
of you in the garden, and I was 
afraid because I was naked, and 

36
00:02:44,960 --> 00:02:48,080
I hid myself. 
He said, Who told you that you 

37
00:02:48,080 --> 00:02:50,160
were naked? 
Have you eaten of the tree of 

38
00:02:50,160 --> 00:02:52,120
which I commanded you not to 
eat? 

39
00:02:52,840 --> 00:02:56,080
The man said the woman whom you 
gave to be with me, she gave me 

40
00:02:56,080 --> 00:03:00,040
fruit of the tree and I ate. 
Then the Lord God said to the 

41
00:03:00,040 --> 00:03:02,320
woman, What is this that you 
have done? 

42
00:03:02,320 --> 00:03:05,680
The woman said, The serpent 
deceived me and I ate. 

43
00:03:06,760 --> 00:03:09,880
The Lord God said to the 
serpent, because you have done 

44
00:03:09,880 --> 00:03:13,040
this, curse it Are you above all
livestock and above all beasts 

45
00:03:13,040 --> 00:03:15,520
of the field. 
On your belly you shall go, and 

46
00:03:15,520 --> 00:03:18,480
dust you shall eat. 
All the days of your life. 

47
00:03:18,880 --> 00:03:21,920
I will put enmity between you 
and the woman, and between your 

48
00:03:21,920 --> 00:03:25,040
offspring and her offspring. 
He shall bruise your head, and 

49
00:03:25,040 --> 00:03:28,360
you shall bruise his heel. 
And to the woman, he said, I 

50
00:03:28,360 --> 00:03:31,200
will surely multiply your pain 
and childbearing and pain. 

51
00:03:31,200 --> 00:03:34,440
You shall bring forth children. 
Your desire shall be for your 

52
00:03:34,440 --> 00:03:36,200
husband, and he shall rule over 
you. 

53
00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:40,280
And to Adam, he said, because 
you have listened to the voice 

54
00:03:40,280 --> 00:03:43,280
of your wife, and have eaten of 
the tree of which I commanded 

55
00:03:43,280 --> 00:03:47,360
you, you shall not eat of it. 
Cursed is the ground because of 

56
00:03:47,360 --> 00:03:50,840
you in pain you shall eat of it 
all the days of your life. 

57
00:03:51,120 --> 00:03:53,800
Thorns and thistles it shall 
bring forth for you, and you 

58
00:03:53,800 --> 00:03:57,640
shall eat the plants of the 
field by the sweat of your face.

59
00:03:57,640 --> 00:04:00,640
You shall eat bread till you 
return to the ground, for out 

60
00:04:00,640 --> 00:04:04,080
of, for, out of it you're taking
for your dust, and to dust you 

61
00:04:04,080 --> 00:04:07,880
shall return. 
The man called his wife's name 

62
00:04:07,880 --> 00:04:10,800
Eve, because she was the mother 
of all living. 

63
00:04:11,040 --> 00:04:13,880
And the Lord God made for Adam 
and for his wife garments of 

64
00:04:13,880 --> 00:04:17,200
skins, and clothed them. 
Then the Lord God said, Behold, 

65
00:04:17,200 --> 00:04:20,000
the man has become like one of 
us, and knowing good and evil 

66
00:04:20,680 --> 00:04:24,080
now, lest he reach out his hand,
and take also of the tree of 

67
00:04:24,080 --> 00:04:28,600
life, and eat and live forever. 
Therefore the Lord God sent him 

68
00:04:28,600 --> 00:04:32,240
out of the garden from the 
Garden of Eden to work the 

69
00:04:32,240 --> 00:04:35,880
ground from which he was taken. 
He drove out the man, and at the

70
00:04:35,880 --> 00:04:39,600
east of the Garden of Eden he 
placed the cherubim in a flaming

71
00:04:39,600 --> 00:04:43,520
sword that turned every way to 
guard the way to the Tree of 

72
00:04:43,520 --> 00:04:45,640
Life. 
You may be seated. 

73
00:04:51,240 --> 00:04:57,000
Here in Genesis 3, Adam and 
Eve's sin results in the 

74
00:04:57,000 --> 00:05:00,360
brokenness of creation. 
It shattered their ability to 

75
00:05:00,560 --> 00:05:04,120
reflect the image of God as 
clearly as they were designed 

76
00:05:04,120 --> 00:05:07,120
to. 
And here the biblical narrative 

77
00:05:07,120 --> 00:05:12,280
shifts from creation to 
corruption as as the curse 

78
00:05:12,280 --> 00:05:17,920
descends not just upon human 
beings, but upon all of 

79
00:05:17,920 --> 00:05:21,640
creation. 
So as we finish out chapter 3, 

80
00:05:21,640 --> 00:05:25,960
we'll examine what I would like 
to call a three fold curse. 

81
00:05:25,960 --> 00:05:30,400
And then we'll also look at 3 
blessings in the midst of the 

82
00:05:30,400 --> 00:05:33,320
curse. 
There are three different 

83
00:05:33,320 --> 00:05:36,920
entities that receive curses in 
light of the simple acts of the 

84
00:05:36,920 --> 00:05:40,440
first humans. 
And of course, the first curse 

85
00:05:40,720 --> 00:05:44,720
is on the serpent. 
It's on the serpent. 

86
00:05:45,320 --> 00:05:47,160
We first see that the serpent 
was. 

87
00:05:47,520 --> 00:05:53,520
He was cursed to crawl on its 
belly and eats dust is what the 

88
00:05:53,520 --> 00:05:57,640
text says. 
Notice so far that I've referred

89
00:05:58,320 --> 00:06:02,960
to the serpent as a serpent and 
not as a snake. 

90
00:06:03,840 --> 00:06:06,360
I've not referred to it as a 
snake because the common 

91
00:06:06,360 --> 00:06:10,040
interpretation of this passage 
is that is that this particular 

92
00:06:10,040 --> 00:06:17,240
serpent likely had legs. 
You see, a snake is a legless 

93
00:06:17,240 --> 00:06:21,760
carnivorous reptile belonging to
the suborder Serpentes. 

94
00:06:21,760 --> 00:06:25,760
And it's speculated that the 
serpent originally had legs 

95
00:06:25,760 --> 00:06:30,480
because in in verse 14, it's 
condemned to crawl on its belly,

96
00:06:30,560 --> 00:06:33,280
right. 
So if it had crawled on its 

97
00:06:33,280 --> 00:06:37,560
belly then already, then that 
wouldn't necessarily be a curse.

98
00:06:38,600 --> 00:06:40,880
There are various 
interpretations of this passage,

99
00:06:40,880 --> 00:06:46,560
but whether or not it had legs 
isn't as important as what the 

100
00:06:46,560 --> 00:06:51,400
serpent did. 
It acted outside of God's 

101
00:06:51,760 --> 00:06:58,600
design. 
In Leviticus 1142, as God was 

102
00:06:58,600 --> 00:07:03,480
giving the law, he said whatever
goes on its belly shouldn't be 

103
00:07:03,480 --> 00:07:10,800
eaten because it's detestable, 
it's unclean, it's not fit for 

104
00:07:10,800 --> 00:07:14,400
consumption. 
The serpent was also sentenced 

105
00:07:14,440 --> 00:07:17,640
to eat dust all the days of its 
life. 

106
00:07:18,240 --> 00:07:22,280
Now today, we understand eating 
dust as an idiom for being left 

107
00:07:22,280 --> 00:07:25,840
behind in in a race or a a 
competition. 

108
00:07:25,840 --> 00:07:30,600
It's not a reference to the 
serpent's diet rights. 

109
00:07:32,080 --> 00:07:35,960
The person eating dust is so far
behind an off track that they're

110
00:07:36,080 --> 00:07:41,200
left in that proverbial cloud of
dust by the other person who far

111
00:07:41,200 --> 00:07:45,920
excels them. 
Eating dust had a similar 

112
00:07:45,920 --> 00:07:48,360
meaning for the ancient Near 
East. 

113
00:07:49,560 --> 00:07:53,160
Psalm 72. 
There on the screen it says may 

114
00:07:53,160 --> 00:07:55,320
he have dominion from sea to 
sea. 

115
00:07:55,560 --> 00:07:58,840
This is King Solomon writing to 
the future heir of David's 

116
00:07:58,840 --> 00:08:01,520
throne. 
May he have dominion from sea to

117
00:08:01,520 --> 00:08:04,360
sea and from the river to the 
ends of the earth. 

118
00:08:05,080 --> 00:08:09,320
May desert tribes bow down 
before him and his enemies. 

119
00:08:09,480 --> 00:08:12,880
Lick the dust sounds wonderful, 
doesn't it? 

120
00:08:12,880 --> 00:08:15,040
Just licking the dust sounds 
great. 

121
00:08:15,960 --> 00:08:20,680
Licking dust was a sign of 
defeat in the ancient Near East.

122
00:08:22,600 --> 00:08:27,560
Interestingly, when Isaiah 
speaks to the coming future 

123
00:08:27,560 --> 00:08:31,000
reign of Christ where where 
everything reverts back to a 

124
00:08:31,200 --> 00:08:39,600
garden like state, he calls out 
the serpent, specifically Isaiah

125
00:08:39,600 --> 00:08:42,039
6525. 
You'll see there on the screen, 

126
00:08:42,360 --> 00:08:45,160
the wolf and the lamb shall 
graze together, the lion shall 

127
00:08:45,160 --> 00:08:51,200
eat straw like ox and dust shall
be the serpent's food. 

128
00:08:52,920 --> 00:08:57,440
Life under the Messiah's reign 
will be a return back to the 

129
00:08:57,440 --> 00:09:01,920
vegetarian ideal that was set up
in the first couple chapters of 

130
00:09:01,920 --> 00:09:05,800
Genesis. 
The wolf and lamb will will 

131
00:09:05,800 --> 00:09:09,560
graze together and the and the 
lion, instead of choosing other 

132
00:09:09,560 --> 00:09:15,320
animals, chooses to eat straw, 
not meat, but the serpent. 

133
00:09:16,400 --> 00:09:20,920
The serpent's food will continue
to be dust. 

134
00:09:22,080 --> 00:09:25,960
The curse won't be reversed for 
for the serpent and it and it 

135
00:09:25,960 --> 00:09:31,360
will remain in that lowly state 
for the rest of time. 

136
00:09:33,160 --> 00:09:35,160
So that's the curse on the 
serpent. 

137
00:09:36,400 --> 00:09:40,520
And in the, in the second-half, 
I'll, I'll dress the rest of the

138
00:09:40,520 --> 00:09:44,920
curse on the serpent because 
it's really the climax of our 

139
00:09:44,920 --> 00:09:48,320
message this morning. 
Next is the curse on the woman. 

140
00:09:49,760 --> 00:09:52,640
This is the curse on the woman. 
Technically speaking, the the 

141
00:09:52,880 --> 00:09:56,880
text doesn't say that she's 
cursed like it does say of the 

142
00:09:56,880 --> 00:10:00,040
serpent and and it will say of 
the ground. 

143
00:10:00,800 --> 00:10:04,800
But there are definitely 
consequences for her actions. 

144
00:10:04,800 --> 00:10:09,200
And, and from a New Testament 
perspective, we call this 

145
00:10:09,360 --> 00:10:14,640
specific moment in time. 
We call it the curse. 

146
00:10:15,520 --> 00:10:19,400
So verse 16 reads, So the woman,
he said, I will surely multiply 

147
00:10:19,400 --> 00:10:22,280
your pain and childbearing in 
pain you shall bring forth 

148
00:10:22,320 --> 00:10:24,880
children. 
Your desire shall be for your 

149
00:10:24,880 --> 00:10:27,240
husband and he shall rule over 
you. 

150
00:10:28,800 --> 00:10:32,960
Part of the curse involved pain 
and bearing children. 

151
00:10:34,240 --> 00:10:36,880
It involved pain and bearing 
children. 

152
00:10:38,400 --> 00:10:42,400
Over the years there's been a 
lot of discussion about what 

153
00:10:42,400 --> 00:10:46,240
this means. 
Does it mean she was already set

154
00:10:46,240 --> 00:10:50,520
to experience some pain and and 
the curse is now just adding to 

155
00:10:50,520 --> 00:10:56,040
it and or does it mean she would
now experience pain and giving 

156
00:10:56,040 --> 00:10:59,240
birth to children and, and it 
wasn't intended for her to 

157
00:10:59,240 --> 00:11:00,880
experience pain? 
Because if you look at the 

158
00:11:00,880 --> 00:11:04,640
animal Kingdom, animals don't 
really experience pain, it 

159
00:11:04,640 --> 00:11:10,000
seems. 
Well, as with many things in 

160
00:11:10,280 --> 00:11:14,000
this part of Genesis, we can 
only go off of what the text 

161
00:11:14,000 --> 00:11:17,720
says when we when we're trying 
to interpret it. 

162
00:11:19,680 --> 00:11:22,360
But even then it can be 
difficult to interpret what it 

163
00:11:22,360 --> 00:11:25,680
means. 
Regardless the process, the 

164
00:11:25,680 --> 00:11:29,280
process would become quite 
laborious. 

165
00:11:30,320 --> 00:11:35,960
One of the words used here, the 
Hebrew word ITSA bone, means 

166
00:11:35,960 --> 00:11:39,560
toil. 
It is used in the very next 

167
00:11:39,560 --> 00:11:44,360
verse to actually speak of how 
hard work would become for the 

168
00:11:44,360 --> 00:11:46,840
man he has to work out in the 
field. 

169
00:11:47,440 --> 00:11:51,640
It specifically speaks of hard 
labor and now the process of 

170
00:11:51,920 --> 00:11:56,960
having a baby means the woman 
also would experience hard 

171
00:11:57,360 --> 00:12:02,360
labor. 
This pain then is a is a 

172
00:12:02,360 --> 00:12:09,520
reminder that the woman helped 
conceive sin and and into the 

173
00:12:09,520 --> 00:12:15,680
human race and she passes the 
sin on to her children. 

174
00:12:19,400 --> 00:12:26,000
I have to say this wasn't 
planned, but we've not 

175
00:12:26,000 --> 00:12:29,640
experienced this in our 
household, so we don't actually 

176
00:12:29,640 --> 00:12:34,360
know what that pain is like, 
which is really weird to have 

177
00:12:34,360 --> 00:12:39,280
two children and not know what 
happens in the delivery room. 

178
00:12:39,560 --> 00:12:42,720
Because of both children, we got
to pick their dates when they 

179
00:12:42,720 --> 00:12:44,400
were born. 
It was kind of nice. 

180
00:12:46,000 --> 00:12:48,840
One was born December 7th. 
I was like, can we pick a 

181
00:12:48,840 --> 00:12:51,880
different day than December 7th?
Right. 

182
00:12:52,280 --> 00:12:55,680
Like who wants to have their 
birthday on December 7th, Pearl 

183
00:12:55,680 --> 00:12:58,200
Harbor Day, in case you hadn't 
made that connection. 

184
00:12:58,960 --> 00:13:01,240
Well, doctors like, well, that's
the day we're going to do it. 

185
00:13:01,800 --> 00:13:06,040
OK, so Ari was born by C-section
on December 7th. 

186
00:13:07,440 --> 00:13:10,200
Couple years later, oh, how 
about June 6th? 

187
00:13:10,920 --> 00:13:14,800
June 6th escaped my mind. 
I wasn't thinking about what 

188
00:13:14,800 --> 00:13:17,440
June 6th was, so I didn't ask 
for a different day. 

189
00:13:17,920 --> 00:13:20,080
Actually, I did. 
I asked for June 9th because I 

190
00:13:20,080 --> 00:13:22,560
thought it would be cool for 
Micah to be born on his 

191
00:13:22,560 --> 00:13:26,000
grandma's birthday. 
Doctors like, no, we're going to

192
00:13:26,000 --> 00:13:31,080
do June 6th after he's born. 
I realized, hold on, there's 

193
00:13:31,080 --> 00:13:35,600
another very significant day, 
D-Day, in our nation's history. 

194
00:13:36,200 --> 00:13:38,800
So I will never forget those 
days. 

195
00:13:38,960 --> 00:13:41,920
But yeah, it is great. 
We didn't go through the whole 

196
00:13:41,920 --> 00:13:44,840
labor thing. 
I watched them both be born as 

197
00:13:44,840 --> 00:13:46,920
they were cut out of Louisiana's
stomach. 

198
00:13:46,920 --> 00:13:53,320
It was really cool. 
It was really neat standing up 

199
00:13:53,320 --> 00:13:55,880
there just watching. 
Oh, that's really neat. 

200
00:13:57,520 --> 00:13:59,360
Then I had to sit down for a 
moment after that. 

201
00:14:02,120 --> 00:14:04,480
So. 
But I am told that labor is a 

202
00:14:04,520 --> 00:14:08,240
horrible thing. 
Anyways, moving on. 

203
00:14:08,480 --> 00:14:11,040
That was just an aside that that
was for free. 

204
00:14:12,520 --> 00:14:16,160
The second set of consequences 
on the woman is a strained 

205
00:14:16,280 --> 00:14:21,880
marriage. 
A strained marriage. 

206
00:14:22,880 --> 00:14:25,200
I hadn't planned to share that. 
We hadn't even talked about 

207
00:14:25,200 --> 00:14:30,800
that. 
But now you know, prior to sin, 

208
00:14:31,520 --> 00:14:34,200
the relationship between the 
husband and wife was it was 

209
00:14:34,200 --> 00:14:38,960
harmonious and it was easy, even
with the ideal that Genesis 2 

210
00:14:38,960 --> 00:14:42,600
had set up with the husband as 
being the federal head. 

211
00:14:42,600 --> 00:14:46,800
The husband is the head of the 
relationship, represents the 

212
00:14:46,800 --> 00:14:50,920
relationship to God. 
He was the leader and the woman 

213
00:14:50,920 --> 00:14:54,520
was his counterpart, a Co equal 
under the authority of her 

214
00:14:54,520 --> 00:14:58,400
husband. 
But that ideal became distorted 

215
00:14:58,400 --> 00:15:01,840
and broken when sin entered into
their lives. 

216
00:15:03,160 --> 00:15:06,680
The woman was no longer content 
in her role and position, and 

217
00:15:06,680 --> 00:15:12,560
now her desire was to lead the 
home and to rule over her 

218
00:15:12,560 --> 00:15:16,960
husband. 
This created an ongoing and 

219
00:15:16,960 --> 00:15:20,760
damaging conflict between the 
husband and wife as the husband 

220
00:15:20,760 --> 00:15:25,320
may well be inclined to respond 
to the wife in an overly 

221
00:15:25,320 --> 00:15:31,040
domineering and ruling manner. 
The one flesh union they were 

222
00:15:31,280 --> 00:15:38,720
intended to experience that 
unity took a hit as the 

223
00:15:38,720 --> 00:15:43,000
relationship was fractured 
because of this power struggle 

224
00:15:43,000 --> 00:15:46,240
that they would now experience 
because of sin. 

225
00:15:48,000 --> 00:15:51,840
The sinful, rebellious behavior 
of both the husband and wife was

226
00:15:51,840 --> 00:15:58,800
against their God-given roles in
the marriage Next we look at the

227
00:15:58,800 --> 00:16:02,360
ramifications of sin in the life
of the man. 

228
00:16:03,080 --> 00:16:05,560
The curse as it relates to the 
man. 

229
00:16:06,840 --> 00:16:13,280
Here the man finally gets a name
his name is Adam, which is just 

230
00:16:13,280 --> 00:16:17,040
as I've indicated a number of 
times in this series, means 

231
00:16:17,360 --> 00:16:22,280
human as the. 
As the focus shifts from this 

232
00:16:22,280 --> 00:16:27,080
specific to this specific man, 
we find that he was punished the

233
00:16:27,640 --> 00:16:32,400
the ground was cursed. 
This was a cursed ground that he

234
00:16:32,400 --> 00:16:35,640
would that he would now have to 
deal with as it says in verse 

235
00:16:35,640 --> 00:16:39,520
17. 
Now there would be pain involved

236
00:16:39,760 --> 00:16:44,200
in fulfilling the command that 
was given to him to rule and 

237
00:16:44,200 --> 00:16:48,080
subdue the land. 
To make the land profitable and 

238
00:16:48,080 --> 00:16:52,840
productive. 
The process was much easier 

239
00:16:52,840 --> 00:16:57,320
before the fall and and the work
the man was engaged in, it was 

240
00:16:57,440 --> 00:17:01,080
overly laborious. 
He would work and it was easy. 

241
00:17:02,160 --> 00:17:04,440
It wasn't like the way we think 
of work today. 

242
00:17:05,880 --> 00:17:10,359
But now, after the man's 
rebellion against God, the work 

243
00:17:10,520 --> 00:17:13,440
had become difficult and the 
ground was inclined towards 

244
00:17:13,720 --> 00:17:19,319
barrenness rather than towards 
productivity and plentiful. 

245
00:17:21,240 --> 00:17:25,720
Cultivating the ground would now
involve hard work in order to 

246
00:17:25,720 --> 00:17:32,280
make it productive. 
Previously everything God made 

247
00:17:32,640 --> 00:17:38,000
was good, but now there were 
thorns and and thistles. 

248
00:17:38,000 --> 00:17:43,920
The land began actively working 
against the man to prevent him 

249
00:17:44,520 --> 00:17:48,520
in his task of of helping the 
land to be fruitful. 

250
00:17:49,920 --> 00:17:54,960
And verse 19 said By the sweat 
of your face you shall eat 

251
00:17:54,960 --> 00:17:59,920
bread. 
So now the task of simply 

252
00:17:59,920 --> 00:18:06,560
putting food on the table has 
become increasingly complicated 

253
00:18:07,560 --> 00:18:12,160
as creation itself strives 
against humanity. 

254
00:18:15,000 --> 00:18:19,880
Romans 8 verses 20 through 22 
says this of creation. 

255
00:18:20,560 --> 00:18:25,520
The creation was subjected to 
futility, not willingly, but 

256
00:18:25,520 --> 00:18:29,000
because of hymns who subjected 
it, in hope that the creation 

257
00:18:29,000 --> 00:18:33,760
itself will be set free from its
bondage to corruption and obtain

258
00:18:33,760 --> 00:18:36,040
the freedom of the glory of the 
children of God. 

259
00:18:37,480 --> 00:18:40,080
For we know that the whole 
creation has been groaning 

260
00:18:40,080 --> 00:18:42,360
together in the pains of 
childbirth. 

261
00:18:46,200 --> 00:18:49,440
The man had been given the 
command to subdue the earth and 

262
00:18:49,440 --> 00:18:53,280
rule it in a godly manner. 
But now, because of the man's 

263
00:18:53,280 --> 00:18:57,560
sin, the entire created order 
fights back against his 

264
00:18:57,560 --> 00:19:02,840
rulership as it groans under the
curse, and it longs for for 

265
00:19:02,840 --> 00:19:10,280
freedom. 
It's interesting that you and I 

266
00:19:10,280 --> 00:19:19,320
look at the world around us and 
we right we look outside, we, we

267
00:19:19,320 --> 00:19:23,680
can see, we can see trees, we 
can see mountains and other 

268
00:19:23,680 --> 00:19:26,520
places. 
Or if you squint your eyes just 

269
00:19:26,520 --> 00:19:29,960
right, maybe the horizon looks 
like looks like mountains. 

270
00:19:31,240 --> 00:19:36,360
We can see the clouds, the sun, 
all sorts of ways to see God's 

271
00:19:36,560 --> 00:19:41,240
beauty. 
However, the reality is that 

272
00:19:41,480 --> 00:19:45,760
creation, what we see, isn't as 
God intended it. 

273
00:19:47,080 --> 00:19:52,040
We see instead a distortion of 
what God had originally created 

274
00:19:52,040 --> 00:19:56,320
and intended. 
Even creation itself longs for 

275
00:19:56,320 --> 00:19:59,560
the days when things will be 
made right. 

276
00:20:01,320 --> 00:20:05,000
Until then it groans as though 
as though it's giving birth to a

277
00:20:05,000 --> 00:20:08,880
child, waiting for the expectant
moment when the anticipated 

278
00:20:08,880 --> 00:20:12,600
Kingdom will be welcomed and 
creation returns back. 

279
00:20:13,560 --> 00:20:19,960
It's that garden like state. 
This is the curse on the 

280
00:20:19,960 --> 00:20:23,520
serpents, on the woman, and on 
the man. 

281
00:20:24,240 --> 00:20:29,320
But you see, there are there are
blessings to be found in spite 

282
00:20:29,760 --> 00:20:33,360
of the curse. 
And first of all, the first 

283
00:20:33,360 --> 00:20:37,880
blessing we see is that humanity
will survive. 

284
00:20:39,160 --> 00:20:41,720
Humanity will continue to 
survive. 

285
00:20:42,000 --> 00:20:47,720
In verse 20, the woman is 
finally given her name is Eve. 

286
00:20:48,560 --> 00:20:53,280
Why is she called Lee Eve? 
She's called Eve because she is 

287
00:20:53,480 --> 00:20:59,200
the mother of all living. 
God's original words in chapter 

288
00:20:59,200 --> 00:21:03,240
2 regarding the tree of the 
knowledge of good and Evil, His 

289
00:21:03,240 --> 00:21:10,040
words were in the day you eat of
it, you shall surely die. 

290
00:21:11,760 --> 00:21:16,960
So they anticipated death, which
was probably a factor in their 

291
00:21:17,200 --> 00:21:19,880
choosing to hide. 
Oh, we're supposed to die, so 

292
00:21:19,880 --> 00:21:25,080
let's go hide. 
But God wasn't about to renege 

293
00:21:25,080 --> 00:21:30,880
on the command to be fruitful 
and multiply these first humans 

294
00:21:30,880 --> 00:21:33,640
had they'd made an egregious 
error. 

295
00:21:34,720 --> 00:21:38,880
But God still had humanity on 
his heart, and he wanted the 

296
00:21:38,880 --> 00:21:43,960
plan to continue to move 
forward, all be it under much 

297
00:21:44,240 --> 00:21:48,840
different parameters. 
Sure, she would experience 

298
00:21:49,120 --> 00:21:56,160
painful labor, but that very 
labor was a reminder of the 

299
00:21:56,160 --> 00:22:01,400
promise of hope. 
She would now be instrumental in

300
00:22:01,400 --> 00:22:06,480
fulfilling God's command and 
would live to bear children. 

301
00:22:09,240 --> 00:22:16,200
So if humanity didn't die at 
that moment, what did God mean 

302
00:22:16,200 --> 00:22:20,120
when he said they would die? 
Was he just bluffing? 

303
00:22:21,280 --> 00:22:25,440
Well, of death specifically in 
view here is spiritual death, 

304
00:22:25,440 --> 00:22:27,840
but physical death would also 
come to them. 

305
00:22:28,720 --> 00:22:31,520
But spiritual death is the 
severing of humanity's 

306
00:22:31,520 --> 00:22:34,440
relationship with the Holy 
Creator. 

307
00:22:35,600 --> 00:22:38,720
In their sinless state, these 
humans had a wonderfully 

308
00:22:38,720 --> 00:22:41,920
beautiful relationship with 
their God as they walked with 

309
00:22:41,920 --> 00:22:49,560
Him in the garden each day. 
However, a righteous, holy God 

310
00:22:49,720 --> 00:22:54,400
can't allow sin in His presence,
so that relationship between He 

311
00:22:54,400 --> 00:23:02,440
and the humans was broken. 
They had no way to make things 

312
00:23:02,440 --> 00:23:09,000
right on their own. 
In fact, even their attempt at 

313
00:23:09,000 --> 00:23:13,280
covering their naked bodies 
wasn't good enough. 

314
00:23:14,520 --> 00:23:18,760
Verse 21 told us God made 
garments of skin for Adam and 

315
00:23:18,760 --> 00:23:22,000
Eve. 
If you stop and think, why did 

316
00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:24,320
he do that? 
Because they'd already made 

317
00:23:24,320 --> 00:23:26,240
themselves clothing of fig 
leaves. 

318
00:23:27,120 --> 00:23:29,960
Did their clothing not cover 
themselves well enough? 

319
00:23:31,760 --> 00:23:33,240
No, I don't think that was the 
problem. 

320
00:23:35,160 --> 00:23:39,000
But you see, something 
significant has just happened. 

321
00:23:40,720 --> 00:23:45,040
This was a historic moment and 
and leaves would no longer cut 

322
00:23:46,200 --> 00:23:47,560
it. 
Sin is serious business. 

323
00:23:47,560 --> 00:23:52,680
So an animal had to die to 
provide the skins that became 

324
00:23:52,880 --> 00:24:00,160
their This is a picture of the 
future in it foreshadows the 

325
00:24:00,160 --> 00:24:05,280
sacrificial system that that 
would ultimately come and and 

326
00:24:05,840 --> 00:24:11,920
the Lamb of God, the one who 
would die to cover our sins. 

327
00:24:14,000 --> 00:24:20,520
Now back to the second-half of 
the curse on the serpents. 

328
00:24:22,040 --> 00:24:26,480
Verse 15 is one of the most 
important passages in all of 

329
00:24:26,480 --> 00:24:30,800
Scripture. 
Verse 15 is prophetic in nature 

330
00:24:30,800 --> 00:24:35,480
and it tells us how how the war 
between the humans and Satan is 

331
00:24:35,480 --> 00:24:39,120
going to go. 
It reads, you'll see it there on

332
00:24:39,120 --> 00:24:43,680
the screen. 
It reads, I will put enmity 

333
00:24:43,760 --> 00:24:45,760
between you and the woman. 
That is, I will make you 

334
00:24:45,800 --> 00:24:51,080
enemies, and between your 
offspring and her offspring, he 

335
00:24:51,080 --> 00:24:55,080
shall bruise your head, and you 
shall bruise his heel. 

336
00:24:56,640 --> 00:25:01,200
The facts there will now be a 
rift between humanity and the 

337
00:25:01,200 --> 00:25:04,840
serpent's offspring has been 
laid out before the reader. 

338
00:25:05,000 --> 00:25:08,160
But that is not the end of the 
story, right? 

339
00:25:09,320 --> 00:25:13,000
In theological circles we call 
Genesis 3:15. 

340
00:25:13,280 --> 00:25:18,160
We call this the Proto 
Evangelion, the first Gospel. 

341
00:25:19,040 --> 00:25:23,640
The Gospel is good news and and 
the Proto Evangelion reveals 2 

342
00:25:23,640 --> 00:25:27,080
particular pieces of good news 
to us. 

343
00:25:28,000 --> 00:25:30,640
The first blessing that is 
revealed to us in the Proto 

344
00:25:30,640 --> 00:25:35,360
Evangelion is that it's a 
guarantee of Satan's 

345
00:25:35,560 --> 00:25:40,400
destruction. 
Satan is going to be destroyed. 

346
00:25:44,240 --> 00:25:51,000
The good news Nothing starts in 
the 1st century with the Gospels

347
00:25:51,000 --> 00:25:53,440
and the writers of the New 
Testament. 

348
00:25:54,480 --> 00:25:59,200
No, the good news starts back 
here on page three of your 

349
00:25:59,200 --> 00:26:03,040
Bibles. 
The phrase he shall bruise your 

350
00:26:03,040 --> 00:26:06,640
head speaks to a significant 
blow, especially when we 

351
00:26:06,640 --> 00:26:09,280
consider what he immediately 
follows. 

352
00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:14,200
You shall bruise his heel. 
Here you refers to Satan and he 

353
00:26:14,200 --> 00:26:19,480
refers to the woman's offspring 
and the location of the blows to

354
00:26:19,480 --> 00:26:25,600
indicate the severity of each. 
The humans strike to the 

355
00:26:25,600 --> 00:26:32,040
serpent's head is much more 
severe than this lowly serpents 

356
00:26:32,240 --> 00:26:39,960
striking the humans heel. 
Satan had desperately tried to 

357
00:26:40,240 --> 00:26:45,600
destroy the seed of the woman by
causing Jesus to sin. 

358
00:26:45,600 --> 00:26:50,160
But Jesus overcame that 
temptation. 

359
00:26:51,840 --> 00:26:54,720
He was tempted, but he didn't 
give in. 

360
00:26:54,720 --> 00:27:00,960
So Hebrews 415 then declares we 
do not have a high priest who is

361
00:27:00,960 --> 00:27:04,920
unable to sympathize with our 
weaknesses, but one who in every

362
00:27:04,920 --> 00:27:10,880
respect has been tempted as we 
are, yet without sin. 

363
00:27:12,480 --> 00:27:18,560
Jesus is the high priest. 
He's the go between, between US 

364
00:27:18,880 --> 00:27:22,480
and the Father. 
Satan stands there accusing us 

365
00:27:23,360 --> 00:27:26,720
saying oh, they did this, they 
did this. 

366
00:27:28,240 --> 00:27:33,120
But Jesus is our legal counsel. 
He's the one he, he has gone 

367
00:27:33,120 --> 00:27:39,080
through what we went through and
go through, but he didn't give 

368
00:27:39,080 --> 00:27:43,800
in. 
And because of his work, he 

369
00:27:43,920 --> 00:27:51,720
stands as our defense. 
So what is verse 15 actually 

370
00:27:51,720 --> 00:27:55,160
referring to? 
The offspring of the woman 

371
00:27:55,160 --> 00:28:01,840
suffered A bruised heel when 
Jesus died on the cross. 

372
00:28:01,840 --> 00:28:04,240
Death on a cross would be fatal 
for a normal person. 

373
00:28:04,240 --> 00:28:08,000
But Jesus isn't a normal person,
right? 

374
00:28:08,240 --> 00:28:12,000
He delivered a fatal blow to the
serpent Satan when he rose from 

375
00:28:12,000 --> 00:28:14,880
the grave conquering sin and 
death. 

376
00:28:17,120 --> 00:28:21,040
So his victory over Satan has 
been decisive and has purchased 

377
00:28:21,040 --> 00:28:25,880
the opportunity for each of us 
to experience that same victory 

378
00:28:27,560 --> 00:28:31,240
in the second part. 
The second blessing that we find

379
00:28:31,240 --> 00:28:34,760
in the Provo Evan Gallery is the
promise of the Savior. 

380
00:28:39,920 --> 00:28:42,120
It's the promise of a savior, 
Verse 15 told us. 

381
00:28:42,360 --> 00:28:45,600
The serpent and the woman had 
now become enemies. 

382
00:28:46,720 --> 00:28:50,520
It would be her house against 
the snake's house. 

383
00:28:51,880 --> 00:28:54,600
And to say that the woman's 
offspring bruises the head of 

384
00:28:54,600 --> 00:29:00,360
the serpent's offspring is to 
say that a savior is coming. 

385
00:29:01,760 --> 00:29:05,800
It's a declaration that things 
won't always be the way they are

386
00:29:05,960 --> 00:29:13,160
right now, but in the end the 
serpent will lose. 

387
00:29:14,280 --> 00:29:23,280
Now I want to say make it clear 
this was not Plan B Sending 

388
00:29:23,440 --> 00:29:25,760
Jesus into the world wasn't Plan
B. 

389
00:29:25,760 --> 00:29:30,280
God wasn't caught off guard by 
the situation with sin entering 

390
00:29:30,280 --> 00:29:35,240
into the world. 
Salvation for the human race was

391
00:29:35,240 --> 00:29:41,560
planned and promised before 
Satan ever fell, before a single

392
00:29:41,560 --> 00:29:48,800
sin had been committed, God 
planned for the salvation of 

393
00:29:48,800 --> 00:29:55,200
those who would seek him. 
Ephesians 1/4 tells us God chose

394
00:29:55,200 --> 00:29:59,000
us in Jesus before the 
foundation of the world. 

395
00:30:00,320 --> 00:30:04,120
Second Timothy 19 says God saved
us and called us to a holy 

396
00:30:04,120 --> 00:30:07,520
calling not because of our 
works, but because of His own 

397
00:30:07,840 --> 00:30:10,720
purpose and grace which He gave 
us in Christ Jesus. 

398
00:30:11,280 --> 00:30:21,600
Before the ages began, before 
time began, God granted life 

399
00:30:22,280 --> 00:30:26,840
through Jesus. 
God knew what was going to 

400
00:30:26,840 --> 00:30:29,840
happen before He even began the 
creative act. 

401
00:30:31,560 --> 00:30:36,320
He knew that He would create 
humans on Day 6 and that shortly

402
00:30:36,320 --> 00:30:41,200
thereafter these humans would 
choose to redefine right and 

403
00:30:41,200 --> 00:30:45,920
wrong on their own terms. 
He knew that the Son would be 

404
00:30:45,920 --> 00:30:51,680
sent into the world to restore 
us back to a relationship with 

405
00:30:51,680 --> 00:30:56,400
the Father. 
So who is the Son? 

406
00:30:58,200 --> 00:31:03,240
Who is this Savior? 
While he's not like any other 

407
00:31:03,240 --> 00:31:08,400
human in all of history, sin had
come into the world through 

408
00:31:08,600 --> 00:31:12,160
through one man. 
And because of that death, both 

409
00:31:12,360 --> 00:31:16,920
physical death and spiritual 
death spread to all people, 

410
00:31:17,320 --> 00:31:23,520
because all sin, and our sin 
means we deserve spiritual death

411
00:31:23,560 --> 00:31:29,400
or separation from God. 
God's desire for our lives is 

412
00:31:29,720 --> 00:31:32,320
wholeness in a restored 
relationship with Him. 

413
00:31:32,760 --> 00:31:36,920
Satan's desire for our lives is 
destruction and brokenness. 

414
00:31:37,040 --> 00:31:43,200
He wants to destroy you. 
So now we live in the reality 

415
00:31:43,200 --> 00:31:49,200
that we can never and we'll 
never measure up to God's 

416
00:31:49,320 --> 00:31:55,560
standard. 
Romans 323 tells us that we all 

417
00:31:55,640 --> 00:32:00,360
fall short of His standard. 
What is God's standard? 

418
00:32:00,360 --> 00:32:07,280
God's standard is perfection, 
and none of us will ever come 

419
00:32:07,640 --> 00:32:13,200
close to that. 
We simply can't imagine that. 

420
00:32:13,200 --> 00:32:21,760
You're at the Grand Canyon, and 
the goal is to jump from one 

421
00:32:21,760 --> 00:32:25,240
side of the Grand Canyon all the
way across to the other side. 

422
00:32:26,600 --> 00:32:35,520
Well, my family and I, we, we 
head out there, Louvian, because

423
00:32:35,520 --> 00:32:42,320
she's vertically challenged, she
attempts to jump. 

424
00:32:44,840 --> 00:32:48,360
We'll give her six feet. 
She makes it 6 feet across. 

425
00:32:51,680 --> 00:32:55,000
I can do better than that. 
So I jump. 

426
00:32:57,040 --> 00:33:02,680
I make it 10 feet. 
Micah enters the competition. 

427
00:33:04,760 --> 00:33:10,040
Oh, I'm light and really strong.
I can jump 15 feet. 

428
00:33:14,520 --> 00:33:19,320
But did any of us? 
Sorry, I left out Arya. 

429
00:33:20,480 --> 00:33:26,840
Did any of us make it across? 
No. 

430
00:33:28,760 --> 00:33:34,320
We simply are unable to measure 
up to the standard. 

431
00:33:34,320 --> 00:33:38,320
We cannot measure up to God's 
standard. 

432
00:33:39,560 --> 00:33:48,720
We have a proclivity towards 
sin, but that's not the end of 

433
00:33:48,720 --> 00:33:50,960
the story. 
Not to state the obvious, but 

434
00:33:51,320 --> 00:33:54,840
Jesus died for us. 
He was the atonement. 

435
00:33:54,960 --> 00:33:57,480
He was the appeasement for our 
sin. 

436
00:33:59,360 --> 00:34:02,200
When Adam and Eve sinned, the 
animal that died for their 

437
00:34:02,200 --> 00:34:04,800
clothing essentially atoned for 
their sin. 

438
00:34:04,800 --> 00:34:10,120
It it made things right in a in 
a sort of sense, sin had 

439
00:34:10,120 --> 00:34:14,360
consequences and God would later
implement a system that reminded

440
00:34:14,360 --> 00:34:19,560
people that sin has a cost 
associated with it. 

441
00:34:21,320 --> 00:34:25,639
So Romans 623 tells us the 
consequences for our sin, and 

442
00:34:25,639 --> 00:34:32,480
that is death. 
But it also says that God's gift

443
00:34:32,480 --> 00:34:36,639
to us through Jesus is eternal 
life. 

444
00:34:38,719 --> 00:34:41,679
So God showed us how much he 
loved us through the fact that 

445
00:34:41,679 --> 00:34:46,239
even though we're sinful people,
he sent Jesus into the world to 

446
00:34:46,239 --> 00:34:50,480
die for us. 
We were at odds with God. 

447
00:34:50,480 --> 00:34:57,240
We we were enemies of gods. 
But God sent his son Jesus into 

448
00:34:57,240 --> 00:35:01,520
the world so that so that we 
could be saved through him. 

449
00:35:04,040 --> 00:35:07,400
In order for us to have that 
relationship with God restored, 

450
00:35:07,520 --> 00:35:11,600
we need only confess with our 
mouths that Jesus is Lord and 

451
00:35:11,600 --> 00:35:15,200
believe that God raised him from
the dead. 

452
00:35:16,840 --> 00:35:20,080
The good news the gospels are 
writing about is that Jesus came

453
00:35:20,080 --> 00:35:24,560
to bring us back to life to 
restore that relationship that 

454
00:35:24,560 --> 00:35:29,680
had been broken. 
Jesus was fully God and he was 

455
00:35:29,680 --> 00:35:34,160
fully man. 
He was born to a human mother 

456
00:35:34,160 --> 00:35:36,600
and he lived a sinless, perfect 
life. 

457
00:35:36,600 --> 00:35:42,600
He was falsely tried in illegal 
proceedings and then beaten and 

458
00:35:42,600 --> 00:35:46,120
hung on a cross to die the 
criminal's death. 

459
00:35:48,520 --> 00:35:55,720
But he didn't stay in that grave
where he was buried. 

460
00:35:56,000 --> 00:36:02,960
On the third day he rose again 
from the grave, conquering 

461
00:36:03,120 --> 00:36:10,920
death, and 40 days later he 
ascended back into heaven, never

462
00:36:11,240 --> 00:36:15,040
to die. 
His sacrifice was the payment 

463
00:36:15,040 --> 00:36:19,000
for our sin, and it's a free 
gift for all who believe. 

464
00:36:20,160 --> 00:36:23,600
Jesus came into this world to 
make right what sin had broken, 

465
00:36:23,600 --> 00:36:29,280
to bring wholeness to our lives.
In order for us to have 

466
00:36:29,400 --> 00:36:33,680
wholeness that Jesus offers in a
restored relationship with Him, 

467
00:36:34,880 --> 00:36:40,280
we only need the AB CS. 
A is for admit. 

468
00:36:41,240 --> 00:36:46,800
Admit that you are a Sinner. 
Admit that you cannot save 

469
00:36:47,160 --> 00:36:50,240
yourself. 
B is for belief. 

470
00:36:50,240 --> 00:36:57,280
Believe that Jesus is the one 
who who came into this world to 

471
00:36:57,280 --> 00:37:03,400
die for our sins and that God 
raised him from the dead. 

472
00:37:04,320 --> 00:37:08,200
It's important to say that this 
belief isn't something that is 

473
00:37:08,200 --> 00:37:11,320
simply intellectual. 
It's not just in our heads. 

474
00:37:12,040 --> 00:37:16,080
Even demons believe and and 
tremble is what scripture says. 

475
00:37:17,440 --> 00:37:21,120
But no, this belief stems from 
our hearts. 

476
00:37:22,960 --> 00:37:26,360
It's an expression of sincerity 
and and trust. 

477
00:37:26,360 --> 00:37:30,440
It's faith in Jesus Christ and 
what he has done. 

478
00:37:30,920 --> 00:37:37,120
And C is for confess. 
Confess Jesus as your Lord and 

479
00:37:37,120 --> 00:37:42,480
Savior. 
That means that as Lord, He has 

480
00:37:42,760 --> 00:37:48,080
authority over your life. 
Every single part of your life 

481
00:37:48,240 --> 00:37:56,240
is submitted and yielded to Him 
and His authority, and as 

482
00:37:56,240 --> 00:38:02,200
Savior, He is the one providing 
the way for you to have that 

483
00:38:02,200 --> 00:38:05,520
restored relationship with the 
Father. 

484
00:38:08,080 --> 00:38:11,960
Scripture tells us everyone who 
calls on the name of the Lord 

485
00:38:12,240 --> 00:38:24,880
will be saved. 
Quite probably one or two people

486
00:38:24,880 --> 00:38:29,520
here this morning who who may 
not have a personal relationship

487
00:38:30,000 --> 00:38:33,640
with our Lord and Savior Jesus 
Christ. 

488
00:38:34,960 --> 00:38:41,400
And if that's you, then all you 
need to do, if the Holy Spirit 

489
00:38:41,400 --> 00:38:45,520
is moving in your heart and 
prompting you to reach out to 

490
00:38:45,520 --> 00:38:53,120
Him, all you need to do is to 
admit you're a Sinner, believe 

491
00:38:53,120 --> 00:38:57,920
in Jesus Christ and what He has 
done, the work that He did on 

492
00:38:57,920 --> 00:39:04,920
the cross and His resurrection, 
confess Him as Lord and Savior. 

493
00:39:05,720 --> 00:39:10,760
And if you do that, then I'll 
say any prayer you might pray is

494
00:39:10,760 --> 00:39:15,560
not magical in and of itself, 
but it's simply an expression of

495
00:39:15,560 --> 00:39:20,960
what the Holy Spirit is already 
doing inside of your hearts. 

496
00:39:23,520 --> 00:39:25,600
So let's bow our heads and close
our eyes this morning. 

497
00:39:38,340 --> 00:39:46,940
This morning, I want to give us 
a moment just to look in our 

498
00:39:46,940 --> 00:39:57,700
hearts, to examine ourselves. 
Have I placed my trust in Jesus?

499
00:40:01,600 --> 00:40:06,800
And if you've not placed your 
trust in Jesus, then I want to 

500
00:40:06,800 --> 00:40:13,240
encourage you, if the words of 
this message are stirring in 

501
00:40:13,240 --> 00:40:19,680
your soul, stirring in your 
hearts to admit you're a Sinner,

502
00:40:19,680 --> 00:40:23,760
believe in Jesus Christ and 
confess Him as Lord. 

503
00:40:33,400 --> 00:40:39,480
If you've already done that, 
then maybe consider for a 

504
00:40:39,480 --> 00:40:46,560
moment. 
Does my life reflect my position

505
00:40:47,240 --> 00:40:53,480
in Christ? 
Am I living according to the 

506
00:40:53,480 --> 00:40:57,800
fact that I have a personal 
relationship with Jesus Christ? 

507
00:40:59,280 --> 00:41:04,720
That God resides in me? 
Am I living according to that? 

508
00:41:07,840 --> 00:41:36,960
Let's just take a moment. 
God, we are so thankful for the 

509
00:41:36,960 --> 00:41:46,320
good news that the gospel. 
The gospel wasn't a Plan B. 

510
00:41:47,560 --> 00:41:50,960
The gospel was the plan from the
beginning, before anything had 

511
00:41:50,960 --> 00:41:55,480
ever happened. 
You would set your hearts on 

512
00:41:55,520 --> 00:42:00,040
humanity to bring us back to
