good afternoon my name is Jake Thomas<\/p>\n
and I have the uh blessing of bringing<\/p>\n
our message today uh I will be preaching<\/p>\n
in English this year to begin the Year<\/p>\n
we're starting off a sermon series in<\/p>\n
the Book of Genesis kind of going back<\/p>\n
to the beginning of the Bible um for the<\/p>\n
beginning of of<\/p>\n
2025 um so over the next several weeks<\/p>\n
we're taking a really broad topical view<\/p>\n
of Genesis and and hitting the basic um<\/p>\n
stories basic plot lines basic truths<\/p>\n
that we find there um in order to to<\/p>\n
look at the ways Genesis is foundational<\/p>\n
for the rest of the Bible um as with any<\/p>\n
book that you're going to read um<\/p>\n
Genesis being the first book of the<\/p>\n
Bible has a lot to say and set up for<\/p>\n
what happens for the rest of the story<\/p>\n
um and so our goal through this series<\/p>\n
is to talk about um the ways in which<\/p>\n
Genesis just sets the tone for the rest<\/p>\n
of the Bible um last week aan t talked<\/p>\n
about the creation narrative he talked<\/p>\n
about uh God as as the ultimate Giver um<\/p>\n
in in in blessing um Creation with<\/p>\n
creation um and um God has set man and<\/p>\n
woman over creation existing in Perfect<\/p>\n
Harmony um today we get to Genesis 3 um<\/p>\n
we get to<\/p>\n
um where it all goes wrong right<\/p>\n
probably one of the more famous chapters<\/p>\n
in the whole Bible if you have if you<\/p>\n
study the Bible at all you kind of know<\/p>\n
what what's going to happen right um and<\/p>\n
so uh there's dichotomy Happening Here<\/p>\n
in the first three chapters of Genesis<\/p>\n
in Genesis 1 and 2 um we're seeing uh<\/p>\n
creation and Paradise gained um and uh<\/p>\n
in Genesis 3 we see Paradise Lost um and<\/p>\n
um the the great hope is that even as<\/p>\n
Paradise is lost God begins to um write<\/p>\n
and begins to create his um great story<\/p>\n
of restoration<\/p>\n
even in the midst of creation being<\/p>\n
broken creation falling apart um Harmony<\/p>\n
being lost um so turn with me with your<\/p>\n
Bibles to Genesis 3 um it's going to be<\/p>\n
on the screen um so if you don't have a<\/p>\n
Bible it will be<\/p>\n
there um and we're going to start in<\/p>\n
verse<\/p>\n
one now the serpent was more crafty than<\/p>\n
any other beast of the field that the<\/p>\n
Lord had made he said to the woman did<\/p>\n
God actually say you shall not eat of<\/p>\n
any tree in the garden and the woman<\/p>\n
said to the serpent we may eat of the<\/p>\n
fruit of the trees in the garden but God<\/p>\n
said You shall not eat of the fruit of<\/p>\n
the tree that is in the midst of the<\/p>\n
garden neither shall you touch it lest<\/p>\n
you die but the serpent said to the<\/p>\n
woman you will not surely die for God<\/p>\n
knows that when you eat of it your eyes<\/p>\n
will be opened and you will be like God<\/p>\n
knowing good and evil so when the woman<\/p>\n
s saw that the tree was good for food<\/p>\n
and that it was a delight to the eyes<\/p>\n
and that the tree was to be desired to<\/p>\n
be make to make one wise she took of its<\/p>\n
fruit fruit and ate and she also gave<\/p>\n
some to her husband who was with her and<\/p>\n
he ate then the eyes of both were opened<\/p>\n
and they knew that they were naked and<\/p>\n
they swed fig leaves together and made<\/p>\n
themselves wine<\/p>\n
cloths and they heard the sound of the<\/p>\n
Lord God Walking In The Garden in the<\/p>\n
cool of the day and the man and his wife<\/p>\n
hid themselves from the presence of the<\/p>\n
Lord God Among the Trees of the garden<\/p>\n
but the Lord God Called To The Man and<\/p>\n
said to him where are you and he said I<\/p>\n
heard the sound of you in the garden and<\/p>\n
I was afraid because I was naked and I<\/p>\n
hid<\/p>\n
myself he said who told you that you<\/p>\n
were naked have you eaten of the tree of<\/p>\n
which I commanded you not to eat the man<\/p>\n
said the woman whom you gave to me to be<\/p>\n
with me she gave me the fruit of the<\/p>\n
tree and I ate then the Lord God said to<\/p>\n
the woman what is this that you have<\/p>\n
done the woman said the serpent deceived<\/p>\n
me and I<\/p>\n
ate the Lord God said to the serpent<\/p>\n
because you have done this cursed are<\/p>\n
you above all livestock and above all<\/p>\n
Beasts of the field on your belly you<\/p>\n
shall go and dust you shall eat all the<\/p>\n
days of your life I will put imity<\/p>\n
between you and the woman and between<\/p>\n
your Offspring and her Offspring he<\/p>\n
shall bruise your head and you shall<\/p>\n
bruise his<\/p>\n
heel to the woman he said I will surely<\/p>\n
multiply your pain in childbearing in<\/p>\n
pain you shall bring forth children your<\/p>\n
desire shall be contrary to your husband<\/p>\n
but he shall rule over you and to Adam<\/p>\n
he said because you have listened to the<\/p>\n
voice of your wife and have eaten of the<\/p>\n
tree of which I commanded you shall you<\/p>\n
shall not eat of it cursed is the ground<\/p>\n
because of you in pain you shall eat of<\/p>\n
it all the days of your life thorns and<\/p>\n
thistles it shall bring forth for you<\/p>\n
and you shall eat the plants of the of<\/p>\n
the field but the sweat of your face you<\/p>\n
shall eat bread till you return to the<\/p>\n
ground for out of it you were taken for<\/p>\n
you are dust and to dust you shall<\/p>\n
return the man called his wife's name<\/p>\n
Eve because she was the mother of all<\/p>\n
living and the Lord God Made For Adam<\/p>\n
and for his wife garments of skin and<\/p>\n
clothed them then the Lord God said<\/p>\n
behold the man has become like one of us<\/p>\n
in knowing good and evil now lest he<\/p>\n
reach out his hand and take also of the<\/p>\n
tree of life and eat and live forever<\/p>\n
therefore the Lord God sent him out from<\/p>\n
the Garden of Eden to work the ground<\/p>\n
from which he was taken he drove out the<\/p>\n
man at all of at the east of the Garden<\/p>\n
of Eden he placed the cherubim and a<\/p>\n
flaming sword that turned away every way<\/p>\n
to guard the way to the tree of<\/p>\n
life let's<\/p>\n
pray father God we confess that we like<\/p>\n
Adam and Eve doubt your faithfulness we<\/p>\n
confess that we seek to attain equality<\/p>\n
with you and we consciously disobey your<\/p>\n
law we thank you that even in our<\/p>\n
weakness you are our strength we thank<\/p>\n
you for the gift of your son and the<\/p>\n
sacrifice you made so that we could be<\/p>\n
re reunited with you in Jesus name we<\/p>\n
pray<\/p>\n
amen Adam and Eve's sin here in the<\/p>\n
garden is um generally referred to as<\/p>\n
the fall um and that word because of<\/p>\n
what happens here in Genesis 3 um in our<\/p>\n
culture has come to mean um humiliation<\/p>\n
uh a fall think of like the fall of an<\/p>\n
Empire uh the fall of a political power<\/p>\n
a political party um the fall of um a<\/p>\n
celebrity or um a fall from grace these<\/p>\n
are the kinds of things that we think of<\/p>\n
because of what happens to Adam and Eve<\/p>\n
here in the garden um a fall in this<\/p>\n
context almost always implies<\/p>\n
humiliation demotion<\/p>\n
Brokenness but the thing about all of<\/p>\n
these things is that Brokenness requires<\/p>\n
healing and a fall<\/p>\n
always almost always requires<\/p>\n
Restoration in Genesis 3 we read about<\/p>\n
the great fall of not just Adam and Eve<\/p>\n
but all of humanity and all of creation<\/p>\n
we read about the breaking of creation<\/p>\n
but even as God dos out judgment and<\/p>\n
curses upon creation and um and<\/p>\n
Humanity there is a sliver of hope<\/p>\n
within his uh Within These curses and<\/p>\n
judgments um there's blessing even in<\/p>\n
the midst of the lowest point that<\/p>\n
Humanity has<\/p>\n
had Paradise is lost and even now we are<\/p>\n
waiting for Paradise to be<\/p>\n
restored<\/p>\n
um but we have hope knowing that God<\/p>\n
will one day restore it in this chapter<\/p>\n
Adam and Eve began a cycle of sin that<\/p>\n
results in the curse of all creation uh<\/p>\n
but there is hope as God's plan for<\/p>\n
restoration and Redemption starts even<\/p>\n
here and the way we're going to talk<\/p>\n
about this today is kind of broken down<\/p>\n
into four parts um we're going to first<\/p>\n
discuss the cycle of sin that Adam and<\/p>\n
Eve go through<\/p>\n
um and that we each experience today<\/p>\n
we're going to talk about the curses and<\/p>\n
the uh the effect they have on us today<\/p>\n
uh then we're going to talk about God's<\/p>\n
salvific solution to our sin problem<\/p>\n
finally we're going to talk about what<\/p>\n
it's going to look like when Paradise is<\/p>\n
restored and how God is going to restore<\/p>\n
Paradise um so let's begin by discussing<\/p>\n
the sin that Adam and Eve commit here in<\/p>\n
the<\/p>\n
garden uh this sin Falls a pattern that<\/p>\n
we experience ourselves sin begins with<\/p>\n
doubt which which leads to deception<\/p>\n
then to Disobedience then to disgust<\/p>\n
then to destruction and you'll<\/p>\n
notice from destruction we go back to<\/p>\n
doubt because the reality of this cycle<\/p>\n
is that it's never ending um we don't<\/p>\n
just end up in in destruction we<\/p>\n
continue down and down if this if this<\/p>\n
image was three-dimensional it would<\/p>\n
look like a spiral we would be going<\/p>\n
further and further and further and<\/p>\n
further down with no hope for Redemption<\/p>\n
thankfully<\/p>\n
we have one who who redeems us of his<\/p>\n
own will and his own<\/p>\n
work so let's talk about the different<\/p>\n
stages of this<\/p>\n
cycle sin always begins with doubt look<\/p>\n
back with me at the first five verses of<\/p>\n
the of of our chapter today now the<\/p>\n
serpent was more crafty than any other<\/p>\n
beast of the field that the Lord had<\/p>\n
made he said to the woman did God<\/p>\n
actually say you shall not eat of any<\/p>\n
tree in the garden and the woman said to<\/p>\n
the serpent we may eat of it of the the<\/p>\n
knows that when you eat of your eat of<\/p>\n
it your eyes will be opened and you will<\/p>\n
be like God knowing good and<\/p>\n
evil there's a Temptation that we have<\/p>\n
to jump to um just the act of<\/p>\n
Disobedience that Adam and Eve make here<\/p>\n
but it's really important for us to<\/p>\n
understand how the Temptation Begins for<\/p>\n
them where they go<\/p>\n
and how they get to the point to make<\/p>\n
the decision to eat the fruit and sin<\/p>\n
because their sin starts much earlier<\/p>\n
than actually eating the<\/p>\n
fruit the enemy knows that the forbidden<\/p>\n
fruit will leave to their lead to their<\/p>\n
forgotten Faith um he knows that the<\/p>\n
first step of disobedience is not<\/p>\n
deception it's not outright lying it's<\/p>\n
sowing seeds of doubt in their<\/p>\n
minds you know we've experienced too<\/p>\n
that ancient enemy slithering into our<\/p>\n
minds and Whispering words that make us<\/p>\n
doubt God never underestimate the power<\/p>\n
of<\/p>\n
words think about John 1 U John talks<\/p>\n
about how Jesus is the the word of God<\/p>\n
made flesh in Genesis 1 God creates<\/p>\n
everything using words and in Genesis 3<\/p>\n
Satan SWS the serpent SWS doubt by using<\/p>\n
words that's why James tells us that<\/p>\n
it's so difficult to tame the tongue<\/p>\n
words are powerful never forget how<\/p>\n
powerful words can be in your life and<\/p>\n
in someone else's<\/p>\n
life so let's look at look at um Satan's<\/p>\n
opening line here he doesn't start with<\/p>\n
an outright light right he asks a<\/p>\n
question he says did God actually<\/p>\n
say notice how smart the serpent<\/p>\n
is he simply ask a question planting a<\/p>\n
seed of doubt in Eve's mind do you<\/p>\n
remember what God told you do you<\/p>\n
remember what God commanded you about<\/p>\n
the fruit in the<\/p>\n
garden and the thing is<\/p>\n
Eve's recollection of God's revelation<\/p>\n
is found<\/p>\n
lacking Satan twists the uh the command<\/p>\n
that God makes in Genesis 2:16-17 uh<\/p>\n
when God commanded them about the fruit<\/p>\n
of the trees in the garden he said you<\/p>\n
may surely eat of every tree of the<\/p>\n
garden but of the tree of the knowledge<\/p>\n
of Good and Evil you shall not eat for<\/p>\n
in the day that you eat of it you shall<\/p>\n
surely<\/p>\n
die so all of a sudden Eve is in a<\/p>\n
full-fledged conversation with the<\/p>\n
serpent um and what this does is it<\/p>\n
makes Eve doubt three things about God<\/p>\n
she doubts the word of God the wisdom of<\/p>\n
God and the way of God Eve doubts the wi<\/p>\n
the uh the word of God in that she does<\/p>\n
not correctly remember the command that<\/p>\n
God gave them right so what she adds<\/p>\n
what does she add she adds that if we<\/p>\n
touch it we will also die so she makes<\/p>\n
God's commandment more restrictive and<\/p>\n
unfair than it actually is makes her it<\/p>\n
shows that she doesn't really understand<\/p>\n
what God is trying to do in giving them<\/p>\n
the law in the first<\/p>\n
place<\/p>\n
so it's so important for us to hide<\/p>\n
God's word in our heart so that when we<\/p>\n
are tempted when we experience uh the<\/p>\n
serpent whispering in our ear to make us<\/p>\n
doubt God's word that we know what God's<\/p>\n
word says we know exactly what God told<\/p>\n
us and we can combat Temptation with<\/p>\n
that<\/p>\n
so this all leads to Eve doubting the<\/p>\n
way of God as the serpent switches from<\/p>\n
leading questions to outright deception<\/p>\n
the second step of the sin cycle cycle<\/p>\n
is deception when he asserts that um<\/p>\n
that uh that we can actually achieve<\/p>\n
equality with God the reality is that<\/p>\n
nothing drives us further from God than<\/p>\n
believing that we can achieve equality<\/p>\n
with him in the first place he is our<\/p>\n
creator we are the creation and we are<\/p>\n
created to bring him glory not to bring<\/p>\n
ourselves<\/p>\n
Glory so notice how Satan's deception of<\/p>\n
Eve mirrors what Jesus experiences in<\/p>\n
wilderness in verse six Eve sees that<\/p>\n
the fruit is good for food Satan's first<\/p>\n
Temptation um to Jesus is to make food<\/p>\n
for himself after he's been fasting for<\/p>\n
40 days um in Matthew 4 uh veres 1-4 it<\/p>\n
says then Jesus was led up by the spirit<\/p>\n
Into the Wilderness to be tempted by the<\/p>\n
devil and after fasting 40 days and 40<\/p>\n
nights he was hungry and the tempter<\/p>\n
came to him and said to him if if you<\/p>\n
are the Son of God command these stones<\/p>\n
to become loaves of bread but he<\/p>\n
answered it is written man shall not<\/p>\n
live by bread alone but by the every<\/p>\n
word that comes from the mouth of God so<\/p>\n
what does what does Jesus do in response<\/p>\n
to Satan's Temptation he uses<\/p>\n
scripture to defeat the Temptation and<\/p>\n
to belittle the Temptation that Satan is<\/p>\n
trying to make him<\/p>\n
do it's not it's not innately wrong for<\/p>\n
Jesus to be hungry it's not innately<\/p>\n
wrong for him to want to eat something<\/p>\n
but what he does is he is trusting that<\/p>\n
God is providing to providing the<\/p>\n
sustenance that he needs not with bread<\/p>\n
that he needs to make from loaves but<\/p>\n
from um the very word of God that's<\/p>\n
sustaining<\/p>\n
him so in the in Satan's second uh let's<\/p>\n
see in verse five Satan convinces Eve<\/p>\n
that God will not follow through on his<\/p>\n
promise of death um in Satan's second<\/p>\n
second temptation to Jesus is to throw<\/p>\n
himself from the highest point of the<\/p>\n
temple so that God will come and save<\/p>\n
him Satan even tries to quote Bible to<\/p>\n
make Jesus to prove to Jesus oh it's<\/p>\n
okay for you to do this um so in verse 5<\/p>\n
it says then the devil took him to the<\/p>\n
holy city and set him on the Pinnacle of<\/p>\n
the temple and said to him if you are<\/p>\n
the Son of God throw yourself down for<\/p>\n
it is written he will command his angels<\/p>\n
concerning you and on their and on their<\/p>\n
hands they will bear you up L you strike<\/p>\n
your foot against a stone Jesus said to<\/p>\n
him again it is written you shall not<\/p>\n
put the Lord your God to the test so je<\/p>\n
Jesus once again uses scripture to<\/p>\n
combat the devil's uh tempt a and<\/p>\n
twisting of scripture to make him do<\/p>\n
something that he shouldn't<\/p>\n
do uh finally Eve so Eve sees that the<\/p>\n
fruit can make make her wise she wants<\/p>\n
to be made wise she believes the devil's<\/p>\n
Temptation that she can be made wise<\/p>\n
through this um this<\/p>\n
fruit uh Satan's vital temptation of<\/p>\n
Jesus is to leave the way of God and to<\/p>\n
go about this in his own way um so again<\/p>\n
the devil took him to a very high<\/p>\n
mountain and showed him all the kingdoms<\/p>\n
of the world and their glory and he said<\/p>\n
to to him all these I will give you if<\/p>\n
you will fall down and worship me then<\/p>\n
Jesus said be gone Satan for it is<\/p>\n
written you shall Worship the Lord your<\/p>\n
God and him only shall you serve then<\/p>\n
the devil the devil left him and behold<\/p>\n
Angels came and were ministering to him<\/p>\n
so it again Jesus uses scripture to<\/p>\n
defeat this<\/p>\n
temptation we have to follow jesus'<\/p>\n
example and combat the schemes of the<\/p>\n
Devil with the true word of God in order<\/p>\n
to um be sustained against the acts of<\/p>\n
the devil and The Temptations of the<\/p>\n
devil that we experience in our<\/p>\n
lives the Bible says that we will not be<\/p>\n
tempted beyond what we can bear but<\/p>\n
through the Holy Spirit uh we can<\/p>\n
persevere against Temptation do not<\/p>\n
allow the deception of the evil one to<\/p>\n
drive you to Disobedience instead end<\/p>\n
the cycle of sin here and now at<\/p>\n
Deception so we've reached Adam and<\/p>\n
Eve's point of inflection doubt has been<\/p>\n
swn they have been deceived and they are<\/p>\n
barreling uncontrollably towards<\/p>\n
disobedience<\/p>\n
disobedience is when deception pushes us<\/p>\n
from desire to<\/p>\n
decision look at the way Eve Savers this<\/p>\n
decision uh she takes of the fruit<\/p>\n
noticing what a delight it is to her<\/p>\n
eyes before she eats it admiring the<\/p>\n
fruit before her submission to sin um it<\/p>\n
makes me think of one of the culminating<\/p>\n
scenes in The Lord of the Rings movies<\/p>\n
um so uh just a little recap Frodo has<\/p>\n
the ring and there's only one place in<\/p>\n
the whole world that he can destroy it<\/p>\n
and he's gotten it here he's he is right<\/p>\n
there he's right on the precipice of<\/p>\n
succeeding in this impossible task that<\/p>\n
he's been given and he's standing on the<\/p>\n
edge of this of this um Rock Bridge and<\/p>\n
he pulls out the ring and he holds it<\/p>\n
over The Lava and he makes eye contact<\/p>\n
with the ring and he slowly starts to<\/p>\n
bring the ring back to himself because<\/p>\n
he can't let it go he can't let it go<\/p>\n
and all of a sudden you see him take the<\/p>\n
ring he puts it on his finger and<\/p>\n
immediately he knows he's made a<\/p>\n
horrible decision and while that<\/p>\n
horrible decision only costs froto his<\/p>\n
finger ultimately um the decision that<\/p>\n
Adam and Eve are about to make is much<\/p>\n
more huge it's much more impactful for<\/p>\n
all of creation So Adam and Eve<\/p>\n
immediately realized what a horrible<\/p>\n
decision they've made we can read that<\/p>\n
in in verse seven<\/p>\n
as uh with one bite their Paradise is<\/p>\n
lost forever um and they move to the<\/p>\n
next stage age of the sin cycle<\/p>\n
immediately into disgust their perfect<\/p>\n
world has been shattered um in God's<\/p>\n
perfect world Humanity would have<\/p>\n
submitted to God uh the wife would have<\/p>\n
submitted to the husband and and<\/p>\n
creation and uh the creatures would have<\/p>\n
submitted to<\/p>\n
humanity um in one swift action all of<\/p>\n
that is flipped on its<\/p>\n
head the woman submits to the serpent<\/p>\n
the man submits to his wife and no one<\/p>\n
submits to God we read about their<\/p>\n
immediate disgust to decision in verse 7<\/p>\n
the then the eyes of both were opened<\/p>\n
they sewed fig leaves together and made<\/p>\n
themselves loin cloths their sin has<\/p>\n
awoken something new in them something<\/p>\n
they didn't have before something they<\/p>\n
didn't experience before but it isn't<\/p>\n
wisdom it's not knowledge uh it's shame<\/p>\n
in other words their sin brings a sense<\/p>\n
of exposure that they can't escape<\/p>\n
they're trying to hide from it they're<\/p>\n
trying to cover it<\/p>\n
up in this stage of the sin cycle the<\/p>\n
serpent Satan switches from asking why<\/p>\n
shouldn't you do this to how could you<\/p>\n
do<\/p>\n
that he switches from deceiving to<\/p>\n
accusing shame convinces us that we're<\/p>\n
no better than our weakest<\/p>\n
moments Adam and Eve respond to shame in<\/p>\n
two common ways that we do today they<\/p>\n
try to cover it up they try to push it<\/p>\n
down and they try to hide from<\/p>\n
it they sew fig leaves together to to to<\/p>\n
to cover themselves and then they hide<\/p>\n
in the trees from God as if God God is<\/p>\n
going if as if it's even possible for<\/p>\n
them to hide from God in this<\/p>\n
Garden Church understand that we cannot<\/p>\n
hide from God and the only way that we<\/p>\n
can deal with our shame is by wrestling<\/p>\n
with it not hiding from<\/p>\n
it uh Martin Luther said that we're<\/p>\n
tempted to exist in a Perpetual state of<\/p>\n
what he called Naval gazing um the the<\/p>\n
idea is that we we become so um<\/p>\n
concerned with our own shame our own sin<\/p>\n
that we're so focused on ourselves it's<\/p>\n
like we're looking at belly button all<\/p>\n
the time it's like we're focused right<\/p>\n
here all the<\/p>\n
time we can only experience true Freedom<\/p>\n
if we look up and we Let Jesus we let<\/p>\n
God see every horrible part of<\/p>\n
ourselves and we let him see our shame<\/p>\n
and know that he is going to choose to<\/p>\n
love us<\/p>\n
anyway we face him understanding that<\/p>\n
Jesus went to the<\/p>\n
Cross despising shame as it says in<\/p>\n
Hebrews 12:2 and bore our sins that we<\/p>\n
so that we can experience true<\/p>\n
freedom freedom from shame freedom from<\/p>\n
disgust freedom from self-pity so<\/p>\n
instead of saying woe is me Praise Jesus<\/p>\n
who looked on every part of you and went<\/p>\n
to the Cross<\/p>\n
anyway we've arrived at the final stage<\/p>\n
of the cycle of sin and that is<\/p>\n
destruction let's look again at verses<\/p>\n
9-13 uh but the Lord God Called To The<\/p>\n
Man and said to him where are you and he<\/p>\n
said I heard the sound of you in the<\/p>\n
garden and I was afraid because I was<\/p>\n
naked and I hid myself he said who told<\/p>\n
you that you were naked have you eaten<\/p>\n
of the tree of which I commanded you not<\/p>\n
to eat the man said the woman whom you<\/p>\n
gave to be with me she gave me the fruit<\/p>\n
of the tree and I ate then the Lord God<\/p>\n
said to the woman what is this that<\/p>\n
you've done the woman said the serpent<\/p>\n
deceived me and I<\/p>\n
ate immediately the relationships that<\/p>\n
are meant to exist between man and God<\/p>\n
and<\/p>\n
uh within creation are ruined or they're<\/p>\n
destroyed um God comes looking for Adam<\/p>\n
in the garden and and man and woman have<\/p>\n
hid themselves from God uh they're<\/p>\n
afraid of God but not not the uh healthy<\/p>\n
fear of the Lord that we all should have<\/p>\n
a fear of God actually seeing who they<\/p>\n
are and what they've done they're afraid<\/p>\n
of being found<\/p>\n
out uh they don't want communion with<\/p>\n
God they don't want to be in the<\/p>\n
presence of God uh and God confronts<\/p>\n
their<\/p>\n
shame immediately more relational<\/p>\n
problems crop up Adam and Eve start<\/p>\n
playing the blame game Adam blames Eve<\/p>\n
and kind of blames God for giving him<\/p>\n
the woman who is the one who who he<\/p>\n
thinks convinced him to<\/p>\n
sin Eve blames the serpent they're all<\/p>\n
just pting pushing this off on someone<\/p>\n
else they're not taking ownership of<\/p>\n
what they've done they're not<\/p>\n
understanding the weight of their own<\/p>\n
decision-<\/p>\n
making if the first sin was devouring<\/p>\n
the forbidden fruit the second sin was<\/p>\n
devouring one another they're turning on<\/p>\n
each other immediately<\/p>\n
mediately Adam and Eve are now trapped<\/p>\n
in this cycle of sin a cycle that<\/p>\n
continues even now and our nature is to<\/p>\n
follow the same path that that they're<\/p>\n
on what hope do we have thankfully we'll<\/p>\n
get to that<\/p>\n
shortly first we're going to discuss the<\/p>\n
judgments that God dos out the the<\/p>\n
curses that he dos out on the serpent<\/p>\n
woman and man see the destruction of sin<\/p>\n
does not stop by the relational problems<\/p>\n
we just talked about God curses each<\/p>\n
group specifically and these curses<\/p>\n
still have ramifications we feel right<\/p>\n
now uh let's see the serpent is cursed<\/p>\n
to crawl in his belly and eat dust uh<\/p>\n
he's he's lowered to the ground be an<\/p>\n
image of um something that's U abhorent<\/p>\n
or um unclean because he has to crawl on<\/p>\n
his belly and in the dirt all the time<\/p>\n
uh the term when it talks about him<\/p>\n
having to eat dust all the days of his<\/p>\n
life um when the Bible talks about the<\/p>\n
this idea of eating dust it is um it<\/p>\n
generally points towards a the idea of a<\/p>\n
defeated enemy someone who is uh like<\/p>\n
when uh defeated enemies having their<\/p>\n
faces put in the dirt and having to eat<\/p>\n
the dust of the<\/p>\n
victors um so for the serpent he is uh<\/p>\n
cursed to to enter into this this uh<\/p>\n
role of perpetually being defeated all<\/p>\n
the time and it ultimately will be<\/p>\n
defeated once and for all um at the<\/p>\n
hands of the The Offspring of the woman<\/p>\n
the seed of the woman um at some point<\/p>\n
in the<\/p>\n
future for for man and woman they're<\/p>\n
both cursed in their calling um in their<\/p>\n
very vocation that God has given them um<\/p>\n
in this perfect uh world that he<\/p>\n
created uh for the woman she'll<\/p>\n
experience exponentially increased pain<\/p>\n
in childbearing and will have a desire<\/p>\n
for your husband and he will R rule over<\/p>\n
you um increased pain and childbearing<\/p>\n
can mean a lot of things but ultimately<\/p>\n
anything that brings uh sorrow or pain<\/p>\n
throughout the entire child child ing<\/p>\n
processes is something that we think of<\/p>\n
as being a part of this church this uh<\/p>\n
this curse um the second part of these<\/p>\n
curses needs a little more explanation<\/p>\n
um so what does it mean to that your<\/p>\n
desire will be for your husband that he<\/p>\n
shall rule over you um there are times<\/p>\n
when um people wrongly interpret this<\/p>\n
this idea that that uh man and woman<\/p>\n
were um were unequal footing there was<\/p>\n
no leadership structure within um the<\/p>\n
marriage before the fall um that's not<\/p>\n
what we see in Genesis 1 2 and 3<\/p>\n
um before the fall Adam would still have<\/p>\n
been in the leadership role in the<\/p>\n
marriage uh it would have been Eve's um<\/p>\n
duty to to submit to Adam what happens<\/p>\n
in the fall is that um the marital<\/p>\n
Harmony that existed before the fall um<\/p>\n
is lost it's completely broken so<\/p>\n
instead of building each other up uh as<\/p>\n
husbands and wives use their desires and<\/p>\n
power to break one another down um and<\/p>\n
and we see this constantly in in our<\/p>\n
marriages even as Christians we have a<\/p>\n
desire to to be selfish to choose<\/p>\n
ourselves over our spouses all the time<\/p>\n
um to the man God Le also levies a curse<\/p>\n
that involves his calling and vocation<\/p>\n
Adam is meant to rule over all creation<\/p>\n
as it submits to him uh that Dynamic is<\/p>\n
gone uh so man will continually fight<\/p>\n
against Creation in an effort uh to take<\/p>\n
dominion over it uh and creation will<\/p>\n
resist him at every turn um this is what<\/p>\n
so remarkable about uh Jesus miracles<\/p>\n
that he performs in his ministry um<\/p>\n
because creation bows to his will think<\/p>\n
about um Jesus in the boat um telling<\/p>\n
the wind and the waves to be quiet and<\/p>\n
they listen to him that's amazing like<\/p>\n
that's you know creation is submitting<\/p>\n
to its<\/p>\n
creator um the final element uh of the<\/p>\n
curse is that man and woman and all of<\/p>\n
us will experience death that was<\/p>\n
promised right so the death that God<\/p>\n
promised in his commandment for them<\/p>\n
eating the fruit will come now just<\/p>\n
because Satan questioned that that truth<\/p>\n
and and Humanity doubted it that doesn't<\/p>\n
mean that it's not going to come for all<\/p>\n
um it says that<\/p>\n
um that uh you will return to the ground<\/p>\n
for out of it you were taken for you are<\/p>\n
dust and to dust you shall<\/p>\n
return thankfully hidden in these<\/p>\n
judgments and curses uh in the very<\/p>\n
breaking of creation itself is a sliver<\/p>\n
of hope uh God's salvific solution to<\/p>\n
humanity sin problem starts here in his<\/p>\n
curse to the serpent God offers the<\/p>\n
original Prophecy of the coming Messiah<\/p>\n
uh we call this the Proto Proto<\/p>\n
euangelion which is was simply the first<\/p>\n
hint of the Gospel message in scripture<\/p>\n
uh in Genesis 3:15 God says that<\/p>\n
somewhere along the way The Offspring of<\/p>\n
the woman will come and crush the<\/p>\n
Serpent's heads head he will sustain<\/p>\n
wounds as will be bruised but he will<\/p>\n
emerge<\/p>\n
Victorious so we just finished the<\/p>\n
season of Advent where we celebrate the<\/p>\n
coming of this seed of the woman we must<\/p>\n
understand that this prophecy has been<\/p>\n
fulfilled Jesus came as a baby the very<\/p>\n
word of God made flesh to dwell Among Us<\/p>\n
he lived a perfect life he was tempted<\/p>\n
yet he did not sin he performed Miracles<\/p>\n
he calmed storms he cast out demons<\/p>\n
healed the sick even raised the<\/p>\n
dead yet he was rejected by men they<\/p>\n
betrayed him they beat him they mocked<\/p>\n
him they scorned him then they hung him<\/p>\n
on a cross they put nails in his hands<\/p>\n
and his feet and they mocked him as he<\/p>\n
suffered and in that moment as he hung<\/p>\n
on the cross he bore the weight of the<\/p>\n
sins of all Humanity on his shoulders<\/p>\n
his Heavenly Father turned his face away<\/p>\n
because the stain of uh the sin that<\/p>\n
Jesus bore was too much for him to look<\/p>\n
at and as he died a sinless flawless<\/p>\n
blameless sacrifice For All Mankind the<\/p>\n
prophecy of Genesis 3:15 was fulfilled<\/p>\n
because 3 days later he rose from the<\/p>\n
dead defeating death and<\/p>\n
sin Jesus heel may have been bruised but<\/p>\n
he crushed the head of the serpent the<\/p>\n
Covenant of Grace started with a curse<\/p>\n
and it culminated at a cross and as<\/p>\n
Jesus died and rose from the dead the<\/p>\n
restoration and renewal of creation<\/p>\n
could begin the death of Jesus restores<\/p>\n
our relationship with God it disarms our<\/p>\n
shame and ultimately will renew all<\/p>\n
creation God's final punishment to Adam<\/p>\n
and Eve is to Exile them from the Garden<\/p>\n
of Eden uh let's look again at verses<\/p>\n
22- 24 uh then the Lord God said behold<\/p>\n
the man has become like one of us and<\/p>\n
knowing good and evil now lest he reach<\/p>\n
out his hand and take also of the tree<\/p>\n
of life and eat and live forever<\/p>\n
man and at the east of the Garden of<\/p>\n
Eden he placed the arabam and a flaming<\/p>\n
sword that turned every way to guard the<\/p>\n
way to the tree of<\/p>\n
life not only does he drive them out of<\/p>\n
the garden he places a cherubim or an<\/p>\n
angel at the entrance to the Garden to<\/p>\n
guard the way back to the Tree of Life<\/p>\n
um he is protecting the garden from um<\/p>\n
sinful man's impact and restricting<\/p>\n
access to<\/p>\n
Paradise even as the ex Exiles them God<\/p>\n
begins to orchestrate plans for<\/p>\n
reconciliation notice it's not man's job<\/p>\n
to prove himself worthy of<\/p>\n
reconciliation but God seeks us out he<\/p>\n
comes to us in our sin he comes to us<\/p>\n
and he brings us back we are like the<\/p>\n
Lost lamb that has wandered off and God<\/p>\n
searches for us to bring us back to the<\/p>\n
herd um in the temple in Jerusalem the<\/p>\n
there was there was a huge<\/p>\n
Veil um that<\/p>\n
separated uh the rest of the temple from<\/p>\n
the holy of holies is what it was called<\/p>\n
the place in the temple where um the Ark<\/p>\n
of the Covenant and then the very the<\/p>\n
very presence of God would would reside<\/p>\n
dwell on the veil um cherubim or angels<\/p>\n
with uh flaming swords were embroidered<\/p>\n
um the symbolism here is that<\/p>\n
uh the the angels and the cherubims are<\/p>\n
are are separating us from the presence<\/p>\n
of God because we are not worthy to be<\/p>\n
in God's presence in our sinful<\/p>\n
State when Jesus dies on the cross at<\/p>\n
the moment of his death the veil was<\/p>\n
torn from top to<\/p>\n
bottom because now that Jesus has<\/p>\n
died we can be reconciled to God we can<\/p>\n
have relationship with him again<\/p>\n
personally we do not need an<\/p>\n
intermediary we don't need a separation<\/p>\n
we can go to God ourselves um and have<\/p>\n
conversation with him have relationship<\/p>\n
with him and have interaction with him<\/p>\n
God no longer dwells in a garden or a<\/p>\n
temple his Spirit dwells within his<\/p>\n
people that's the amazing thing of that<\/p>\n
happens at Christ's<\/p>\n
death even as they're exiled God closed<\/p>\n
them much more effectively than they<\/p>\n
than they have clothed clothed<\/p>\n
themselves right so so Adam and Eve<\/p>\n
sewed together leaves to make loin claws<\/p>\n
for themselves um and what God does is<\/p>\n
he uh he kills an animal and makes them<\/p>\n
clothes out of<\/p>\n
skins uh this is<\/p>\n
foreshadowing the need for um blood or<\/p>\n
payment uh to cover up the sin um this<\/p>\n
is foreshadowing the sacrificial U right<\/p>\n
of the Old Testament and foreshadowing<\/p>\n
the ultimate sacrifice that Jesus is<\/p>\n
going to make on the cross so even as<\/p>\n
they're<\/p>\n
exiled God is still providing for them<\/p>\n
he has not forsaken his<\/p>\n
creation so the foreshadowing of God's<\/p>\n
future Mercy highlights our next point<\/p>\n
that uh that death the death of Jesus<\/p>\n
disarmed the shame that we experience of<\/p>\n
our sin uh so God makes clothes for Adam<\/p>\n
and Eve to cover their<\/p>\n
shame um in opposition to that at the<\/p>\n
cross Jesus is stripped bare and hung on<\/p>\n
the cross for all to see for um he Bears<\/p>\n
the the shame of all mankind he uh Bears<\/p>\n
the shame he bears that aspect of the<\/p>\n
curse for all<\/p>\n
creation so don't don't be ashamed of<\/p>\n
the way that Jesus humbled himself in<\/p>\n
going going to the cross in this way um<\/p>\n
be overcome by the weight of his<\/p>\n
sacrifice not the not the weight of your<\/p>\n
own shame not the weight of your own<\/p>\n
disgust your own self-pity um don't<\/p>\n
forget that when God looks upon you he<\/p>\n
sees uh for those of us who um are<\/p>\n
Christians God sees Jesus righteousness<\/p>\n
when he looks at us um find your<\/p>\n
identity in that truth not in what uh<\/p>\n
the world tries to convince us is true<\/p>\n
uh so the serpent was going to<\/p>\n
constantly try to convince us um that<\/p>\n
we should be disgusted with ourselves we<\/p>\n
should be ashamed of who we are and that<\/p>\n
we should be ashamed of the sin that we<\/p>\n
have uh that path leads to destruction<\/p>\n
if we follow it that path leads to<\/p>\n
destruction um conviction not shame<\/p>\n
leads the path of Life conviction and<\/p>\n
Faith uh in the grace offered freely<\/p>\n
through Jesus Blood on the<\/p>\n
cross in the curse the creative order is<\/p>\n
flipped Adam and Eve believe they will<\/p>\n
become like God by eating the fruit um<\/p>\n
they think that they're going to<\/p>\n
experience even greater freedom than<\/p>\n
they already do in the garden but the<\/p>\n
reality is that they that they receive<\/p>\n
slavery not Freedom by by<\/p>\n
sinning uh the reality for all of us who<\/p>\n
have come after Adam and Eve is that we<\/p>\n
are born already enslaved to sin um we<\/p>\n
have no choice in the matter we are um<\/p>\n
we are sinful creatures and we have a<\/p>\n
sin nature that is a part of us that we<\/p>\n
can't get away<\/p>\n
from the beauty of the gospel is that<\/p>\n
through the death of Jesus on the cross<\/p>\n
we can be Unshackled from sin um our<\/p>\n
shame is disarmed and we can be<\/p>\n
reconciled to God so this should affect<\/p>\n
us in a really a very real way uh when<\/p>\n
we truly understand the weight of our<\/p>\n
sin and our desperate need for a savior<\/p>\n
um and we understand the grace that we<\/p>\n
receive through Jesus death we will want<\/p>\n
to change who we are we will want to<\/p>\n
change the way that we behave uh Paul<\/p>\n
says that we are all slaves to something<\/p>\n
um we are either slaves to sin or we are<\/p>\n
or we can be slaves to righteousness<\/p>\n
through the Holy<\/p>\n
Spirit our task as Christians is to<\/p>\n
become slaves to righteousness through<\/p>\n
the Holy Spirit um this process uh is is<\/p>\n
what we call sanctification uh which<\/p>\n
effectively means becoming more and more<\/p>\n
like Jesus every day um see if the<\/p>\n
gospel is real to us and we allow the<\/p>\n
Holy Spirit to truly change us we will<\/p>\n
become new people uh there is imagery<\/p>\n
all through the New Testament of of a<\/p>\n
being reborn Jesus talks to Nicodemus<\/p>\n
Nicodemus about being born again that we<\/p>\n
must become new people the old must pass<\/p>\n
away and the new must live<\/p>\n
on if you claim to be a follower of<\/p>\n
Christ is your life really<\/p>\n
changed have you allowed the Holy Spirit<\/p>\n
to change um you from the inside<\/p>\n
out or are you still allowing yourself<\/p>\n
to be Shackled to the sin that has<\/p>\n
plagued you all your<\/p>\n
life put to death the things of this<\/p>\n
world and hold fast to the things that<\/p>\n
last so the thing is though this isn't<\/p>\n
easy sin has been a part of our lives<\/p>\n
for so long that it's it's so ingrained<\/p>\n
in who we are that it's difficult to put<\/p>\n
to put it to death and move<\/p>\n
forward uh in in the great Divorce by CS<\/p>\n
Lewis there's a story of a man uh who<\/p>\n
appears as a ghost um and this this<\/p>\n
ghost um has a a red lizard that is<\/p>\n
living on his shoulder uh and the lizard<\/p>\n
is tormenting him it's mocking him um<\/p>\n
and uh he meets an angel who who offers<\/p>\n
to rid him of the red lizard that's on<\/p>\n
his shoulder uh and when the when the<\/p>\n
when the angel starts to rid him of that<\/p>\n
lizard it hurts the man it hurts him a<\/p>\n
lot and he's he he is convinced that<\/p>\n
he's going to die so he tells the Angels<\/p>\n
stop stop doing that um and he starts to<\/p>\n
um have this very long convers ation<\/p>\n
with the angel where he's like you know<\/p>\n
maybe the Liz lizard's not so bad maybe<\/p>\n
you know I'm kind of attached to him now<\/p>\n
you know maybe I'll go let me can I go<\/p>\n
talk to another doctor and then come<\/p>\n
back to you and and maybe I'll go get<\/p>\n
another another outlook on this can I<\/p>\n
come back later maybe I need to prepare<\/p>\n
for this more and the Angel's like no<\/p>\n
it's got to be now you got to do it now<\/p>\n
um and the the man is convinced that he<\/p>\n
is going to die if the lizard is removed<\/p>\n
from him he doesn't think he can live<\/p>\n
without um this lizard that has has<\/p>\n
grown has has attached itself to him and<\/p>\n
the angel tells him no you're not going<\/p>\n
to die it's going to hurt but you're not<\/p>\n
going to die um and eventually the man<\/p>\n
relents he says okay fine let's do it<\/p>\n
let's do it let's do it now just rip the<\/p>\n
Band-Aid off and we'll do it um and the<\/p>\n
angel removes the lizard um and and the<\/p>\n
lizard is Cast Away um and uh the man is<\/p>\n
is Gravely injured he's very hurt<\/p>\n
but he starts to recover and as he<\/p>\n
recovers what happens is he's no longer<\/p>\n
a ghost he's a fully formed man because<\/p>\n
without the lizard he is free to become<\/p>\n
what he was meant to<\/p>\n
be see we were create all created to<\/p>\n
glorify God and be in relationship with<\/p>\n
him it's what we learned last<\/p>\n
week but what Adam and Eve did and what<\/p>\n
we do every day through our sin is that<\/p>\n
we separate ourselves from God and we<\/p>\n
become like the man in this story a<\/p>\n
ghost a shell of what we're supposed to<\/p>\n
be but when we can cast sin<\/p>\n
aside we are able to become the creation<\/p>\n
that God meant for us to<\/p>\n
be the final phase of creative<\/p>\n
restoration uh is the full renewal of<\/p>\n
creation see right now um even though<\/p>\n
God Jesus Jesus died he came and he died<\/p>\n
and he rose from the dead and through<\/p>\n
that um we are able to be in<\/p>\n
relationship with God again and and the<\/p>\n
um pull that sin has over our lives is<\/p>\n
lessened to a certain degree but the<\/p>\n
reality is that we still live in a world<\/p>\n
that is marred by sin creation is still<\/p>\n
impacted by sin and we see that all over<\/p>\n
the world in our lives every<\/p>\n
day the great encouragement for us is<\/p>\n
that we can take heart knowing that um<\/p>\n
one day that will not be the case<\/p>\n
anymore Jesus will come<\/p>\n
again and God will make all things new<\/p>\n
The Book of Revelation tells us that one<\/p>\n
day the evil one the serpent will<\/p>\n
finally be defeated completely it also<\/p>\n
tells us that God will renew creation<\/p>\n
himself Revelation 21 says then I saw a<\/p>\n
new Heaven and a new Earth for the first<\/p>\n
Heaven and the first Earth had passed<\/p>\n
away and the sea was no more and I saw<\/p>\n
the holy city New Jerusalem coming down<\/p>\n
out of Heaven from God prepared as a<\/p>\n
bride adorned for<\/p>\n
husband and I heard a loud voice from<\/p>\n
the throne saying Behold The Dwelling<\/p>\n
Place of God is with man he will dwell<\/p>\n
with them and they will be his people<\/p>\n
and God himself will be with them as<\/p>\n
their God he will wipe away every tear<\/p>\n
from their eyes and Death Shall be no<\/p>\n
more neither shall there be mourning nor<\/p>\n
crying nor pain anymore for the former<\/p>\n
things have passed<\/p>\n
away God will dwell with man again as he<\/p>\n
did in the<\/p>\n
garden there's no need to hide from him<\/p>\n
or be afraid of<\/p>\n
him he will remove death mourning crying<\/p>\n
and pain he will remove every effect of<\/p>\n
the the curse he pronounced over<\/p>\n
Creation in Genesis<\/p>\n
3 be encouraged that the paradise that<\/p>\n
was lost will be regained for all those<\/p>\n
who hold fast to their faith in Christ<\/p>\n
let's<\/p>\n
pray father God we know that we like<\/p>\n
Adam and Eve so often seek our own<\/p>\n
interest and desires instead of<\/p>\n
listening to your<\/p>\n
will we confess we confess that sin<\/p>\n
still holds so much sway over<\/p>\n
us father create in us new hearts that<\/p>\n
seek your will<\/p>\n
Lord we want to Bear your fruit and<\/p>\n
become more like you each day fill us<\/p>\n
with your spirit Lord as we seek to<\/p>\n
follow you we thank you for the<\/p>\n
sacrifice of your son on the cross we<\/p>\n
thank you for restoring your<\/p>\n
relationship with us let us grow deeper<\/p>\n
in that relationship every day in Jesus<\/p>\n
name amen<\/p>","english_search_text":"","":"","original_publish_date":"20250114","video_url":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=5o9ktqCpjw8","video_id":"5o9ktqCpjw8","video_duration":"41:22","channel_name":"Grace City Bangkok"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=295"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":296,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295\/revisions\/296"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/294"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=295"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=295"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gracecity.machakosconsulting.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=295"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}