7 00:01:02,160 --> 00:01:06,080 Thank you, worship team, for being my sermon illustration. 8 00:01:06,080 --> 00:01:09,600 That was a first, only took five years, but 9 00:01:09,600 --> 00:01:17,280 that, it is impossible to find a version online of people doing 10 00:01:17,280 --> 00:01:21,120 those verses. They only do the first three and they're like, 11 00:01:21,120 --> 00:01:25,440 okay, we're good. When really, if they knew anything about the 12 00:01:25,440 --> 00:01:29,040 sermon I wanted to preach today, they would have put those, can 13 00:01:29,040 --> 00:01:32,240 we put those lyrics up one more time? Just start with come, 14 00:01:32,240 --> 00:01:37,440 desire of nations come. That this is in fact, Advent. This is 15 00:01:37,440 --> 00:01:41,840 exactly what I'm hoping to get across, not only today, but as 16 00:01:41,840 --> 00:01:45,440 we work through the mess and the miracle, our Advent sermon 17 00:01:45,440 --> 00:01:49,760 series, go ahead one more time, keep going. This is all about a 18 00:01:49,760 --> 00:01:56,160 certain place and a certain event that happens. Keep going. 19 00:01:56,160 --> 00:02:04,160 Keep going. Keep going. And good. What event is that song 20 00:02:04,160 --> 00:02:06,800 singing about? 21 00:02:09,200 --> 00:02:14,880 No, all of those wrong. What is that verse about? 22 00:02:14,880 --> 00:02:19,200 The garden, right? That the garden is where we find 23 00:02:19,200 --> 00:02:22,320 ourselves this morning. Shepherds, that was an easy 24 00:02:22,320 --> 00:02:24,800 guess. It's a Christmas guess. I get it, Nikki. But no, this is 25 00:02:24,800 --> 00:02:30,160 about the garden. This is actually where Advent starts. 26 00:02:30,160 --> 00:02:34,880 That this beautiful manger scene actually starts in the 27 00:02:34,880 --> 00:02:38,400 garden. It actually starts in paradise. It starts with the 28 00:02:38,400 --> 00:02:43,760 creation that God had for us in creating the world, all that is 29 00:02:43,760 --> 00:02:50,400 in it, and creating you and me in his image. That Advent 30 00:02:50,400 --> 00:02:54,080 starts in the garden and it's really weird to think about 31 00:02:54,080 --> 00:02:56,480 because we want to go to the shepherds. We want to go to the 32 00:02:56,480 --> 00:02:59,760 manger. We want to go to the angels and King Herod and the 33 00:02:59,760 --> 00:03:04,320 wise men and all of these things and we'll get there. But 34 00:03:04,320 --> 00:03:08,720 today it starts in the garden. And my hope this morning is 35 00:03:08,720 --> 00:03:13,120 that we're going to engage the garden in a way, and again, in 36 00:03:13,120 --> 00:03:15,920 the middle of January, it will be 17 years in the ministry. I 37 00:03:15,920 --> 00:03:21,680 have never ever seen an aspect of something I've preached on. 38 00:03:21,680 --> 00:03:24,560 We did a whole sermon series in Genesis, yet the Holy Spirit 39 00:03:24,560 --> 00:03:27,680 brought me to something and it might just be me. A bunch of 40 00:03:27,680 --> 00:03:29,360 you are probably like, oh, I already knew that. But, and 41 00:03:29,360 --> 00:03:34,080 that's fine, just act surprised. It was an incredible 42 00:03:34,080 --> 00:03:39,360 understanding and the power of Advent found in the book of 43 00:03:39,360 --> 00:03:43,760 Genesis. So let's start in Genesis chapter 3. We know, I'm 44 00:03:43,760 --> 00:03:48,400 not going to do a lot of the conversation between Eve and the 45 00:03:48,400 --> 00:03:52,160 snake and Adam. That's for a different sermon, but we all 46 00:03:52,160 --> 00:03:56,000 know what happened. I'm going to start in verse 8, okay? So if 47 00:03:56,000 --> 00:03:58,720 you pull out your Bibles or look on the screen, Genesis 3 48 00:03:58,720 --> 00:04:02,320 starting with verse 8. Again, we use the English standard 49 00:04:02,320 --> 00:04:05,760 version here, but use whatever version you want. And they heard 50 00:04:05,760 --> 00:04:08,880 the sound of God walking in the garden in the cool of the day. 51 00:04:08,880 --> 00:04:11,440 And the man and the wife hid themselves from the presence of 52 00:04:11,440 --> 00:04:14,880 the Lord, the Lord God among the trees in the garden. But the 53 00:04:14,880 --> 00:04:18,240 Lord God called out to the man and said, where are you? And he 54 00:04:18,240 --> 00:04:21,280 said, I heard the sound of you in the garden and I was afraid 55 00:04:21,280 --> 00:04:24,800 because I was naked and hid myself. He said, who told you 56 00:04:24,800 --> 00:04:28,720 that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I 57 00:04:28,720 --> 00:04:32,560 have commanded you not to eat? The man said, the woman whom you 58 00:04:32,560 --> 00:04:36,240 gave to me to be with me, she gave me the fruit and I ate. 59 00:04:36,240 --> 00:04:38,880 Then the Lord God said to the woman, what is this you have 60 00:04:38,880 --> 00:04:44,640 done? The woman said, the serpent deceived me and I ate. 61 00:04:44,640 --> 00:04:47,680 We've heard this account. You've read it. We've talked about 62 00:04:47,680 --> 00:04:51,920 it. This is the beginning of the journey, if you will, right? 63 00:04:51,920 --> 00:04:55,440 And we're not even at the part of Christ yet. We'll get there. 64 00:04:55,440 --> 00:05:01,360 But as we go through the absolute mess that is the garden 65 00:05:01,360 --> 00:05:05,680 of Eden post chapter 3, so it's chapter 3 and beyond, prior to 66 00:05:05,680 --> 00:05:09,680 chapter 3, there was no mess. It was perfect. And I want us to 67 00:05:09,680 --> 00:05:14,720 just, let's play around with this just a little bit. Prior to 68 00:05:14,720 --> 00:05:18,400 chapter 3, now we don't know how many actual days there were as 69 00:05:18,400 --> 00:05:21,440 far as Adam and Eve kind of doing their thing and naming the 70 00:05:21,440 --> 00:05:24,320 animals and all these kind of things. And it's really weird to 71 00:05:24,320 --> 00:05:27,200 think about it because you have these two naked people, right, 72 00:05:27,200 --> 00:05:29,920 that are just, they're just living in the garden of Eden. 73 00:05:29,920 --> 00:05:33,920 And it's beautiful and it's perfect. And we have absolutely 74 00:05:33,920 --> 00:05:39,040 no idea how to engage that. I don't spend a lot of time there 75 00:05:39,040 --> 00:05:41,840 because I know, like I've said before, chapter 3 is coming like 76 00:05:41,840 --> 00:05:45,920 a freight train. Sin's going to enter the world. And it's weird. 77 00:05:45,920 --> 00:05:49,440 We almost find, we're almost more comfortable engaging after 78 00:05:49,440 --> 00:05:52,240 chapter 3 because we're really okay with sin and we're like, 79 00:05:52,240 --> 00:05:55,120 well, there's sin and then there's redemption. What do we 80 00:05:55,120 --> 00:06:01,600 think life was like prior to the whole apple eating business? 81 00:06:01,600 --> 00:06:07,840 Go ahead. What do you think life was like? Heaven. Aversion of 82 00:06:07,840 --> 00:06:14,640 heaven, sure. Peaceful. Interesting. I'm going to 83 00:06:14,640 --> 00:06:19,680 challenge you on that. I don't know who it was. I think we know 84 00:06:19,680 --> 00:06:25,120 peace because we know pain. I don't know if they, there would 85 00:06:25,120 --> 00:06:29,040 have been no need for peace. I know it's going to get hard. 86 00:06:29,040 --> 00:06:34,000 The mental gymnastics are like Olympians right now. I get it. 87 00:06:34,000 --> 00:06:39,040 But the things that we draw in life, peace, comfort, happiness, 88 00:06:39,040 --> 00:06:42,880 all of those things, we only really know these because of the 89 00:06:42,880 --> 00:06:47,040 opposite that happens. And I know, again, I might be sounding 90 00:06:47,040 --> 00:06:50,320 like a crazy person, but it's at least on brand. Understand 91 00:06:50,320 --> 00:06:58,640 that you didn't need any of those. There was no pain. There 92 00:06:58,640 --> 00:07:04,720 was no discomfort. There was no anxiety. There was no, it was, 93 00:07:05,680 --> 00:07:11,200 what word can we use? Euphoric, okay. That's an interesting 94 00:07:11,200 --> 00:07:16,560 word, right? Euphoric. Sure. I mean, it's really hard because 95 00:07:16,560 --> 00:07:21,760 you don't have a contrast. You don't have what it could be or 96 00:07:21,760 --> 00:07:26,800 what it was. And so understand as we are in the garden, to me, 97 00:07:26,800 --> 00:07:33,120 it just, it deepens what sin actually did. And as we journey 98 00:07:33,120 --> 00:07:35,600 this Advent season through the mess, we're going to go through 99 00:07:35,600 --> 00:07:39,680 different messes that ultimately need to be cleaned up in the 100 00:07:39,680 --> 00:07:42,640 miracle that is not only Christ's birth but the redemption 101 00:07:42,640 --> 00:07:49,440 found in Christ alone. We have to understand the mess. And I 102 00:07:49,440 --> 00:07:53,120 was in chapter 3 and something dawned on me and it was the 103 00:07:53,120 --> 00:07:58,400 Holy Spirit because I'm not that smart. Adam and Eve did 104 00:07:58,400 --> 00:08:04,880 something very damaging when they heard the sound of God and 105 00:08:05,440 --> 00:08:09,920 they heard the presence of God. And it got me thinking before 106 00:08:09,920 --> 00:08:14,400 I get to the damaging part that they had relationship with God. 107 00:08:15,040 --> 00:08:19,120 They were with God all day. All day, every day, it was just 108 00:08:19,120 --> 00:08:24,400 normal. It was just communion with God. It was life in the 109 00:08:24,400 --> 00:08:29,600 presence of God in a perfected way that none of us get. We 110 00:08:29,600 --> 00:08:33,840 don't get it because we have sin and we don't know what life 111 00:08:33,840 --> 00:08:38,000 would be like without it. And even those people that claim 112 00:08:38,000 --> 00:08:40,880 that they died for a couple of minutes, they went to heaven and 113 00:08:40,880 --> 00:08:43,200 felt all the things and rode all the rides and all that kind 114 00:08:43,200 --> 00:08:46,400 of stuff and then they wake up and I don't think any of that's 115 00:08:46,400 --> 00:08:53,920 true personally. It just is mind boggling. And then Adam and 116 00:08:53,920 --> 00:08:56,800 Eve does something that like I've said, I preach this text. 117 00:08:57,680 --> 00:09:01,200 It's an easy preach, friends. It's not very difficult. But 118 00:09:01,200 --> 00:09:05,360 the Holy Spirit opened up something that at the sound, 119 00:09:05,360 --> 00:09:11,120 right, the sound of God in the garden. I only liken this to 120 00:09:11,120 --> 00:09:14,880 maybe being a little kid. How many people would, your mom 121 00:09:14,880 --> 00:09:18,880 would say, just wait until your dad gets home? I'm sorry if 122 00:09:18,880 --> 00:09:21,840 this brings up, that's really weird that Ryan waved his hand 123 00:09:21,840 --> 00:09:25,680 next to his dad. But it's, you know, that there's, that's 124 00:09:25,680 --> 00:09:28,720 really one of the only things I could think of. Carrie's only 125 00:09:28,720 --> 00:09:32,400 invoked that a couple of times, which is shocking. But she's 126 00:09:32,400 --> 00:09:35,200 only invoked that a couple of times. But I remember my mom 127 00:09:35,200 --> 00:09:39,120 never really did that because I didn't really have a dad in 128 00:09:39,120 --> 00:09:43,120 those formative years. My mom got remarried right before I 129 00:09:43,120 --> 00:09:46,000 entered high school. And waiting until your dad gets home 130 00:09:46,000 --> 00:09:48,000 when you're a junior in high school is very different when 131 00:09:48,000 --> 00:09:51,680 you're four, okay. When you're four, when your mom says that 132 00:09:51,680 --> 00:09:55,120 what happens to you when you're four? For those of you that 133 00:09:55,120 --> 00:09:59,200 rose to Curtis, you rose your hand, right? Right? Yeah, okay. 134 00:09:59,200 --> 00:10:04,000 We saw you, so don't lie. When mom would say that to you, what 135 00:10:04,000 --> 00:10:09,120 as a four-year-old Curtis, what were you thinking? What? Fear? 136 00:10:09,120 --> 00:10:17,120 Say it again. Joel, give him a high five. Fear and high. That 137 00:10:17,120 --> 00:10:19,920 was a great point. The lights just went on, right? 138 00:10:19,920 --> 00:10:25,840 Absolutely. You were afraid, so you hid. Now, did you like, did 139 00:10:25,840 --> 00:10:28,320 dad like not be able to find you when you got out of the 140 00:10:28,320 --> 00:10:31,040 punishment? No, because you're not that good of a hider. And 141 00:10:31,040 --> 00:10:37,120 so understand that fear drove a decision to hide from dad. It's 142 00:10:37,120 --> 00:10:41,120 exactly, now did I tell you to say that? No, that was on your 143 00:10:41,120 --> 00:10:47,120 own volition. That's exactly what Adam and Eve did. And this 144 00:10:47,120 --> 00:10:53,120 is, ugh. What is the definition of hell? Go ahead, Thomas. 145 00:10:53,120 --> 00:10:57,120 Death and a life without God. I knew that's what you were 146 00:10:57,120 --> 00:11:03,120 going to say. Is that not the same thing? They heard the sound 147 00:11:03,120 --> 00:11:07,120 of dad in the garden, the creator God, the one they had 148 00:11:07,120 --> 00:11:13,120 communion with. They hear that he's there. They get scared and 149 00:11:13,120 --> 00:11:17,120 they hide. So I'm going to use this as a verb. My wife makes 150 00:11:17,120 --> 00:11:19,120 fun of me because I make up words on stage and you guys just 151 00:11:19,120 --> 00:11:25,120 take it, which is nice. But they held, didn't they? H-E-L-L 152 00:11:25,120 --> 00:11:29,120 apostrophe E-D. I know it's a made up word, but we got this. 153 00:11:29,120 --> 00:11:36,120 They actually created the first version of hell. That they heard 154 00:11:36,120 --> 00:11:41,120 the sound of God. They were afraid and they said, we don't 155 00:11:41,120 --> 00:11:47,120 want to be in his presence. I don't know about you, but that, 156 00:11:47,120 --> 00:11:54,120 what an absolute mess that is. Life was just breathed into 157 00:11:54,120 --> 00:11:58,120 from dust you, you came to dust you will return. That out of 158 00:11:58,120 --> 00:12:05,120 nothing God creates everything and they hear so they hide. Is 159 00:12:05,120 --> 00:12:10,120 that not true for us today? Is it not true that there are 160 00:12:10,120 --> 00:12:16,120 things in our life that we hide from and if Christ is in us, 161 00:12:16,120 --> 00:12:22,120 then we hell all the time. That we think and we try to keep 162 00:12:22,120 --> 00:12:27,120 stuff from an all knowing, all powerful, everywhere God, how 163 00:12:27,120 --> 00:12:33,120 much fools are we? But that is a natural reaction in us to the 164 00:12:33,120 --> 00:12:40,120 presence of God. That hell, that sin is so deeply in our bones, 165 00:12:40,120 --> 00:12:48,120 thank you Adam and Eve, that our reaction to God is to hide from 166 00:12:48,120 --> 00:12:56,120 him. What an absolute mess was made in the garden. So that's why 167 00:12:56,120 --> 00:13:00,120 the promises had to come. What if God would have just left it 168 00:13:00,120 --> 00:13:06,120 there? What if God just did one of these and said at that moment, 169 00:13:06,120 --> 00:13:12,120 no, I'm God, I can start over. No. Because what is one aspect 170 00:13:12,120 --> 00:13:17,120 about a mature believer, we learned it in Hebrews, and a 171 00:13:17,120 --> 00:13:22,120 mature person is an honest person. You can't say I am a 172 00:13:22,120 --> 00:13:30,120 mature individual and lie. It makes, it's very hypocritical. 173 00:13:30,120 --> 00:13:35,120 Same goes for a believer. That to say I am a mature believer, 174 00:13:35,120 --> 00:13:38,120 I've been in the church for years, I've been an elder, I've 175 00:13:38,120 --> 00:13:42,120 taught Sunday school, I've done all of these things, but I hide 176 00:13:42,120 --> 00:13:50,120 stuff from God. That is not maturity. And the opposite of 177 00:13:50,120 --> 00:13:53,120 maturity I guess would be immaturity, that's easy, or 178 00:13:53,120 --> 00:13:59,120 foolishness, or insert whatever word here. But the promise had 179 00:13:59,120 --> 00:14:06,120 to come because God is telling each of us, I see you, I know 180 00:14:06,120 --> 00:14:13,120 you, I know what you've done. Is that not grace? Right? That 181 00:14:13,120 --> 00:14:20,120 God knows what we do and loves us anyway. One of the only 182 00:14:20,120 --> 00:14:24,120 things I can liken it to being a parent, because kids are easy 183 00:14:24,120 --> 00:14:29,120 sermon illustrations, is you know your kids are going to mess 184 00:14:29,120 --> 00:14:36,120 up. You watch them mess up. But none of us go and you're done. 185 00:14:36,120 --> 00:14:39,120 I mean maybe you say that and you send them to your room, but 186 00:14:39,120 --> 00:14:47,120 you don't give them away in that sense. But it's the exact same 187 00:14:47,120 --> 00:14:50,120 kind of relationship that not only Adam and Eve had to the 188 00:14:50,120 --> 00:14:54,120 creator, their God, the one that they were in communion with, 189 00:14:54,120 --> 00:14:59,120 we do it too. And we need that relationship. We need that 190 00:14:59,120 --> 00:15:06,120 grace because given to ourselves we will hide all things always. 191 00:15:06,120 --> 00:15:14,120 We'll lie. We'll bend the truth. White lies, red lies, 192 00:15:14,120 --> 00:15:19,120 whatever lies. We'll do all of those things because in us we 193 00:15:19,120 --> 00:15:28,120 can't stand and say this is who I am. Good, bad, and ugly. 194 00:15:28,120 --> 00:15:31,120 Friends, we see what the good, the bad, and the ugly is right 195 00:15:31,120 --> 00:15:37,120 in Genesis chapter 3. And it starts with the ugly. It starts 196 00:15:37,120 --> 00:15:43,120 with deception. It starts with kind of lying. It starts with 197 00:15:43,120 --> 00:15:46,120 bitterness. It starts with passing the buck. We see that in 198 00:15:46,120 --> 00:15:49,120 the relationship. I'm not going to go down there because that's 199 00:15:49,120 --> 00:15:52,120 the easy sermon too. The blaming and the throwing under the bus, 200 00:15:52,120 --> 00:15:57,120 that happens when dad, the creator, is asking for an account 201 00:15:57,120 --> 00:16:00,120 of the information. Any of you that have kids know what is one 202 00:16:00,120 --> 00:16:06,120 of the greatest things your kid can say? They did it. Right? 203 00:16:06,120 --> 00:16:10,120 They don't take, I mean, I would love a day for Joey or Teddy or 204 00:16:10,120 --> 00:16:18,120 Jack to come up and say, Dad, I messed up. I did this and I'm 205 00:16:18,120 --> 00:16:23,120 sorry. But we have to learn that. And if we're really honest with 206 00:16:23,120 --> 00:16:28,120 ourselves, we almost have to get burned by that first in order to 207 00:16:28,120 --> 00:16:33,120 learn it. But that shouldn't be how it is. But that's the mess 208 00:16:33,120 --> 00:16:36,120 that we've made ourselves. That's the mess that sin makes. 209 00:16:36,120 --> 00:16:41,120 That's why the promise of something better is coming. But 210 00:16:41,120 --> 00:16:46,120 for now, for this Sunday, we sit in it. We sit in the mess. We 211 00:16:46,120 --> 00:16:51,120 sit in not only the promise to come, but we sit in the 212 00:16:51,120 --> 00:16:57,120 consequence of what we've done. One of the probably more 213 00:16:57,120 --> 00:17:00,120 frustrating conversations that believers can have is I 214 00:17:00,120 --> 00:17:04,120 apologize. I said I was sorry. Why do bad things or why do the 215 00:17:04,120 --> 00:17:09,120 consequences have to happen? Because you broke a rule. You did 216 00:17:09,120 --> 00:17:13,120 something. Right? That idea of Christian liberty, of I'm a 217 00:17:13,120 --> 00:17:16,120 believer. I can do whatever I want is not a thing. Is everything 218 00:17:16,120 --> 00:17:23,120 permissible? Sure. Is everything beneficial? Not by a long shot. 219 00:17:23,120 --> 00:17:28,120 What would it have looked like? This thought's just coming to me 220 00:17:28,120 --> 00:17:35,120 now. What would it look like if instead of Adam blaming Eve, Eve 221 00:17:35,120 --> 00:17:40,120 blaming the snake, what if all three of them would have just 222 00:17:40,120 --> 00:17:50,120 turned, bowed, and said, I'm sorry? They had the chance. They 223 00:17:50,120 --> 00:17:56,120 had the chance. And they blew it. What does Adam do? This woman 224 00:17:56,120 --> 00:18:00,120 you gave me. Right? So not only does he not take responsibility, 225 00:18:00,120 --> 00:18:05,120 he actually is blaming God. Right? It's like having the middle 226 00:18:05,120 --> 00:18:09,120 kid say we didn't need a third. Right? All of those things. It's 227 00:18:09,120 --> 00:18:14,120 understanding that there's the passing of the buck, the 228 00:18:14,120 --> 00:18:17,120 passivity, the passive aggressiveness, the lying, the 229 00:18:17,120 --> 00:18:23,120 deceit, the deception. All of that happens right here. And it's 230 00:18:23,120 --> 00:18:29,120 in our blood forever. At least forever on this earth. Then God 231 00:18:29,120 --> 00:18:36,120 looks at Eve, what is this you have done? Right? It was a snake. 232 00:18:36,120 --> 00:18:44,120 It was the snake's fault. The serpent deceived me and I ate. Now 233 00:18:44,120 --> 00:18:49,120 what if Jesus would then sit on a rock, explain to them what 234 00:18:49,120 --> 00:18:54,120 they've done, and say all is forgiven? It would be a very 235 00:18:54,120 --> 00:18:57,120 different book. You'd be a very different person. We probably 236 00:18:57,120 --> 00:19:01,120 wouldn't need church. But it didn't happen that way. Because 237 00:19:01,120 --> 00:19:04,120 there needs to be accountability. There needs to be 238 00:19:04,120 --> 00:19:09,120 correction. There needs to be something to learn from. Because 239 00:19:09,120 --> 00:19:12,120 as I started, whatever the euphoric, and I like that, Bev, 240 00:19:12,120 --> 00:19:16,120 we're going to use that word, the euphoria that was chapter one 241 00:19:16,120 --> 00:19:22,120 and two, now there's a contrast in chapter three and on. That 242 00:19:22,120 --> 00:19:27,120 whatever this was is no longer attainable now. It is no longer 243 00:19:27,120 --> 00:19:31,120 attainable on earth. It is no longer attainable, buildable, 244 00:19:31,120 --> 00:19:38,120 receivable, whateverable by you and me. That something had to be 245 00:19:38,120 --> 00:19:43,120 done. And those were the consequences. Starting with verse 246 00:19:43,120 --> 00:19:48,120 14. The Lord said to the serpent, because you have done 247 00:19:48,120 --> 00:19:51,120 this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts 248 00:19:51,120 --> 00:19:55,120 of the field. On your belly you shall go. The dust you shall 249 00:19:55,120 --> 00:20:00,120 eat all the days of your life. It's a bad day. It's not the 250 00:20:00,120 --> 00:20:04,120 reason why I hate snakes. Me and Indiana Jones, right here, 251 00:20:04,120 --> 00:20:08,120 that's, that's, that's, I mean if you're the snake, you're like 252 00:20:08,120 --> 00:20:12,120 that's going to be rough. No one wants to eat dust. Now, there 253 00:20:12,120 --> 00:20:15,120 have been depictions on what this serpent looked like and all 254 00:20:15,120 --> 00:20:20,120 of that, that, you know, that on your belly you shall go. What 255 00:20:20,120 --> 00:20:23,120 actually, what, I don't, it's not Selvitic, don't worry about 256 00:20:23,120 --> 00:20:27,120 it. But at the end of the day, here's, here's where the promise 257 00:20:27,120 --> 00:20:32,120 comes. I will put enmity between you and the woman, between your 258 00:20:32,120 --> 00:20:38,120 offspring and her offspring. What is God telling us in this 259 00:20:38,120 --> 00:20:42,120 curse to the serpent? It's not going to be mano a mano, right? 260 00:20:42,120 --> 00:20:47,120 It's not going to be God v. Satan. Nothing v.s. God, right? 261 00:20:47,120 --> 00:20:52,120 There's nothing that high that can ever be the opposite of God. 262 00:20:52,120 --> 00:20:56,120 No, it's going to be sin's offspring. It is going to be the 263 00:20:56,120 --> 00:21:03,120 hurt and the pain of generations. That is the curse. I will put 264 00:21:03,120 --> 00:21:06,120 enmity between you and the woman, between your offspring and 265 00:21:06,120 --> 00:21:10,120 her offspring. He shall bruise your head, you shall bruise his 266 00:21:10,120 --> 00:21:18,120 heel. The key word in there, he. Who? Not Adam. No, Adam made a 267 00:21:18,120 --> 00:21:24,120 mess of it. Adam had his shot and he blew it. The he is the 268 00:21:24,120 --> 00:21:30,120 promise. And I love that he is given before, because I am not 269 00:21:30,120 --> 00:21:33,120 resonating with the snake. I don't crawl around on my belly. I 270 00:21:33,120 --> 00:21:38,120 try not to eat dust. We don't resonate with that. We'll 271 00:21:38,120 --> 00:21:43,120 resonate in about 30 seconds. But don't you love it that the 272 00:21:43,120 --> 00:21:47,120 promise of Jesus came before the curse to the man and to the 273 00:21:47,120 --> 00:21:51,120 woman, before the curse for you and me? The promise of Jesus was 274 00:21:51,120 --> 00:21:56,120 there. Not only was it established, it was now foretelling. 275 00:21:56,120 --> 00:21:59,120 O come, O come, Emmanuel. 276 00:21:59,120 --> 00:22:06,120 Wouldn't we just love it if we just stopped there? And he shall 277 00:22:06,120 --> 00:22:13,120 bruise your heel. Amen. We don't need to go on. But we do. To 278 00:22:13,120 --> 00:22:18,120 the woman he said, I shall surely multiply your pain and 279 00:22:18,120 --> 00:22:22,120 child bearing. In pain you shall bring forth children. Your 280 00:22:22,120 --> 00:22:25,120 desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule 281 00:22:25,120 --> 00:22:32,120 over you. Women in the room, how are you feeling right now? I 282 00:22:32,120 --> 00:22:35,120 hate to say it. Pregnant women in the room, how are you 283 00:22:35,120 --> 00:22:40,120 feeling right now? Sorry, that wasn't fair. Sorry, Mandy. But 284 00:22:40,120 --> 00:22:46,120 understanding, this is where there needs to be consequences. 285 00:22:46,120 --> 00:22:54,120 Understand, life was euphoric before this. Generations are 286 00:22:54,120 --> 00:22:58,120 going to come. Why? Because the curse said it would. Offspring. 287 00:22:58,120 --> 00:23:04,120 It's the first mention of it in the curse to Satan. But it's 288 00:23:04,120 --> 00:23:08,120 also for our generation as well, the generations to come. And 289 00:23:08,120 --> 00:23:14,120 not only is it the child bearing side, which again, as a male 290 00:23:14,120 --> 00:23:16,120 pastor, you have to be very careful how you preach this, 291 00:23:16,120 --> 00:23:21,120 right? Or you preach it and then take a vacation. Understanding 292 00:23:21,120 --> 00:23:24,120 that there is not, the pain in the child bearing is that part 293 00:23:24,120 --> 00:23:30,120 of the curse? Absolutely it is. But it's also the exhaustion. It 294 00:23:30,120 --> 00:23:35,120 is also the complications. It's also the infertility. It's also 295 00:23:35,120 --> 00:23:39,120 the stillbirths. It's also all of these things that come along 296 00:23:39,120 --> 00:23:44,120 with the greatest aspect of life for a lot of people is the 297 00:23:44,120 --> 00:23:50,120 birthing of children. That in that moment, something washes 298 00:23:50,120 --> 00:23:55,120 over you that you don't really get any other time. I don't care 299 00:23:55,120 --> 00:23:58,120 if you get the greatest gift ever. It's not the same as the 300 00:23:58,120 --> 00:24:02,120 day that you have a child born. And I think I'll go to the map 301 00:24:02,120 --> 00:24:10,120 for that. That's not a slap on the wrist. That's not go to your 302 00:24:10,120 --> 00:24:17,120 room. This is going to be all consuming consequence. But a lot 303 00:24:17,120 --> 00:24:21,120 of times we just keep it to the childbirth. Now, I don't know 304 00:24:21,120 --> 00:24:24,120 if before this, because we don't have any record of it, if like 305 00:24:24,120 --> 00:24:28,120 the babies just fell out and that was it. I have no idea. And 306 00:24:28,120 --> 00:24:30,120 I'm not going to keep going there because even for that 307 00:24:30,120 --> 00:24:33,120 comment I know I'm going to get emails. Sorry elders. But 308 00:24:33,120 --> 00:24:38,120 understand that I think the curse is hitting us what we 309 00:24:38,120 --> 00:24:44,120 value most, our children and our spouses. That's the curse. 310 00:24:44,120 --> 00:24:47,120 That's the all encompassing curse. And that's the big one. 311 00:24:47,120 --> 00:24:52,120 Your desire shall be contrary to your husband. What in the 312 00:24:52,120 --> 00:24:56,120 world does that mean? Why does that have to be in there? Right? 313 00:24:56,120 --> 00:24:59,120 If I'm a female, I'm going to be careful, isn't the first one 314 00:24:59,120 --> 00:25:03,120 enough? The first one has a whole bunch of junk in it. Why 315 00:25:03,120 --> 00:25:06,120 do I? Then the only thing that I would want to cling to, 316 00:25:06,120 --> 00:25:10,120 hopefully then, is my husband. When everything in childbearing 317 00:25:10,120 --> 00:25:13,120 and childmaking and all of those things is going to be awry and 318 00:25:13,120 --> 00:25:18,120 is going to hurt, I at least can find comfort in my husband. 319 00:25:18,120 --> 00:25:25,120 Nope. That's going to be tough. You're going to have to work 320 00:25:25,120 --> 00:25:30,120 at it. It's one of the reasons why they say marriage takes 321 00:25:30,120 --> 00:25:35,120 work. It's not 50-50. It's 100-100. It's choosing every 322 00:25:35,120 --> 00:25:40,120 day if you are married to turn back to your spouse in the 323 00:25:40,120 --> 00:25:44,120 commitment you have made. But even saying that, I know the 324 00:25:44,120 --> 00:25:48,120 hurt and the pain in this room. There's pain of adultery. 325 00:25:48,120 --> 00:25:51,120 There's pain of a divorce. There is pain of all different 326 00:25:51,120 --> 00:25:56,120 kinds. Why does it have to be so painful? Because that's what 327 00:25:56,120 --> 00:26:04,120 sin is. Sin is painful. Sin is a life without God. We are bent. 328 00:26:04,120 --> 00:26:06,120 It's our depravity. It's in our nature. 329 00:26:10,120 --> 00:26:14,120 Alright. And to Adam he said, because you have listened to the 330 00:26:14,120 --> 00:26:18,120 voice of your wife and have eaten the tree of which I 331 00:26:18,120 --> 00:26:23,120 commanded you, you shall not eat of it, cursed is the ground 332 00:26:23,120 --> 00:26:32,120 because of you. There's a lot to unpack there. This isn't, and 333 00:26:32,120 --> 00:26:34,120 a lot of people say, well, this is why women should be quiet. 334 00:26:34,120 --> 00:26:40,120 No. That's chauvinistic and dumb. This is an understanding of 335 00:26:40,120 --> 00:26:46,120 you did not protect your marriage. The person that you 336 00:26:46,120 --> 00:26:52,120 coveted to love the most, period ever, period, you did not 337 00:26:52,120 --> 00:27:02,120 secure that. You did not protect that. Because what if, what if 338 00:27:02,120 --> 00:27:07,120 Adam would have done his job, right, got in front of her and 339 00:27:07,120 --> 00:27:12,120 the snake, it's a talking snake, Adam, come on, and said no, 340 00:27:12,120 --> 00:27:17,120 killed the snake, frolicked away. Everything would have been 341 00:27:17,120 --> 00:27:22,120 great. But you didn't do your job. And now the temptation 342 00:27:22,120 --> 00:27:27,120 every day is that men aren't going to do their jobs. This 343 00:27:27,120 --> 00:27:30,120 doesn't mean occupation, even though it does, right, that's 344 00:27:30,120 --> 00:27:34,120 all built into this, right. Some people look at this very foolishly 345 00:27:34,120 --> 00:27:37,120 and go, well, I'm not a farmer so it doesn't matter. No, that's 346 00:27:37,120 --> 00:27:41,120 not it. Yeah, does Jesse Smedberg probably relate to this a 347 00:27:41,120 --> 00:27:44,120 little bit differently than I do? Absolutely he does. For those 348 00:27:44,120 --> 00:27:48,120 who don't know, he's a farmer. And understanding that 349 00:27:48,120 --> 00:27:52,120 everything you're going to try to do to provide for your family, 350 00:27:52,120 --> 00:27:57,120 to provide and do the job that God has willed you to do is 351 00:27:57,120 --> 00:28:03,120 going to be hard. Even if you're good at your job, it will be 352 00:28:03,120 --> 00:28:08,120 hard. Even if you make a lot of money, it will never be enough. 353 00:28:08,120 --> 00:28:11,120 Even if you're just scraping by, you'll have to continue to do 354 00:28:11,120 --> 00:28:14,120 it. Because you didn't do your job, you didn't protect the 355 00:28:14,120 --> 00:28:19,120 house, so to speak. This is why you're going to be cursed. This 356 00:28:19,120 --> 00:28:23,120 is why sin is going to be ever at your door, which we see a 357 00:28:23,120 --> 00:28:28,120 couple chapters from then with Cain and Abel. Right there is a 358 00:28:28,120 --> 00:28:34,120 huge stop sign. Don't do it. Cain, don't murder your brother. 359 00:28:34,120 --> 00:28:41,120 Sin is crouching at your door. And he succumbs to it. If this 360 00:28:41,120 --> 00:28:45,120 isn't messy, I don't know what is. If you're looking at this 361 00:28:45,120 --> 00:28:49,120 and go, that's not a big deal, then you're a fool. This is 362 00:28:49,120 --> 00:28:54,120 massive. Cursed is the ground because of you. Continue. In 363 00:28:54,120 --> 00:28:57,120 pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Thorns and 364 00:28:57,120 --> 00:29:00,120 thistles it shall bring forth for you. And you shall eat the 365 00:29:00,120 --> 00:29:04,120 plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat 366 00:29:04,120 --> 00:29:08,120 bread. Clearly we're called to eat, okay, but it's all going to 367 00:29:08,120 --> 00:29:11,120 be cursed and might not all taste good. Till you return to 368 00:29:11,120 --> 00:29:15,120 the ground from out of it you were taken. For you are dust and 369 00:29:15,120 --> 00:29:22,120 dust you shall return. Hey, men in the room, how are you 370 00:29:22,120 --> 00:29:30,120 feeling? Probably pretty accurate. Probably not a whole 371 00:29:30,120 --> 00:29:34,120 lot to say. But here's another aspect that I've never thought 372 00:29:34,120 --> 00:29:40,120 about. For the men in the room, you had to hear the curse of 373 00:29:40,120 --> 00:29:49,120 your wife. God didn't forgive Eve. He didn't forgive Adam. But 374 00:29:49,120 --> 00:29:53,120 they had to be there for each other's curses. That in the 375 00:29:53,120 --> 00:30:00,120 good times and the bad they had to take it together. That was 376 00:30:00,120 --> 00:30:03,120 uncovering that and praise to the Holy Spirit for doing that. 377 00:30:03,120 --> 00:30:06,120 That it was, the only thing I can liken it to, and you can talk 378 00:30:06,120 --> 00:30:10,120 to Care about this, is she made me go skydiving on our 379 00:30:10,120 --> 00:30:14,120 honeymoon. And I mean it that way. She had no problem with it. 380 00:30:14,120 --> 00:30:16,120 I was scared to death. I asked why is the door open as we took 381 00:30:16,120 --> 00:30:20,120 off. And the guy reminded me that's what we're jumping out of. 382 00:30:20,120 --> 00:30:24,120 I was like, oh, that's right. She said the scariest moment for 383 00:30:24,120 --> 00:30:29,120 her was I jumped out first. And in the video that we have, you 384 00:30:29,120 --> 00:30:34,120 see me jump out. She said that was the only time I was scared. 385 00:30:34,120 --> 00:30:39,120 Now, we jumped at 13,000 feet. And that's when she was scared 386 00:30:39,120 --> 00:30:45,120 because it had to do with me. So, yeah, she loves me. That's 387 00:30:45,120 --> 00:30:47,120 excellent. Right? It's our honeymoon. We just went through a 388 00:30:47,120 --> 00:30:51,120 nice wedding. So, we're good. Now I say it out loud and go, we 389 00:30:51,120 --> 00:30:53,120 were married like three days and then we jumped out of an 390 00:30:53,120 --> 00:30:57,120 airplane. I don't know about that. But she said that was the 391 00:30:57,120 --> 00:31:00,120 scariest point for her. That when something is happening to 392 00:31:00,120 --> 00:31:06,120 your spouse, to the people we love in our life, it affects us. 393 00:31:06,120 --> 00:31:10,120 Some of you, like me, are the sensy type, right? We're sensies. 394 00:31:10,120 --> 00:31:13,120 We're sensitive. There's something about justice in us. 395 00:31:13,120 --> 00:31:17,120 I see it in my middle son, Teddy. When Joey or Jack is being 396 00:31:17,120 --> 00:31:21,120 reprimanded, are being reprimanded, when they're in 397 00:31:21,120 --> 00:31:27,120 trouble, Teddy feels it. Now, when Teddy's getting in trouble, 398 00:31:27,120 --> 00:31:31,120 Joey and Jack laugh. So, it's a very different relationship. But 399 00:31:31,120 --> 00:31:36,120 Teddy feels it. And you might be like that. That when bad things 400 00:31:36,120 --> 00:31:41,120 are happening in the world, it drains you. You feel it. It's 401 00:31:41,120 --> 00:31:44,120 like a weight on you. How do I know we have people in that? 402 00:31:44,120 --> 00:31:47,120 Because you took spiritual gifts inventories and we talked about 403 00:31:47,120 --> 00:31:53,120 it. That that's a gift. Some of you are empathetic in amazing 404 00:31:53,120 --> 00:31:58,120 ways. Some of you are empathetic in super annoying ways. But that 405 00:31:58,120 --> 00:32:01,120 is all the result of sin. If we didn't have sin in the world, we 406 00:32:01,120 --> 00:32:04,120 wouldn't have to empathize with anything. Because it would all 407 00:32:04,120 --> 00:32:08,120 be euphoric. Everything would be great. We wouldn't get in 408 00:32:08,120 --> 00:32:11,120 arguments. There wouldn't be passive aggressiveness. There 409 00:32:11,120 --> 00:32:19,120 wouldn't be pain. There wouldn't be death. I think we all can 410 00:32:19,120 --> 00:32:25,120 agree. It's a giant mess. That there is an understanding here 411 00:32:25,120 --> 00:32:32,120 that we, it's an uphill battle. And you're right, it is. But 412 00:32:32,120 --> 00:32:38,120 here's the kicker. God doesn't leave us there. But God's going 413 00:32:38,120 --> 00:32:46,120 to send someone to help make sense of the mess. Does he clean 414 00:32:46,120 --> 00:32:50,120 it? In a way, yeah. The result of ultimate sin is death. We have 415 00:32:50,120 --> 00:32:56,120 new life in Christ. But for the time being, Christ helps us make 416 00:32:56,120 --> 00:33:01,120 sense of the mess and hopefully convicts us enough to not 417 00:33:01,120 --> 00:33:06,120 continue to make it messier. Because we're really good at 418 00:33:06,120 --> 00:33:11,120 that. We're super good at making a mess worse. We see this going 419 00:33:11,120 --> 00:33:15,120 on and instead of fixing it or stepping in and helping it, we 420 00:33:15,120 --> 00:33:18,120 see this fire and we just throw a can of gas on it. Because 421 00:33:18,120 --> 00:33:22,120 that's our sin nature. And it's part of the curse that we're 422 00:33:22,120 --> 00:33:29,120 under. It's part of that nature for us to make it worse. But 423 00:33:29,120 --> 00:33:33,120 that's why God offers us things like peace and comfort and 424 00:33:33,120 --> 00:33:37,120 direction. First Peter, or Second Peter talks about it. First 425 00:33:37,120 --> 00:33:40,120 Peter 2 talks about it in this way. For this you have been 426 00:33:40,120 --> 00:33:46,120 called because Christ also suffered, leaving you an example 427 00:33:46,120 --> 00:33:52,120 so that you might follow in his steps. Everything that Adam and 428 00:33:52,120 --> 00:33:59,120 Eve and the snake felt, Jesus felt. He went through it. Other 429 00:33:59,120 --> 00:34:04,120 world religions, their savior, their whatever, doesn't do that. 430 00:34:04,120 --> 00:34:07,120 They're up here and you have to notch your belt or get enough 431 00:34:07,120 --> 00:34:11,120 check marks or whatever to reach it. Christ says, no, I'm going 432 00:34:11,120 --> 00:34:15,120 to come down and I'm going to show you how to not make it 433 00:34:15,120 --> 00:34:22,120 messier. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his 434 00:34:22,120 --> 00:34:27,120 mouth, shot at Adam and Eve. Thanks Peter. But it's true. When 435 00:34:27,120 --> 00:34:32,120 he was reviled, he did not revile in return. When he was 436 00:34:32,120 --> 00:34:37,120 being mocked and jeered and spit on and lied about and beaten, 437 00:34:37,120 --> 00:34:41,120 he could have easily just snap of his fingers, sent legions of 438 00:34:41,120 --> 00:34:47,120 angels to dominate, but he didn't. He did not threaten but 439 00:34:47,120 --> 00:34:53,120 continued in trusting himself to him who judges justly. He 440 00:34:53,120 --> 00:34:58,120 himself bore our sins on or in his body on the tree that we 441 00:34:58,120 --> 00:35:06,120 might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you 442 00:35:06,120 --> 00:35:11,120 have been healed for you were straying like sheep but now 443 00:35:11,120 --> 00:35:19,120 return to the shepherd, the overseer of your souls. So if you 444 00:35:19,120 --> 00:35:24,120 find yourself in a mess today, and I know that some of you are, 445 00:35:24,120 --> 00:35:28,120 if you find yourself in hostility, if you find yourself in 446 00:35:28,120 --> 00:35:33,120 non-marital bliss, if you find yourself in a job that you 447 00:35:33,120 --> 00:35:37,120 absolutely hate, if you find yourself on a street where your 448 00:35:37,120 --> 00:35:41,120 neighbors drive you absolutely crazy, if you're in families 449 00:35:41,120 --> 00:35:45,120 where there's hurt and pain and Thanksgiving wasn't fun, it was 450 00:35:45,120 --> 00:35:53,120 the opposite. Understand that Jesus gets it. And he does it, he 451 00:35:53,120 --> 00:36:00,120 could, just all good. But he gives you perspective. It's not 452 00:36:00,120 --> 00:36:04,120 by his excellence, it's not by his holiness, it's not by his 453 00:36:04,120 --> 00:36:08,120 perfection, it's not by his na-na-na-na-na-na, I've never sinned 454 00:36:08,120 --> 00:36:13,120 because that wouldn't be relatable. By his wounds we have 455 00:36:13,120 --> 00:36:20,120 been healed. By his wounds we are called back. By his wounds we 456 00:36:20,120 --> 00:36:27,120 can say, come, desires of nations, come, fix in us thy humble 457 00:36:27,120 --> 00:36:32,120 home, rise the woman's conquering seed, bruise in us the 458 00:36:32,120 --> 00:36:38,120 serpent's head. Adam's likeness now a face, stamp thy image in 459 00:36:38,120 --> 00:36:45,120 its place. Second Adam from above, reinstate us in thy love. 460 00:36:45,120 --> 00:36:57,120 Hark the herald, us angels sing, glory to.