1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:02,640 Tonight we're turning back to the first book of the Bible, a 2 00:00:02,640 --> 00:00:07,400 book of Genesis and chapter 2. Book of Genesis and chapter 2. 3 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:11,600 And tonight, just for the sake of time, I'll just read the two 4 00:00:11,600 --> 00:00:16,840 verses that I want to preach upon times rapidly disappearing 5 00:00:16,840 --> 00:00:26,280 this evening. Genesis chapter 2 And actually 6 00:00:26,280 --> 00:00:28,960 we'll read 3 verses. We'll break in at verse 15. 7 00:00:28,960 --> 00:00:32,520 Genesis chapter 2 and the verse 15. 8 00:00:34,160 --> 00:00:37,960 And the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of 9 00:00:37,960 --> 00:00:42,800 Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the Lord God commanded the 10 00:00:42,800 --> 00:00:46,760 man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely 11 00:00:46,760 --> 00:00:52,320 eat, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou 12 00:00:52,400 --> 00:00:55,360 shalt not eat of it. For in the day that thou eatest 13 00:00:55,360 --> 00:00:59,040 thereof thou shalt surely die. Amen. 14 00:00:59,040 --> 00:01:00,240 Let's just bow together in prayer. 15 00:01:00,800 --> 00:01:03,680 Father in Heaven, as we come now to thy precious word, we turn 16 00:01:03,680 --> 00:01:06,440 unto Thee, the Author and the finisher of our faith. 17 00:01:06,840 --> 00:01:09,720 And Father, we do come tonight and we do pray and love for each 18 00:01:09,720 --> 00:01:13,360 and every soul in this meeting. Lord, we come tonight as a 19 00:01:13,360 --> 00:01:15,400 relative stranger to the congregation. 20 00:01:15,400 --> 00:01:18,360 Lord, we don't know everybody, but Father, we thank Thee that 21 00:01:18,360 --> 00:01:20,240 you know each and every one of us by name. 22 00:01:20,640 --> 00:01:23,560 You know us by nature. And Lord, we pray tonight for 23 00:01:23,560 --> 00:01:26,760 any in this meeting, that Lord may still be outside the family 24 00:01:26,760 --> 00:01:30,080 and fold of God, or following the afar off, that even this 25 00:01:30,080 --> 00:01:33,480 night thou would come, Lord, and touch their hearts and draw them 26 00:01:33,760 --> 00:01:36,960 with the chords of Calvary love. To that end we do pray. 27 00:01:36,960 --> 00:01:41,040 Emptiest now of self and of sin. Now the old flesh to the cross 28 00:01:41,440 --> 00:01:43,800 breathe upon us. And Lord, fill us tonight with 29 00:01:43,800 --> 00:01:47,320 thy Holy Spirit, and with faith and with fire and with power 30 00:01:47,320 --> 00:01:49,640 from on high. And oh, that thou would open up 31 00:01:49,640 --> 00:01:55,440 thy word to us, for we ask it in Jesus name, Amen and Amen. 32 00:01:56,000 --> 00:02:01,480 So Genesis chapter 2 and those 3 verses there verses 15 to 17, my 33 00:02:01,480 --> 00:02:04,560 text for this evening. And you'll find here we've got 34 00:02:04,560 --> 00:02:08,520 the Lord's words way back to Adam and Eve, when he says in 35 00:02:08,520 --> 00:02:12,600 the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die. 36 00:02:13,320 --> 00:02:15,600 There was Adam and Eve put into a lovely garden. 37 00:02:16,520 --> 00:02:19,840 They were told they could eat of the the fruit of every tree in 38 00:02:19,840 --> 00:02:22,360 their garden with the exception of 1. 39 00:02:22,880 --> 00:02:26,480 And then the Lord gave them the warning that in the day that 40 00:02:26,480 --> 00:02:29,280 thou eatest thereof, thou shalt die. 41 00:02:29,280 --> 00:02:33,240 And whenever you come to consider this passage of 42 00:02:33,240 --> 00:02:38,720 Scripture, here is man placed into a beautiful garden. 43 00:02:38,960 --> 00:02:44,160 He's given absolutely everything that he needs for indescribable 44 00:02:44,160 --> 00:02:49,720 happiness, joy and fulfilment. But in order that man might have 45 00:02:49,720 --> 00:02:54,880 a will, and Adam did have a free will, God gave him the moral 46 00:02:54,880 --> 00:02:59,960 opportunity of a choice. And so God created a tree, and 47 00:02:59,960 --> 00:03:02,480 he planted that tree in the Garden of Eden. 48 00:03:02,880 --> 00:03:06,880 It was called the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 49 00:03:07,240 --> 00:03:10,600 And man was forbidden to eat of that tree. 50 00:03:11,120 --> 00:03:13,000 And I want us to think about that tree tonight. 51 00:03:13,840 --> 00:03:17,200 And then I also want to think about another tree. 52 00:03:17,200 --> 00:03:20,440 And that's the tree that Peter just sung about, the old rugged 53 00:03:20,440 --> 00:03:24,360 tree of Calvary. And I want to look at those two 54 00:03:24,360 --> 00:03:27,120 trees tonight. There's some similarities. 55 00:03:27,120 --> 00:03:29,240 There's also some contrast between them. 56 00:03:29,800 --> 00:03:32,880 You'll find that in this first tree we want to consider the 57 00:03:32,880 --> 00:03:34,640 tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 58 00:03:34,800 --> 00:03:38,640 We can call this one the tree of death, because the Lord says 59 00:03:38,640 --> 00:03:42,640 here in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die. 60 00:03:43,120 --> 00:03:47,280 And then the second tree we want to compare and contrast is that 61 00:03:47,280 --> 00:03:50,600 tree of Calvary. And we can call this tree the 62 00:03:50,600 --> 00:03:54,000 tree of life because the Lord said I am come that they might 63 00:03:54,000 --> 00:03:57,840 have life and that they might have it more abundantly. 64 00:03:58,480 --> 00:04:03,480 Two different trees, one the tree of death, the other one the 65 00:04:03,480 --> 00:04:06,320 tree of life. Now let me say that both of 66 00:04:06,320 --> 00:04:09,000 these trees are found in a garden. 67 00:04:10,080 --> 00:04:13,640 Did you notice that you'll see here in verse 8 we're told in 68 00:04:13,640 --> 00:04:18,880 the Lord God planted a garden Eastwood in Eden and there he 69 00:04:18,880 --> 00:04:22,640 put man whom he had formed and out of the ground made the Lord 70 00:04:22,640 --> 00:04:26,680 God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the site and good 71 00:04:26,680 --> 00:04:29,640 for food. The tree of life also in the 72 00:04:29,640 --> 00:04:33,600 midst of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and 73 00:04:33,600 --> 00:04:36,920 evil. So the tree of the knowledge of 74 00:04:36,920 --> 00:04:41,720 good and evil was planted in the garden in the Garden of Eden. 75 00:04:42,400 --> 00:04:46,200 But you know, whenever you think about the old rugged cross, that 76 00:04:46,200 --> 00:04:50,360 tree upon which the Lord Jesus Christ bled and died, did you 77 00:04:50,360 --> 00:04:54,200 know that that cross was also planted in a garden? 78 00:04:54,800 --> 00:04:58,920 Did you know that the Lord Jesus Christ hung in agony and in 79 00:04:58,920 --> 00:05:02,560 blood in a garden? In John chapter 19, the Bible 80 00:05:02,560 --> 00:05:07,040 tells us now in the place where he was crucified, there was a 81 00:05:07,040 --> 00:05:11,360 garden, and in the garden a new sepulchre wherein was never man 82 00:05:11,360 --> 00:05:14,640 yet laid. So the first Adam and the last 83 00:05:14,640 --> 00:05:20,360 Adam, the Lord Jesus Christ, both of them died in a garden. 84 00:05:21,080 --> 00:05:24,880 So it's interesting that the tree of death was in the garden 85 00:05:24,880 --> 00:05:29,320 of Eden and the tree of life, the cross of our Lord Jesus 86 00:05:29,320 --> 00:05:34,400 Christ where He died so that we might have life, was also, 87 00:05:34,640 --> 00:05:38,280 strangely enough, in a garden. What's the significance of this? 88 00:05:38,560 --> 00:05:43,920 Well, it means that original sin was committed in a beautiful and 89 00:05:43,920 --> 00:05:46,760 perfect environment and surrounding. 90 00:05:47,240 --> 00:05:48,760 And that's very, very important tonight. 91 00:05:48,760 --> 00:05:52,560 You see, sometimes we get the idea that man's problems are 92 00:05:52,560 --> 00:05:56,200 just sociological. Some people think that man's 93 00:05:56,200 --> 00:06:00,360 problems are really because of the environment that he lives 94 00:06:00,360 --> 00:06:02,360 in. And we're told today, if we 95 00:06:02,360 --> 00:06:05,520 could just change man's environment, then we would 96 00:06:05,520 --> 00:06:08,360 change men. A better environment would give 97 00:06:08,360 --> 00:06:10,760 us a better man. And there are those who think 98 00:06:10,760 --> 00:06:14,720 that if everyone is properly fed, properly clothed, properly 99 00:06:14,960 --> 00:06:19,160 educated, then you'll usher in a good environment and all of 100 00:06:19,160 --> 00:06:23,160 man's problems will be solved. Now I'm not knocking a good 101 00:06:23,160 --> 00:06:27,000 environment, but the bottom line is, well, you can put a new suit 102 00:06:27,000 --> 00:06:33,080 on a man, only Christ can put a new man in the suit and what man 103 00:06:33,080 --> 00:06:38,240 needs is much more than a better environment you see, or else all 104 00:06:38,240 --> 00:06:43,040 you get is a well fed, well clothed, well educated Sinner. 105 00:06:44,040 --> 00:06:46,720 Then there are those in this computerised age in which we 106 00:06:46,720 --> 00:06:50,000 live, and they try and tell us that man's just a little bit 107 00:06:50,000 --> 00:06:53,200 like a computer and he's just programmed wrongly. 108 00:06:53,400 --> 00:06:56,920 And if we could just reprogram the computer, then he'd be all 109 00:06:56,920 --> 00:06:59,160 right. But I'm afraid that's not true 110 00:06:59,160 --> 00:07:03,080 either, because if man is only a computer that's been programmed 111 00:07:03,080 --> 00:07:06,640 wrongly, then it's logical that you can't blame him for his sin. 112 00:07:07,360 --> 00:07:11,120 In other words, he's not evil, but he's, I'll, he's not sinful, 113 00:07:11,120 --> 00:07:13,920 but he's sick. He's not really wicked, he's 114 00:07:13,920 --> 00:07:17,640 just underprivileged. And all of that thinking is just 115 00:07:17,640 --> 00:07:21,880 humanism. The Bible teaches that man is a 116 00:07:21,880 --> 00:07:24,880 Sinner. All have sinned and come short 117 00:07:24,880 --> 00:07:27,720 of the glory of God. And that includes me tonight, 118 00:07:27,760 --> 00:07:31,040 and that includes you. Everyone of us have sinned. 119 00:07:31,600 --> 00:07:34,680 We've fallen short of the glory of God. 120 00:07:34,680 --> 00:07:37,520 You see, man was made in the image of God. 121 00:07:38,240 --> 00:07:42,080 Man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. 122 00:07:42,760 --> 00:07:45,480 But how many people are there out there tonight who have taken 123 00:07:45,480 --> 00:07:49,080 the life that God has given them and they're just living for 124 00:07:49,080 --> 00:07:52,800 themselves and they've abandoned God and turned their back upon 125 00:07:52,800 --> 00:07:54,440 Him? We learned from the book of 126 00:07:54,440 --> 00:07:57,680 Genesis that original sin entered into this world through 127 00:07:57,680 --> 00:08:01,880 Adam, and since then all of us as descendants of Adam have 128 00:08:01,880 --> 00:08:05,440 inherited that sinful nature. That's also taught in the New 129 00:08:05,440 --> 00:08:10,520 Testament in Romans chapter 5. Wherefore as by one man sin 130 00:08:10,520 --> 00:08:14,520 entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death 131 00:08:14,520 --> 00:08:19,080 passed upon all men, for that all have sinned, so we find 132 00:08:19,080 --> 00:08:23,080 here, as we think about these two trees tonight, the tree of 133 00:08:23,080 --> 00:08:27,280 the knowledge of good and evil, and the tree upon which the Lord 134 00:08:27,280 --> 00:08:31,600 Jesus Christ died, both of them are found in a garden. 135 00:08:32,559 --> 00:08:37,000 Let me also say that through these two trees we learn good 136 00:08:37,000 --> 00:08:41,600 and evil. You see, Calvary's tree was also 137 00:08:41,600 --> 00:08:46,800 a tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but there's a vast 138 00:08:46,800 --> 00:08:50,800 difference between them. Because if man had of obeyed God 139 00:08:50,920 --> 00:08:53,960 there at the first tree, then there would never have been a 140 00:08:53,960 --> 00:08:58,000 need for the second tree. But yet God who is the Alpha and 141 00:08:58,000 --> 00:09:01,720 the Omega who knows the beginning from the end, knew 142 00:09:01,720 --> 00:09:05,280 that man would disobey him there in that Garden of Eden. 143 00:09:05,560 --> 00:09:10,240 And that is why the Lord Jesus Christ came as the Lamb of God, 144 00:09:10,400 --> 00:09:13,760 who was slain from the foundation of the world. 145 00:09:14,360 --> 00:09:17,680 What does that phrase mean? It means that when God created 146 00:09:17,680 --> 00:09:21,400 this world, before He created Adam, before He created Eve, 147 00:09:21,680 --> 00:09:26,440 before there was ever indeed a Sinner, the Lord knew that man 148 00:09:26,440 --> 00:09:29,920 would sin and that man would need a Saviour. 149 00:09:32,040 --> 00:09:34,720 But the difference between these two trees is much more than the 150 00:09:34,720 --> 00:09:37,840 difference between cause and effect, because there are two 151 00:09:37,840 --> 00:09:40,440 ways in life that you can know good and evil. 152 00:09:40,760 --> 00:09:43,960 You can know good and evil through personal 153 00:09:44,200 --> 00:09:48,960 experimentation, or you can know good and evil by revelation. 154 00:09:49,280 --> 00:09:53,440 Now Adam wanted to know good and evil by personal experience. 155 00:09:53,440 --> 00:09:57,840 The Lord said to Adam, here's a tree that's the tree of the 156 00:09:57,840 --> 00:10:01,040 knowledge of good and evil. And Adam, you can eat of every 157 00:10:01,040 --> 00:10:04,920 tree in the garden, but don't eat of this tree, for in the day 158 00:10:04,920 --> 00:10:08,080 that they'll eat us there of thou shalt surely die. 159 00:10:09,000 --> 00:10:10,600 And that should have been enough for Adam. 160 00:10:12,280 --> 00:10:14,440 You know, if you ever go out into the garage and you see 161 00:10:14,440 --> 00:10:17,760 indeed a bottle up on the shelf and it's got poison written on 162 00:10:17,760 --> 00:10:20,880 it, you don't need to pick it up and start drinking it to see 163 00:10:20,880 --> 00:10:22,360 whether it's really poisonous or not. 164 00:10:22,360 --> 00:10:27,480 That's the worst way to learn. And you find that Adam should 165 00:10:27,480 --> 00:10:31,080 have had the wisdom to obey God, but he didn't. 166 00:10:31,880 --> 00:10:34,640 And it's just something that's in our human nature, isn't it? 167 00:10:34,640 --> 00:10:39,160 There's something about us that when we're told not to do 168 00:10:39,160 --> 00:10:43,160 something, we want to do it. You ever walk through the park 169 00:10:43,160 --> 00:10:45,240 and you've just seen the park bench there and there's a big 170 00:10:45,240 --> 00:10:47,080 sign on it? Wet paint, don't touch. 171 00:10:47,080 --> 00:10:48,920 And what's the first thing you do? 172 00:10:50,760 --> 00:10:54,120 2 fingers straight on it. In fact, I always love walking 173 00:10:54,120 --> 00:10:56,400 through and seeing the nicely painted benches and I like 174 00:10:56,400 --> 00:10:59,360 leaning over and just seeing how many fingerprints there are on 175 00:10:59,360 --> 00:11:00,960 them. There's something in US, isn't 176 00:11:00,960 --> 00:11:03,480 there? No matter what the sign says, no 177 00:11:03,480 --> 00:11:06,680 matter what the warning is, we want to find out for ourself. 178 00:11:06,920 --> 00:11:09,480 And the devil knew that about human nature. 179 00:11:09,800 --> 00:11:12,440 He was more subtle than any beast of the field. 180 00:11:12,440 --> 00:11:15,480 The Bible says so. The devil comes along to Eve, 181 00:11:15,760 --> 00:11:18,160 and what does he do? He questions the word of God. 182 00:11:18,640 --> 00:11:21,160 Yeah. Hath God said ye shall not eat 183 00:11:21,160 --> 00:11:24,280 of every tree of the garden? The Lord never said that. 184 00:11:24,840 --> 00:11:27,520 He said to them, You can eat of all the trees of the garden, 185 00:11:27,720 --> 00:11:31,160 There's so many there, but just don't eat of this one. 186 00:11:32,480 --> 00:11:35,040 And already the first time the devil opens his mouth in the 187 00:11:35,040 --> 00:11:38,120 Bible, he's twisting and questioning the word of God. 188 00:11:39,000 --> 00:11:44,240 And therefore you find that he says, Yeah, hath God said. 189 00:11:44,520 --> 00:11:47,440 And now Eve replies and says, We may eat of the fruit of the 190 00:11:47,440 --> 00:11:50,960 trees of the garden, but of the fruit of the tree which is in 191 00:11:50,960 --> 00:11:54,280 the midst of the garden, God hath said he shall not eat of 192 00:11:54,280 --> 00:11:57,120 it, neither shall ye touch it lest ye die. 193 00:11:58,320 --> 00:12:01,120 I think it's interesting here. It's always fascinated me that 194 00:12:01,120 --> 00:12:05,600 before Adam and Eve fell into sin, she's, she's already adding 195 00:12:05,840 --> 00:12:08,240 here to the word of God. The Lord never mentioned 196 00:12:08,240 --> 00:12:09,880 anything about touching this tree. 197 00:12:10,240 --> 00:12:13,000 He said don't eat it. He didn't say anything about 198 00:12:13,000 --> 00:12:15,840 don't touch it. And the devil says she shall not 199 00:12:15,840 --> 00:12:18,520 surely die. For God doth know that in the 200 00:12:18,520 --> 00:12:22,000 day that ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened and ye 201 00:12:22,000 --> 00:12:25,240 shall be as God's knowing good and evil. 202 00:12:27,800 --> 00:12:31,640 Now here how Notice how the devil comes and he appeals here 203 00:12:31,640 --> 00:12:34,560 to Eve. So Eve has to choose. 204 00:12:34,680 --> 00:12:38,840 She has to choose between believing God or believing the 205 00:12:38,840 --> 00:12:43,920 devil, believing the word of God or disbelieving it. 206 00:12:44,280 --> 00:12:47,360 And you know that same choice faces each and everyone of us in 207 00:12:47,360 --> 00:12:51,200 this meeting tonight. Will you believe the word of God 208 00:12:52,080 --> 00:12:54,480 or will you disbelieve it tonight? 209 00:12:55,600 --> 00:12:58,560 Eve had to choose between knowing good and evil by 210 00:12:58,560 --> 00:13:03,000 revelation or by personally experimenting. 211 00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:06,720 And we often say in life, experience is the best teacher. 212 00:13:06,720 --> 00:13:10,000 But when it comes to sin, experience is the worst teacher. 213 00:13:10,360 --> 00:13:13,600 Eve listens to the devil, she partakes of the forbidden fruit, 214 00:13:13,880 --> 00:13:16,200 and then Adam partakes of it as well. 215 00:13:16,840 --> 00:13:20,720 And then comes the knowledge. But it's not the kind of 216 00:13:20,720 --> 00:13:24,840 knowledge that a person wants. How did they know good now? 217 00:13:24,840 --> 00:13:29,960 They know good by its absence. How do they know evil by its 218 00:13:29,960 --> 00:13:33,000 presence? They learnt the destructive and 219 00:13:33,000 --> 00:13:37,000 the deadly power of sin and the anguish and the heartache and 220 00:13:37,000 --> 00:13:40,560 the ruin and the woe that was going to come into their family. 221 00:13:40,560 --> 00:13:44,040 Now, because of sin, we don't have time to go into it. 222 00:13:44,040 --> 00:13:49,200 But the very first murder, Adam and Eve's two sons, one murders 223 00:13:49,200 --> 00:13:52,960 the other. Oh, the high price of sin there 224 00:13:52,960 --> 00:13:56,480 is to pay in this family. And that's why there's wisdom in 225 00:13:56,480 --> 00:14:01,120 believing the Word of God. Rather than finding out for 226 00:14:01,120 --> 00:14:05,360 yourself that when you dabble with sin, it'll bring heartache 227 00:14:05,360 --> 00:14:08,800 and anguish, it's much better to listen to the Word of God. 228 00:14:09,280 --> 00:14:12,920 And when the Bible says thou shalt not, it's not because the 229 00:14:12,920 --> 00:14:16,720 Lord's holding back from you something that'll be good, but 230 00:14:16,720 --> 00:14:20,600 rather it's because He's coming as a loving father trying to 231 00:14:20,600 --> 00:14:23,160 save you from heartache and ruin. 232 00:14:23,760 --> 00:14:26,560 Now, that first tree was called the tree of the knowledge of 233 00:14:26,560 --> 00:14:30,880 good and evil, But I want to say that this second tree, Calvis 234 00:14:30,880 --> 00:14:34,680 tree, is also, in a real sense, a tree of the knowledge of good 235 00:14:34,680 --> 00:14:37,600 and evil. If we start with the evil first, 236 00:14:37,760 --> 00:14:40,960 you'll never understand evil, you'll never really understand 237 00:14:40,960 --> 00:14:44,000 sin until you get a glimpse of Calvary. 238 00:14:45,200 --> 00:14:49,920 Right now you may think that humanity is not bad, that sins 239 00:14:49,920 --> 00:14:54,560 not really that bad, that it's just some sort of small problem. 240 00:14:54,800 --> 00:15:00,040 But when you see by faith God's darling Son, the one in whom is 241 00:15:00,040 --> 00:15:05,400 no sin, who did no sin, when you see Him being taken by the hands 242 00:15:05,400 --> 00:15:09,640 of cruel men and nailed to that old rugged cross, and you see 243 00:15:09,640 --> 00:15:13,440 everything that led up to it, from indeed the mockery 244 00:15:13,440 --> 00:15:17,880 discouraging, the hellishness, the hatefulness, the sinfulness 245 00:15:18,040 --> 00:15:22,840 that was poured out upon God's dear Son, then you begin to get 246 00:15:22,840 --> 00:15:26,760 a glimpse of sin. Yes, on that second tree is the 247 00:15:26,760 --> 00:15:31,320 knowledge of evil. You see here we see sin for what 248 00:15:31,320 --> 00:15:36,880 it is, we see the presence of sin, we see the power of sin, 249 00:15:37,280 --> 00:15:41,960 and we see that sin was what nailed the Saviour to the tree. 250 00:15:42,880 --> 00:15:46,600 That wasn't indeed the nails that held him there, but it was 251 00:15:46,600 --> 00:15:51,400 the love of God for sinners that kept him upon that tree. 252 00:15:51,600 --> 00:15:54,120 You see, when you behold the cross of Calvary as it is 253 00:15:54,120 --> 00:15:57,720 revealed in the Bible, then you have a knowledge of sin, that 254 00:15:57,720 --> 00:16:02,720 you'll have no other way. You see indeed how he suffered 255 00:16:02,720 --> 00:16:04,680 upon that cross. And why did he suffer? 256 00:16:05,000 --> 00:16:09,360 The New Testament says, For he hath made him to be sin for us. 257 00:16:10,040 --> 00:16:14,520 He who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God 258 00:16:14,520 --> 00:16:19,280 in him, such as the love of God for sinners, that he came and 259 00:16:19,280 --> 00:16:23,640 died, the just for the unjust, that he might reconcile us to 260 00:16:23,640 --> 00:16:27,440 God. That's why the Bible says that 261 00:16:27,440 --> 00:16:30,480 God spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all. 262 00:16:31,560 --> 00:16:34,440 Sometimes you meet people and you ask them if they're saved 263 00:16:34,440 --> 00:16:37,600 and if they're ready indeed to face death, and where will they 264 00:16:37,600 --> 00:16:40,360 be in eternity? And they say, Oh well, I'm not 265 00:16:40,360 --> 00:16:41,880 saved, but I think I'll be all right. 266 00:16:42,960 --> 00:16:44,480 And I always say that when they say that. 267 00:16:44,480 --> 00:16:46,080 I say, have you ever heard of Christ? 268 00:16:47,400 --> 00:16:50,880 God spared not his own Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. 269 00:16:50,880 --> 00:16:56,120 He was the sinless Son of God, and if God spared not his own 270 00:16:56,120 --> 00:17:01,080 sinless Son, I said, do you think God will spare you if you 271 00:17:01,080 --> 00:17:03,800 leave the scene of time without Christ? 272 00:17:04,280 --> 00:17:08,000 There's a great challenge and a great warning that indeed comes. 273 00:17:08,400 --> 00:17:11,079 So you see here this knowledge of evil. 274 00:17:11,440 --> 00:17:14,520 Calvary's tree is also a tree of the knowledge of good. 275 00:17:14,880 --> 00:17:19,200 Because when you look at that old rugged cross, there alone in 276 00:17:19,200 --> 00:17:22,359 the midst of all the suffering and the agony and the pain and 277 00:17:22,359 --> 00:17:25,319 the death of Christ, what else do we see? 278 00:17:26,040 --> 00:17:30,200 We see the goodness of God, we see the glory of God. 279 00:17:30,760 --> 00:17:34,040 We see the grace of God, the righteousness of God, the 280 00:17:34,040 --> 00:17:39,320 majesty of God, the love of God. What greater love hath any man 281 00:17:39,320 --> 00:17:43,280 than this, than that he lay down his life for his friends? 282 00:17:43,840 --> 00:17:46,960 You may be sitting in this meeting tonight and you may look 283 00:17:46,960 --> 00:17:51,760 upon God as your enemy, but the Bible says that He laid down His 284 00:17:51,760 --> 00:17:56,040 life to save sinners. And tonight if you'll just come 285 00:17:56,040 --> 00:17:59,880 and place your faith and your trust in Him, because the Bible 286 00:17:59,880 --> 00:18:04,160 says God commendeth His love toward us in that while we were 287 00:18:04,160 --> 00:18:09,400 yet sinners, Christ died for us. Just think, He died around 2000 288 00:18:09,400 --> 00:18:11,720 years ago before you and I were born. 289 00:18:13,680 --> 00:18:17,000 That means that 2000 years ago, the Lord was able to look down 290 00:18:17,000 --> 00:18:19,800 through the corridors of time and see you and see me. 291 00:18:20,640 --> 00:18:23,320 He knew all about us from the moment we'd be born to the 292 00:18:23,320 --> 00:18:26,720 moment we die. He knew every sin, every 293 00:18:26,720 --> 00:18:29,240 failing, everything we would do wrong in life. 294 00:18:29,800 --> 00:18:32,200 The Lord knows you at your worst. 295 00:18:33,600 --> 00:18:37,280 And yet, while we were yet sinners, while we were at our 296 00:18:37,280 --> 00:18:42,760 worst, He commends His love toward us in the God so loved 297 00:18:42,760 --> 00:18:46,720 the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever 298 00:18:46,720 --> 00:18:49,520 believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting 299 00:18:49,520 --> 00:18:50,880 life. Just think about it. 300 00:18:50,880 --> 00:18:54,320 There are some people that indeed you may know, and they 301 00:18:54,320 --> 00:18:57,560 don't know you too well, and they don't really like you even 302 00:18:57,560 --> 00:19:01,480 at your best. But the Lord says He knows all 303 00:19:01,480 --> 00:19:06,040 about you, the very worst, every secret sin, and yet He still 304 00:19:06,040 --> 00:19:10,520 reaches out those nail pierced arms, those nail pierced hands 305 00:19:10,520 --> 00:19:12,640 indeed, to draw you to Himself and save you. 306 00:19:14,360 --> 00:19:16,400 Both of these trees are found in a garden. 307 00:19:17,320 --> 00:19:19,160 Both. Through these trees we learn 308 00:19:19,160 --> 00:19:23,080 good and evil, and then notice last of all what we can glean 309 00:19:23,080 --> 00:19:28,600 from these trees. Both of these trees we find have 310 00:19:28,600 --> 00:19:31,880 great power. When Adam partook of the first 311 00:19:31,880 --> 00:19:36,800 tree, he became a thief. The fruit of that tree did not 312 00:19:36,800 --> 00:19:39,320 belong to him. The fruit of every other tree in 313 00:19:39,320 --> 00:19:42,840 the garden was his. The Lord gave it to him, but the 314 00:19:42,840 --> 00:19:48,240 fruit of this tree was not his. So Adam indeed became a thief 315 00:19:48,440 --> 00:19:55,280 that moment that he took it, and as a result the Lord then drove 316 00:19:55,280 --> 00:20:00,120 him out of that garden. When he became a thief, he took 317 00:20:00,120 --> 00:20:03,640 it, and at that moment when he stole it. 318 00:20:04,240 --> 00:20:06,880 He was then going to be banished, banished from 319 00:20:06,880 --> 00:20:08,840 paradise. In fact, in the next chapter in 320 00:20:09,280 --> 00:20:11,400 Genesis 3 and verse 23, we're told. 321 00:20:11,400 --> 00:20:14,760 Therefore, the Lord God sent him forth from or out of the Garden 322 00:20:14,760 --> 00:20:17,920 of Eden to till the ground from whence he was taken. 323 00:20:18,280 --> 00:20:22,200 So he drove out the man, and he placed at the east of the Garden 324 00:20:22,200 --> 00:20:26,160 of Eden cherubims and a flaming sword which turned every way to 325 00:20:26,160 --> 00:20:28,560 keep the way of the tree of life. 326 00:20:28,880 --> 00:20:34,920 So out of the garden goes Adam, expelled from Paradise for being 327 00:20:34,920 --> 00:20:37,240 a thief. Now think about that for a 328 00:20:37,240 --> 00:20:40,680 moment. Adam is expelled from paradise 329 00:20:40,680 --> 00:20:44,080 for being a thief. Now when we come to look at 330 00:20:44,080 --> 00:20:49,640 Calvary in the New Testament and passages like Luke chapter 23, 331 00:20:50,200 --> 00:20:52,920 you'll find here. Here we've got the story about a 332 00:20:52,920 --> 00:20:57,440 second thief, and you'll find this second thief is at the 333 00:20:57,440 --> 00:21:02,720 second tree called Calvary. And in Luke 23 and 39 it says, 334 00:21:02,720 --> 00:21:07,160 and one of the malefactors, that word malefactor means evil doer. 335 00:21:07,400 --> 00:21:10,160 We know from the other gospels that this man was a thief. 336 00:21:10,560 --> 00:21:13,560 And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, 337 00:21:13,560 --> 00:21:17,160 saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. 338 00:21:17,520 --> 00:21:21,520 But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear 339 00:21:21,520 --> 00:21:24,840 God, saying, thou art in the same condemnation? 340 00:21:25,120 --> 00:21:28,800 And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our 341 00:21:28,800 --> 00:21:31,880 deeds, but this man hath done nothing amiss. 342 00:21:32,360 --> 00:21:37,400 And he said unto Jesus, Lord, Remember Me when thou comest 343 00:21:37,440 --> 00:21:40,120 into thy Kingdom. And then listen to this in Luke 344 00:21:40,120 --> 00:21:45,200 23 and verse 43. And Jesus said unto him, Verily 345 00:21:45,200 --> 00:21:51,320 I say unto thee, today thou shalt be with me in paradise. 346 00:21:52,000 --> 00:21:54,400 In paradise. Do you see the link here? 347 00:21:54,800 --> 00:21:59,160 The first Adam ate of the first tree and became a thief, and he 348 00:21:59,160 --> 00:22:03,360 was driven out of paradise. But now in Luke 23, here's a 349 00:22:03,360 --> 00:22:08,280 thief, and he eats the fruit of the second tree, Calvary, and 350 00:22:08,280 --> 00:22:13,200 he's invited into paradise. Now this second thief had 351 00:22:13,200 --> 00:22:16,760 previously been a shut out, as Adam was when he sinned. 352 00:22:17,480 --> 00:22:22,160 But as he hung upon that cross that day, dying, and he looked 353 00:22:22,320 --> 00:22:27,000 at Calvary and he saw that one dying beside him, he knew that 354 00:22:27,000 --> 00:22:30,240 he was innocent. He has done nothing amiss, he 355 00:22:30,240 --> 00:22:32,080 said to the thief on the other side of him. 356 00:22:32,920 --> 00:22:35,840 Suddenly it dawned upon his soul who he was. 357 00:22:36,720 --> 00:22:39,760 And just think, this man also was nailed to a cross. 358 00:22:39,960 --> 00:22:42,120 He too was going to die that day. 359 00:22:43,360 --> 00:22:46,040 There's no .1 of these old ecumenical ministers coming 360 00:22:46,040 --> 00:22:48,840 along and saying, well look, if you come along and join my 361 00:22:48,840 --> 00:22:51,520 church, I'll be all right, but I'm going to die today. 362 00:22:52,240 --> 00:22:55,480 Well, if you just go and do some good works, no, I'm nailed to a 363 00:22:55,480 --> 00:22:58,040 cross. If you pay into the church, if 364 00:22:58,040 --> 00:23:01,280 you take communion, no, he could do none of those things. 365 00:23:02,920 --> 00:23:05,760 But today thou shalt be with me in paradise. 366 00:23:06,360 --> 00:23:10,480 Here was a man who was saved by faith, by looking to the 367 00:23:10,480 --> 00:23:16,120 crucified Saviour as he died to take our sins in his body to the 368 00:23:16,120 --> 00:23:19,200 tree. What a difference, what a 369 00:23:19,200 --> 00:23:22,520 difference. That's why the Lord says, I am 370 00:23:22,840 --> 00:23:26,680 the way come unto me. And I wonder if there's someone 371 00:23:26,680 --> 00:23:28,560 here denied and you're not saved. 372 00:23:29,640 --> 00:23:32,920 And perhaps so far in your life, when you look at the life God 373 00:23:32,920 --> 00:23:36,360 has given you and the years that God has given you, you've taken 374 00:23:36,360 --> 00:23:38,760 that life and you've just done with it as you will. 375 00:23:39,720 --> 00:23:42,880 And when God your Creator looks down upon you, do you know what 376 00:23:42,880 --> 00:23:43,960 he says? You're a thief. 377 00:23:44,720 --> 00:23:47,840 You've taken the life I've given you, and you haven't used it for 378 00:23:47,840 --> 00:23:52,240 the purpose that I created you. But yet he doesn't come with a 379 00:23:52,240 --> 00:23:54,760 big stick. Instead, he points you to that 380 00:23:54,760 --> 00:23:59,440 old rugged cross. And he says, greater love hath 381 00:23:59,480 --> 00:24:03,640 no man than this, than that a man lay down his life for his 382 00:24:03,640 --> 00:24:06,600 friends. And in that second garden, at 383 00:24:06,600 --> 00:24:11,200 that second tree, Christ took our sins in his body to the 384 00:24:11,200 --> 00:24:14,040 tree. As I was saying this morning, I 385 00:24:14,040 --> 00:24:17,200 was an atheist until I was 23 years of age, never went to 386 00:24:17,200 --> 00:24:21,480 church, never went to Sunday school, got converted at 23, 387 00:24:21,480 --> 00:24:24,760 hearing the gospel for the first time through a man that I worked 388 00:24:24,760 --> 00:24:27,760 with. And I can tell you, I would 389 00:24:27,760 --> 00:24:30,320 never want to go back to that old life. 390 00:24:31,040 --> 00:24:33,120 If you're here tonight and you're living a life without 391 00:24:33,120 --> 00:24:34,560 Christ, I've been there, I've done it. 392 00:24:35,080 --> 00:24:37,960 I thought I was living, I thought I was in charge of my 393 00:24:37,960 --> 00:24:41,200 life. Little did I realise until after 394 00:24:41,200 --> 00:24:44,600 I got saved just how empty that life was. 395 00:24:45,560 --> 00:24:48,000 Now I've got the joy of salvation. 396 00:24:48,640 --> 00:24:50,840 Now I've got assurance of salvation. 397 00:24:51,480 --> 00:24:55,200 Now I've got the knowledge of God and the presence of Christ 398 00:24:55,200 --> 00:25:00,040 on a day by day basis, plus all the blessings that awaiting 399 00:25:00,040 --> 00:25:02,720 glory. One day I'll be absent from the 400 00:25:02,720 --> 00:25:05,560 body and present with the Lord. Tell me, where will you be on 401 00:25:05,560 --> 00:25:09,240 that day? Where will you be when that day 402 00:25:09,240 --> 00:25:12,720 comes and the Lord either comes or calls for you? 403 00:25:14,120 --> 00:25:20,200 You know God forbid man to eat of that first tree and the devil 404 00:25:20,200 --> 00:25:22,840 did everything he could to talk them into eating it. 405 00:25:23,440 --> 00:25:27,360 And tonight God now invites you to come by faith to that second 406 00:25:27,360 --> 00:25:31,680 tree of Calvary, and to come and bow the knee in repentance and 407 00:25:31,680 --> 00:25:34,040 accept Christ as your own and personal Saviour. 408 00:25:34,680 --> 00:25:37,280 And tonight the devil will do everything he can to make you 409 00:25:37,280 --> 00:25:40,800 put it off and ignore it. Don't worry about what anyone 410 00:25:40,800 --> 00:25:43,880 else will think. Don't worry indeed about what 411 00:25:43,880 --> 00:25:47,400 tomorrow may bring. Someone once said your friends 412 00:25:47,400 --> 00:25:50,400 can laugh you into hell, but they can't laugh you out of 413 00:25:50,400 --> 00:25:53,560 hell. The Lord invites you tonight. 414 00:25:53,560 --> 00:25:56,320 Will you come to Him? Will you come to Him? 415 00:25:57,160 --> 00:25:59,640 Those nail pierced hands are outstretched tonight. 416 00:25:59,640 --> 00:26:02,920 The Lord knows all about you. There's nothing about you that 417 00:26:02,920 --> 00:26:06,200 he doesn't know. And yet tonight he still reaches 418 00:26:06,200 --> 00:26:09,160 out. And love, don't turn your back 419 00:26:09,160 --> 00:26:13,080 upon him. The Bible says whosoever will 420 00:26:13,080 --> 00:26:16,640 may come, that includes you tonight whosoever. 421 00:26:17,840 --> 00:26:21,280 And he also says, all that the Father giveth me shall come unto 422 00:26:21,280 --> 00:26:26,240 me, and him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out. 423 00:26:27,040 --> 00:26:30,760 Not only does the Lord reach out tonight to save you, but He 424 00:26:30,760 --> 00:26:32,960 promises that He won't cast you out. 425 00:26:34,200 --> 00:26:38,200 But if you die as you live without Him, then you'll be cast 426 00:26:38,200 --> 00:26:41,880 out for eternity. But tonight you can be locked in 427 00:26:41,880 --> 00:26:44,560 to eternal life. Will you come tonight? 428 00:26:45,480 --> 00:26:48,560 Will you come to Christ for Jesus sake? 429 00:26:49,240 --> 00:26:49,560 Amen.