← ArchiveSunday, October 6, 2013DateOctober 6, 2013SpeakerChris BurnsTextGenesis 3Passages in this sermonGenesis 30:23Genesis 3:89:26Psalms 13930:22TranscriptClick any line to jump there.0:00Angie, Brother Rick, everybody, amen. Good to be, good to be, great to be, awesome to be, privileged to be in the Lord's house.0:19If you have your Bibles with you, I invite you to turn with you. Genesis chapter 3, as we move along in our study on the family, we talked about marriage and how important it was. There was a little glitch in the creation story that God gives us. It's not a glitch in that it's not supposed to be there. It's there as information for us. We talked about that a couple of weeks ago. This week, we're going to talk about what happens when we're not careful or when we're not watchful0:48or when we're not where we need to be. I need you to help me do something this morning. Don't want to embarrass anybody, so I'm not going to ask anybody to stand up and testify, okay? Some of you are saying, well, I could right now after that song. I could testify. If you could get up and we could just talk about the greatness of God, that'd be a great testimony, wouldn't it? But you know how testimonies have turned into everybody getting up and talking about how great1:17they are because of God, and it's all right, but it's really all about God. Amen? How many of you this morning, you came to church, but in the back of your mind, there are things that clutter your thoughts. You came thinking about the government shutdown. You came thinking about the potential economic crisis. You came because you got a letter saying your insurance has doubled.1:48You came because you don't have a job, and you really missed the job, and you really want a job. You're not comfortable in the job you have. You feel the stresses and the pressures of doing the job that four men used to do, only one woman is doing now. You feel the stresses of parenthood, and you see all the things, the glitter and the glamour that's going on in the world that's attracting your child's attention away from the very thing2:15that you know their attention needs attracted to. You come today, and you're stressed out. You're stressed out over life. You're stressed out over stress. You're stressed out over the future that's not even happened yet. You're stressed out over the actions of your past. You're stressed out, and you really, if the truth be known, you really don't know what to do about it. Well, that's what this sermon's about this morning.2:45If you have your Bibles, and you've turned to Genesis chapter 3, or chapter 3, I want you to think with me for just a minute. God has just created Adam and Eve. He's given them the job of, gave Adam the job of naming all the animals, having authority over all things in the garden. He brought him a helpmate alone, Eve. They were perfect because they were odd.3:14Not odd. They were opposites. She was real odd to him, and he was real odd to her. But those perfect opposites came together and made a whole. And in the midst of all that God had given them to do, I want you to think with me. Let's just look at it and think through the ramifications. What must it have been like in those early days in the garden with the most precious thing that you had ever met in your life, the direct opposite of who you are, but who completed you3:40as a person, and who in the past took away the loneliness that you had once felt because she or he was just like you? And there you are walking through the most beautiful place ever known to mankind because God had created it and had blessed it just for you. Not only that, I want you to think with me for just a minute how awesome it must have been4:07for Adam and Eve to have done their jobs. How awesome it must have been for Eve to love Adam because she came from him. And before the fall, how awesome it must have been for them to have walked through that garden in the coolness of the day with God. How awesome it must have been for Adam to have at his side his perfect helpmate, that one person4:37that fit the puzzle that caused him to be who he was. I want you to think with me how beautiful it must have been for both of them walking hand and hand through the garden with God because God was in the garden.4:58Can you imagine? It wasn't too hot. It wasn't too cold. And it didn't matter what they had on because they didn't have on anything. Because it didn't matter whether they had on anything or not because they had yet to tasted of sin and realized their nakedness.5:27So how beautiful must it have been for this couple to have been in this environment, walking with God and not having the stress of a misguided teenager? Or being a grandparent raising your grandchildren?5:55Or being a single mom because dad decided he wanted to bail out? Or being a single dad because mom decided she wanted to bail out? Or just being a confused couple who decided that, well, just because you don't like each other anymore, it's okay to bail out. It would be before you got up in the morning and you went to work and you didn't like even6:20getting there because the traffic was so bad, much less what you did after you got there. Because there was no traffic for Adam in the garden. You see, Adam walked through the garden and he looked over there and he said, you're going to be a lion and I'm going to call you lion. And he looked over there and he said, you're going to be bear and I'm going to call you bear. And there was Coach Bryant. And then he looked over there.6:51I hadn't even planned on saying that. And so for those of you that just shut me out and shut me down, just know I'm kidding. But he looked and he walked and these things all came. Could you imagine what it was like walking through the garden? And there was a vicious wolf playing with a lamb.7:16Because there was no fear of any of those animals among them. So I don't know what all the animals were that were in the garden. But what a beautiful, perfect place it was. And I want to tell you something. For the most part, it's not anything like the thoughts that we have at some point in our life. When we meet that perfect mate that God has presented to us to be our husband and to be our wife.7:45And we begin to think about our future. And we can't wait until that time when we come together to be married and look at the future that God has for us. And as we look out there, we don't anticipate, we don't think about it. And we shouldn't have to. And we shouldn't worry about all the things that the future holds. Because everything we wanted in life, outside of that wonderful relationship of Jesus Christ, which is always there, we have right before us as she walks down the aisle and as she stands beside us.8:15And we repeat our vows and we say, I do. And we walk out, most excited human beings on the face of the earth, only to really come to understand as the years pass and as the struggles begin, that we don't know what to do. The clouds roll in and the storms will settle. And I can tell you, you don't know what to do. And we're all like that. Because as soon as the clouds rolled in for the disciples as they were crossing the lake8:43and Jesus was in the boat with them, the first thing they began to do is cry out because of the size of the waves and the horror of the tempest and the storm that has sailed them and the water that was coming over the bow. And they wanted to do nothing more than to wake Jesus up. And if you are the Son of God, please stop this storm. How many times have we prayed, if you are the Son of God, and we do it while we're in a trot9:13from the fear of what is happening in our life that's consuming us? Genesis chapter 3, verse 8. They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day. And the man and his wife hid themselves from God,9:38from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Then the Lord, the Lord God called a man and he said to him, Where are you? And he said, I heard the sound of you in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked. So I hid myself. And he said, Who told you that you were naked?10:07Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you not to eat? And the man said, The woman whom you gave me to be with me, she gave me from the tree and I ate. And then the Lord God said to the woman, What is this that you have done? And the woman said, The serpent deceived me and I ate. And the Lord God said to the serpent, Because you have done this, cursed are you more than all cattle10:37and more than every beast of the field. On your belly you will go and dust you will eat all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman. And listen to this, And between your seed and her seed, and he shall bruise you on the head and you shall bruise him on the heel. And to the woman he said, I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth. In pain you will bring four children.11:07Yet your desire will be for your husband. And he will rule over you. Then to Adam he said, Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, You shall not eat from it. Cursed is the ground because of you. And toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. But thorns and thistles it shall grow for you. And you will eat the plants of the field.11:37And the sweat of your brow you will eat bread till you return to the ground. Because from it you were taken for your dust. And to dust you shall return. Now the man called his wife's name Eve because she was the mother of all the living. And the Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and he clothed them. Then the Lord God said, Behold, the man has come like one of us,12:06knowing good and evil. And now he might stretch out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat and live forever. Therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to cultivate the ground from which he was taken. So he drove the man out. And at the east of the garden of Eden he stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction12:36to guard the way to the tree. Wow. Have you ever thought about how sad that story is? Have you ever thought about how tragic it is that here was the most perfect place on planet earth that could ever, ever have existed and to have had complete domain over that place and to have had complete and awesome assurance13:06that that place was for you and then to just simply blown it. How much Adam had felt at the end of that conversation with God. It seems as though only moments had passed from the time when God had given Adam those instructions and how clear they were13:34that he should eat of everything and everything in the garden was his gift. But just stay from this one thing. How is it that just moments from that it seems that Eve is deceived? Satan deceives Eve Eve entices Adam and Adam falls. Just that simple. Satan tempted Adam relented14:04Adam relented God spoke and the fall began. And that's that's a sad story if that's where it ends. But that's not where it ends and it doesn't have to end for us as well. But let me let me bring something else to you that I think relates to that. It's a New Testament passage. It's found in 1 John14:331 John and as Paul writes or excuse me as John writes this letter to his church he warns them. He warns them about the evils that lie in the garden. Well you say wait a minute John doesn't talk about the garden. Well the garden is no longer the garden. The garden is now the world. We no longer live in the garden but we now live and exist in the world. But15:03But the same things that tempted Adam in the garden while they were one temptation are the same things that tempt us. in the world every day. And while we can look at Adam and go why did you do this and then we can get theological and we can get all up in the air about what God's purpose and design and sovereignty are the reality is is that man fail that day extremely hard and extremely15:32and extremely fast and the consequences were extremely vast because he focused on the wrong thing. And I want to tell you something here today for the most part we will focus on the wrong things in life. And so what I'm hoping to do is take this message and help us understand that we need to and we can refocus. Now I bought16:02one of those real nice single reflex cameras back in the late 70s and I was extremely proud of it until the lens locked up on it and you couldn't focus it anymore. No matter how you look to it no matter what I did no matter how I tried to do it there was no way to get it to work it was just totally it was done. And you know you probably had those binoculars16:30those binoculars that you really liked only to find that moisture got in there and you couldn't get to clean the moisture from the lens and every time you looked through it you'd look through it maybe that lens that you would twist and you'd twist to try to get the focus but it just never seemed to focus and so you never could focus on the thing that you needed to focus on. Right now there are hunters in here with scopes that cost hundreds and possibly thousands of dollars on your office so you can focus on that which you're aiming at17:00aiming at and let me tell you that's the problem that exists in most lives today that we have so many people that are in such confusion and in such turmoil is that their focus has been blurred here's what John says do not love the world or the things in the world if anyone loves the world the love of the Father is not in him17:29in him for all that is in the world the desires of the flesh the desires of the eyes and the pride and possessions it's not from the Father but it's from the world and the world is passing away along with its desires but whoever does the will of God abides forever what had it been like had Adam or what had it been like had Eve once confronted17:57once confronted by Satan came and said hmm heard about you I don't want to hear anything you've got to say but instead stop for a moment to be enticed by the elegant words I mean I'm trying to figure out in my mind as I read this how in the world anybody want to stop and listen to a snake you know I was reading Kyle and18:27Kyle and Delich and that is a very theological dissertation of commentary on this passage and it says very obvious that in this particular form and reading that Satan had possessed undoubtedly a serpent and in possessing that serpent that was speaking through the serpent to Eve and I'm thinking I don't care I'm still uncomfortable with that but how many times will we listen to things when we're real uncomfortable where it's coming from but it18:57but it captivates us because we are not focused on that which we need to be focused on to begin with and you begin to wonder where did Eve begin losing her focus in the garden where did Adam begin losing his focus in the garden where did things begin to come all right that wasn't all right because the garden was a perfect place in every way and let me tell you by the way as we see it was19:26it was man's decision that brought about the consequences that would ultimately separate him from the garden and this awesome walk that he had with God now if we're not going to focus on the world and we're going to not going to be a part of the world and we're going to find ourselves fighting that temptation that Adam felt in the garden then we're going to have to come to the place where we realize we need to stop and find out where19:55out where our focus should be focus our attention on that where it should be so that God can realign our minds and our hearts so that we know that our attention is in the right place here's here's how you do it as a parent look at me look at my eyes right look at me now that's20:24now that's my wife not my child and you should have seen the way she just looked at me but that's how we do it we we say look look because we know it's not what what what happens when your child's like look at me if you20:49if you don't look at me I'm gonna spank you what were they looking you ever thought what was Adam looking what could have been more beautiful than walking with God what could have21:19could have been more precious than knowing your better half was truly your better half knowing that life was really good but not good enough to stay focused it's not unlike what happens in our society today when Satan uses things to tantalize our taste buds21:48taste buds to cause us to want to look at the things that we shouldn't be looking at whether it's a magazine as a teenager that we know that we shouldn't be looking at whether it's listening to music as a teenager that we know we shouldn't be listening to whether it's as an adult listening or looking at another adult that we know we shouldn't be looking at or listening to whether it's following the actions or activities of22:16I will not do those things I don't need those things in my life I don't want those things in my life and just because those things have you ever met somebody that when they get something they want everybody to get exactly what they got they want to you know you got to get these shoes oh these are the best shoes I've ever seen in my life someone was wearing them one day I don't know who they were and I don't want to embarrass anybody they22:46they have shoes that you put on and you got toes sticking out of you know that shoes yeah brother Chris these are shoes I said they look like dirty feet oh no these are so you need to get you some of these and you know you think well maybe I do till you find out how much they cost you like this shirt I can tell you where to get a dozen of them listen I know where you can get23:16get them for $40 and sell when where did the fall when we know where when in the mind of Adam and Eve did their focus change from walking with God to running from God because that's what happened you see as you look over in chapter 4 you find that after Adam has23:45has sinned and after he has chosen to partake of the fruit and after he comes to have the mind that God told him that he would have that he realizes that he needs to move on so the Bible says they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day and the man and his wife hid themselves why why do we hide ourselves from God when God wants to come close to us why do we want to run from God why is it people are emptying24:15emptying out of the churches where they can hear everything but how to get back to God we want to hear a message on how to have a happy home but can I tell you if you hear a message on how to find God you'll have a happy home the problem is is that not all the self help books and not all the happy marriage sermons that we have out there are sermons that focus on the one thing that24:45that we need to focus on so that we can have what God would have us to have Jesus said first you seek ye first the kingdom of God and what be added unto you a happy marriage comes from a man who seeks God not from a man who seeks to make his family happy all the curse came and we see that curse is Satan25:15Satan curse to crawl or excuse me the serpent is cursed to crawl on his belly Satan is cursed and Satan is cursed and given the future of his ending man woman is cursed and she's going to be cursed with pain and childbearing and yet you know you say well that is easy to stop that way she just won't have children but she's also cursed to love her husband you know and that's25:45that's this is amazing to me you go in I mean I was there when my children were born and you know you thank God for medication don't you ladies some some of you that don't you're strong but I want to tell you something you never heard anything scream like a woman in childbirth and there were a couple of those26:15of those occasions with a couple of our sons that my wife let out a few hoots and hollers and I know she was hurting but then all of a sudden that hurting just went away and she was holding this beautiful baby in her arms and then in a few weeks in a few months you know we're never having another child I never want to see you sleep in the other end of the house in the kitchen in the sink you know you don't come near26:44come near me I don't want and you're going you don't remember you know because nobody's ever suffered like a woman suffered having a baby without Novocaine they are trying to figure that one out aren't you I couldn't think of the right word but she27:09but she soon forgets and guess what they have another child and God begins to grow their home and then they'll have another child until they've had three boys and decided that's enough some have more and more and more but the27:38but the curse what does the curse lead to let me tell you the tragedy the curse led Adam to run from God and can I tell you that I believe that a lot of the struggling that's going on in the lives of believers today whether you're a teenager or young person or whether you're an elderly saint or a middle aged or young aged adult is that we come to the28:08place in our life where when we're called up in the things of the world it's easier to run from God than to turn and face him with our what we've done and so Adam ran from God and that's the plight of one whose life is called up in the world as I read earlier if we're in the world and we're of the world and the things that we're doing in the28:37in the world is we don't want somebody to come in and tell us what we're doing is wrong we don't want somebody to come in and tell us that what we're doing is not good we want we know I can tell you how many times that I've counseled with people and I say stay out of debt debt is destructive debt is demanding debt will destroy only to help them get through that to get back in debt again or I can say to someone you know let me tell you something you need to keep your focus on your wife you need to keep29:07your focus on your husband you may be going through some tough times right now but focus on them because one day you're going to get old and when you get old and you start looking back at some of the not so smart things that you did your life becomes regretful and you run but I want you to notice the foolishness of Adam's run29:36it's not anything that the other Bible heroes didn't find out as well what is the foolishness about running from God what you can't that's the foolishness of running from God but every one of us put our shoes on and we run we run because we're afraid that if God actually catches up with us he's going to bring us to the place30:06that he brought Adam and Eve to but aren't we glad that he brought Adam and Eve to that place who else in the Bible found out that you couldn't run from God what about David in Psalm 139 I'll go to the highest of heavens and thou art there I go to Sheol the grave and thou art there God there is nowhere that I can go that you're30:34that you're not there how often do we have to hear truth to realize that there's nowhere God isn't yeah he was there with you yesterday yeah you might be going through a really bad time and you might have lost someone you loved but I want to tell you something God was there you know the real tragedy of the31:04of the loss of joy in a Christian's life is when they forget God's there we need to be reminded God is here somebody said one day you know I don't like going into them churches where God ain't there ain't one that's like that you say well I just don't feel him why what did you do to get ready to come to church to feel God how did you decide you were going to come here did you come here you know I'm getting ready I'm going to church because31:34because Jesus is there and I'm going to glorify I'm going to raise my hands I'm going to sing I'm going to praise him because I know Jesus is there no I've come to church because I need me a cheerleader who's going to encourage me and who's going to give me 10 points on how I can be excited about God and if I can use those 10 points rather than have a meeting with God I'll be happy can I tell you that families are collapsing marriages are falling apart young people are rebelling because we won't quit32:04won't quit running from God the bottom line is somewhere along the way we've got to stop trying to outrun the biggest and greatest encourager in the universe God did you notice that their flight led them to the trees now I thought that was interesting32:34interesting they ran out into the trees and they thought they'd hide and God comes walking through the garden and I would love to know how that was was it the incarnate Christ that was walking as God through the garden because God his spirit and he fills all things and his glories in all things and can you imagine how the glory of God must have been as it flickered through the leaves and the trees as there was no winter there was no fall there was no dying in the garden not even of the trees not of33:03not of the animals or of anything else it was just filled with life it was filled with love because God is what love and because those that know God love and because the love of God flowed out from Adam and Eve and the love of God flowed out from all the creation that it was and for33:27was nothing groaning because God and man and creation were in sync they were together but it didn't last long man lost his focus and he decided I don't want to disappoint my help mate I don't want to disappoint33:57disappoint my wife I'll try it and I'm sure Eve's thinking I don't want to disappoint Adam if this really will make us like God and God really is trying to keep something from us that maybe I want to tell you something that's not any different than the lie that exists today when you turn your TV on and some preacher out there saying that God has something that you hadn't got God is not withholding anything from you that he hasn't got because he loves you so much he's given you everything the cognitive34:27cognitive ability to know right from wrong the ability through the Holy Spirit in your heart to take action toward the things that are of God and he has given you the light that you need so that you can respond to God and now he's giving you a desire to stop running and come to stop running and come do you know who's going to find God those34:57those that seek him because he will be found by those that seek him you know you can make a choice today you say a choice yeah a choice as a believer I'm going to stop running I'm going to let God catch me and35:25and God I want you to do whatever with me you'll do because God I am worn out spiritually I am tired of being oppressed by fear be anxious for nothing but with prayer and supplication make your request be known to God with prayer and thanksgiving make your request be made known to God be35:55be anxious for nothing Paul says Jesus said seek you first the kingdom of God and I add whatever it is you need quit running stop running you know it's kind of like in about 15 minutes or so we'll be out of here and we'll be standing out there in the vestibule and there you'll turn and you'll look and there'll be some child probably one of my grandkids and36:25and they're chasing another one of my grandkids and they're running through there and you'll hear them dads go hey hey stop that and just kind of look at them I like it when a kid's actually running and it's a stop you've been there or I really like it when stop is stop and you hear the city go stop yes36:53yes sir you see that's what God's looking for he's not looking for slow down he's looking for stop stop stop depending on your connection to the world to get you through the next six months six weeks six days six hours six minutes stop37:23stop throw your hands up just like the old guy did on the stage coach when the robbers surrounded the stage coach and they threw their shotguns down and they raised their hands and they said we surrender you see I don't think any of us ever fully going to feel the peace of God that passes all understanding till37:53till we stopped and said God I just want to tell you there are some things in my life that aren't right and I need you to help me and you know something Jesus came38:23came along to show us that we could walk with God again because he walked with his disciples and he walked among the multitudes and before he left he said I must go so that I can send a paraclete to walk with all of you because in the flesh it's hard for me to walk with everybody but when I send the Holy38:53Holy Spirit he'll walk with all of you individually through life giving you hope giving you help humility giving you strength giving you purpose giving you understanding giving you joy back in your bag again let's39:22let's pray father oh how tragic it is to see the run that Adam and Eve took when they partook but God how sad it is to see that the day I partook nine years old eight years old I don't remember exactly all that I just remember saying Jesus I want you into my life to39:52to forgive me of my sins and I remember the joy that I felt and how awesome and exciting it was but then God I know that there was a run because I knew that you were in my life and some of the things that were going on in my life were shameful and so I ran and God I thank you that there have been times in my life that you stopped me from running and40:21and and you helped me focus on the thing that I needed to focus on most which was you and God today if people have come here to focus on me God forgive them if they've come here to focus on the music God forgive them if they've come here to focus on anything but you God forgive us forgive us for40:49for when we're not focused on Jesus our lives are going to be filled with suffering and pain that we can't bear and so God today I pray that God people will stop running and stop and41:17and just simply come come to the one who can heal their hearts forgive their sins give them life give them hope give them peace give them joy in the midst of the journey or in Jesus name we pray amen I41:46I want to ask you to stand for a hymn of invitation I want to challenge you this morning I don't know who you are I know this I'm the first one down here at this altar because I want to tell you I want to be the first one to say that there are times in my life I run I look around I tell you y'all don't think I don't see folks not hear I want to run y'all don't think I don't hear I want to run but42:16but it's not time to run it's time to come it's time to come and fall into the arms of the one who's coming after us won't you come if you want to join this church you come if you want Jesus as your savior you come however God speaks to you you're invited to come you42:46youMore sermons on Genesis →
