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What if the ache you feel for a world of perfect peace and purpose is actually pointing back to humanity’s first home? In your own everyday life, are you cultivating the culture God intended, and what might change if you started right now? Let’s examine how God designed that original garden, not just to be a beautiful setting, but as the blueprint for how every one of us is meant to live and serve today.
📝 Study Notes, Scripture List, Transcript, and more: https://medicallake.church/sermons/echoes-of-eden
#mlcc #church #churchonline
📝 Study Notes, Scripture List, Transcript, and more: https://medicallake.church/sermons/echoes-of-eden
#mlcc #church #churchonline
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LearningTranscript
00:00You know, I certainly have felt this before.
00:05C.S. Lewis mentioned,
00:08if we find ourselves with a desire
00:10that nothing in this world can satisfy,
00:13the most probable explanation
00:15is that we were made for another world.
00:18You ever felt that before?
00:20You just feel, you just know intrinsically
00:23we know something is wrong.
00:25We know something is not the way
00:29it should be in this world.
00:32We just know that something is broken,
00:35that it is not as it was intended to be.
00:40And we long for what was.
00:45We long for what was lost
00:47and we long for the hour
00:48that it will finally be restored to humanity.
00:55Could it be,
00:57I mean, is it possible
01:00that the deep longing in our hearts
01:03for peace, love, and harmony in this world
01:07is actually a longing for Eden,
01:11for the Garden of Eden again?
01:13That which we lost
01:15because of the fall of Adam and Eve,
01:17that which we intended originally
01:19God had for us in this world.
01:21Could it be that that is what we long for?
01:23Our hearts just intrinsically know
01:25something is not the way
01:26it's supposed to be.
01:29J.R.R. Tolkland writes,
01:32certainly there was an Eden
01:33on this very unhappy earth.
01:35We all long for it
01:37and we are constantly glimpsing it.
01:40Our whole nature at its best
01:42and least is corrupted.
01:44Its gentlest and most humane
01:45is still soaked
01:47with a sense of exile.
01:49We know it's not the way
01:50it was supposed to be.
01:52We can sense it
01:53and when we come to the story today
01:55that this recording
01:56of what took place in history,
01:58we recognize this is the way
02:00it was intended to be
02:02and we see around us today
02:03and realize it is not that way at all.
02:07Chapter two is a summary of chapter one
02:11and the Hebrew writers like to write,
02:13they'll write some information
02:15and then the following chapter,
02:17they do a backstory.
02:18They go back and they give you
02:19more detailed information
02:21about something they just wrote.
02:22That's chapter two of Genesis.
02:23Chapter one is the creation story.
02:25Chapter two is a section
02:27of the creation story
02:29retold to give us more information
02:31about what just took place
02:32in chapter one.
02:33So that's chapter two
02:34where we are right now.
02:37What we're going to see
02:38is that the Garden of Eden
02:40was created for man
02:41to exercise his responsibilities
02:43as God's co-regent,
02:46cultivating an environment
02:47in which God is worshipped,
02:49loved, and feared.
02:51The original state of mankind
02:53and the purpose of mankind
02:54is God placed him in this place
02:56we know as the Garden of Eden.
02:59So after having read chapter one
03:01and we jump in chapter two,
03:02we see that chapter two
03:03is just a further detailed explanation
03:05of something that took place
03:06in chapter one.
03:08We're going to pick up
03:09in verse number four.
03:10Verses one through three
03:11talk about just that God
03:11finished his work
03:12on the seventh day.
03:13He blessed the seventh day,
03:15called it holy,
03:15and we know that day
03:16is called the Sabbath today.
03:18Okay, so that's the first part,
03:20one through three,
03:20but we're going to pick up
03:21in verse number four.
03:23These are the generations
03:24of the heavens and the earth.
03:26It sounds kind of like
03:27when we see a chronological listing,
03:29these are the generations of Abraham
03:31or these are the generations of Noah.
03:33So it sounds like
03:33a chronological listing.
03:35So we're giving a chronological
03:37of the generations
03:38of the heavens and the earth
03:39when they were created.
03:41In the day that the Lord God
03:43made the earth and the heavens,
03:45when no bush of the field
03:46was yet in the land
03:48and no small plant of the field
03:49had yet sprung up,
03:51for the Lord God
03:52had not caused it to rain on the land
03:54and there was no man
03:55to work the ground.
03:57And a mist was going up
03:58from the land
03:59and was watering
04:00the whole face of the ground.
04:02Then the Lord God
04:03formed the man of dust
04:04from the ground
04:05and breathed into his nostrils
04:07the breath of life.
04:09And man became a living creature.
04:12And the Lord God
04:13planted a garden in Eden
04:15in the east
04:16and there he put the man
04:17whom he had formed.
04:18He created the garden
04:19and he placed the man
04:20in the garden.
04:21The garden was made for the man.
04:23And out of the ground,
04:25the Lord God made
04:25to spring up every tree
04:27that is pleasant to the side
04:28and good for food.
04:30And the tree of life
04:31was in the midst of the garden.
04:33God's presence
04:34was in the very,
04:35life was in the very midst
04:36of the garden
04:37and the tree of the knowledge
04:38of good and evil.
04:40A river flowed out of Eden
04:42to water the garden
04:43and there it divided
04:44and became four rivers.
04:45The name of the first
04:47is Pisan.
04:48It is the one
04:48that flowed around
04:49the whole land of Havilah
04:51where there is gold
04:52and the gold of that land
04:54is good.
04:55Bedlam and Onyx stone
04:56are there.
04:57The name of the second river
04:58is Gihon
04:59and it is the one
05:00that flowed around
05:00the whole land of Cush.
05:02And the name of the third river
05:04is the Tigris
05:05which flows east of Assyria
05:07and the fourth river
05:08is the Euphrates.
05:09So we know
05:10where the last two rivers
05:11are, Tigris and Euphrates.
05:12We have the first two
05:13we're not sure
05:14where they're located at
05:14so we really can't pinpoint
05:16where this garden
05:17could have been originally.
05:18We don't know
05:19because we don't know
05:20where the other two rivers
05:20are located at.
05:23In verses one through three
05:24again,
05:25God finishes work
05:25on the sixth day.
05:26He hollowed,
05:27he sanctified the seventh day
05:29and made it what we know
05:30as the Sabbath.
05:31And the model
05:32for human work
05:33is God's sixth day
05:34of creation
05:35with the resting
05:36on the seventh day.
05:37And when God
05:38had sanctified the Sabbath
05:39he declared the day
05:40especially important to him.
05:42The Sabbath,
05:44we know.
05:44The Sabbath is the seventh day.
05:46So I'm kind of slow.
05:48Sometimes I don't kind of
05:50put pieces together
05:51but God showed me
05:52something really interesting
05:53and it was there
05:54the whole time.
05:55It was like,
05:55I just didn't see it.
05:57If the Sabbath
05:58is the seventh day
05:59and you count back
06:01the first day of creation
06:03would be Sunday.
06:07The original creation
06:09took place on a Sunday.
06:11When did Jesus Christ
06:13rise from the grave?
06:14On the first day of the week.
06:17And we have the new creation
06:18in Christ Jesus
06:19all who believe in him.
06:21We have the original
06:21first creation on a Sunday
06:23and the resurrection
06:24of Jesus Christ
06:24on a Sunday
06:25the first day of the week.
06:26We have the old creation
06:27and the new creation
06:28in Christ Jesus
06:29bundled up in this one
06:30little statement right here.
06:32I thought that was good.
06:34K.A. Matthews wrote,
06:36Sabbath has given way
06:37to the realities
06:38of the Lord's day.
06:39The resurrection
06:40of Jesus Christ.
06:41The church set aside
06:43the first day of the week
06:44as a special day
06:45for worship
06:46and proclamation.
06:47But the first day
06:48but by the first day
06:50the Christian community
06:51proclaims the new creation
06:52the era of messianic redemption.
06:55So the original creation
06:56begins on a Sunday
06:57and the new creation
06:58again in the resurrection
06:59of Jesus Christ
07:00begins on the first day
07:01of the week.
07:02That was special.
07:03That was actually nothing
07:04to do with the sermon.
07:05I just thought that was neat.
07:06Okay.
07:07So now we're going to move on
07:08to that really neat thing
07:09that I actually saw
07:11for the first time.
07:13So we are told here
07:14that the Lord God made
07:16verse number four
07:17the Lord God made the heavens.
07:19It's the first time
07:19we see the word L-O-R-D
07:21in all capital letters.
07:22Elohim is in the first part
07:23the creator God
07:24in chapter one
07:25but here's the first time
07:26we see the very name of God.
07:28We see the name Yahweh
07:29or Jehovah
07:30which way you want to put
07:30the vowel points on it.
07:32Here we see the Lord God
07:33for the first time.
07:34That is his name.
07:36Yahweh is his name.
07:37Exodus 15.3 says
07:39the Lord is a man of war.
07:41The Lord is his name.
07:42And again
07:43L-O-R-D capitalized
07:44means Yahweh or Jehovah
07:46which again
07:46wherever you put
07:47the vowel points on it
07:48Yahweh or Jehovah.
07:49Yahweh is his name.
07:50That's the self-existent one.
07:52The one has always existed.
07:54He's a covenant making God
07:56Yahweh
07:56and Elohim
07:57is the all powerful
07:58creator God.
07:59So we see them
07:59wrapped up right here.
08:01He's the one
08:01who makes covenant
08:02with people.
08:02He's the one
08:03that keeps his covenant
08:04with people.
08:04He's the one
08:04that has the power
08:05to create all things.
08:06He is Yahweh Elohim.
08:09And Yahweh Elohim
08:10made something.
08:12The land
08:14and the explanation
08:15of the land
08:16as described here
08:16is in preparation
08:17to describe
08:18the man
08:19who was to work it.
08:20So the land
08:21is mentioned first
08:22not because the land
08:22is most important
08:23but the land
08:24is shown there
08:24so that the man
08:25who was made
08:25is going to be
08:26working this land.
08:27That is his job.
08:28That is his role.
08:30And the plant life
08:31was missing
08:31an essential element.
08:32The labor of a farmer.
08:35We needed a farmer
08:36in there to work it
08:37and to tend it
08:38which we're going to see
08:38here in just a second
08:39to keep it
08:40to guard it.
08:42You know
08:43I'm not a horticulturist.
08:45I can just observe things.
08:46So I have observed
08:48in my life
08:48that a cultivated
08:50apple tree
08:52produces better fruit
08:53than a wild apple tree.
08:56And if you're
08:57a horticulturist
08:58and you can show me
08:59that I'm wrong
08:59please tell me
09:00at least that's my observation
09:01what I have seen.
09:02A cultivated apple tree
09:03produces better fruit
09:05than a wild apple tree.
09:06Well why is that?
09:07Is God's wild apple tree
09:08inferior
09:09until man
09:10can cultivate it
09:11and make it his own?
09:12What is this all about?
09:15No.
09:16God's wild apple tree
09:17is not inferior
09:18to man's
09:19cultivated tree.
09:21God designed
09:22creation
09:23to be tended
09:24by man
09:25and for man
09:26to draw out
09:27its full expression
09:28in this world.
09:29That's how God
09:30intended it.
09:31For us
09:32his creation
09:33to bring out
09:33the full purpose
09:34of the creation
09:35itself
09:36and bring
09:36its full
09:37explanation
09:38into presence.
09:41Dalich commented
09:42the first thing
09:44is to dress it
09:45for nature
09:46which grows
09:47wild or rank
09:48without the care
09:49of man
09:49becomes ennobled
09:51under the human hand.
09:53So without
09:54human cultivation
09:55plants,
09:56trees,
09:56and even different
09:57varieties of grains
09:59degenerate
10:00and grow wild.
10:01It's not that
10:02that man's
10:03cultivated tree
10:04has better known
10:04God has intended
10:05man to use
10:07his creation
10:08for his glory
10:09to bring out
10:09its full expression
10:10in this world.
10:13Man was created
10:14from the dust
10:15of the ground
10:16and I could just
10:17see it.
10:18He puts the dust
10:19together
10:19and he
10:22breathes
10:22into the dust
10:23the breath
10:24of life.
10:25Man becomes
10:26a living creature,
10:27a living soul.
10:29He's made
10:29in the image
10:30and likeness
10:30of God
10:31unlike any
10:31other created
10:32order.
10:33He is God's
10:34representative
10:35on this earth,
10:36his co-regent
10:37on this earth
10:39who's created
10:40from the dust
10:41of the ground.
10:41Now his job
10:42is to cultivate
10:43that dust
10:44and because
10:46of chapter 3,
10:47one day he will
10:48return to that dust
10:51and because of
10:52man's sins,
10:53his origin
10:54has also become
10:55his destiny.
10:57or as Jacob
10:58said,
10:59the earth
11:00is his cradle,
11:01his home
11:02and his grave.
11:04But man
11:05is more
11:06than a God-shaped
11:07piece of earth.
11:08He's much more
11:09than that.
11:10He has within
11:10himself the gift
11:11of life that was
11:12given by God
11:13himself created
11:13in the image
11:14and likeness
11:15of God.
11:15He is different
11:16than the other
11:16animals.
11:17It's different
11:18than all the
11:19other creation.
11:22all innocent
11:23human life
11:24merits protection
11:25by virtue
11:26of the esteemed
11:27position to which
11:28God has exalted
11:29it.
11:29All innocent
11:31human life,
11:32whether that's
11:33the life of a
11:34baby in the
11:34womb or a
11:36person I meet
11:36on the street
11:37or someone who
11:38sits across the
11:39dinner table from
11:40me,
11:40all human life
11:41is valuable
11:42because God
11:43esteems it
11:44valuable.
11:45And this
11:46garden now
11:47is divinely
11:48prepared
11:49for man
11:51as his
11:52habitat.
11:54The garden
11:54was made
11:55for man,
11:55not man
11:56for the
11:56garden.
11:57Maybe I'll
11:58stop right here
11:58for just a
11:58second and
11:59explain to you
12:00how I'm using
12:00the word
12:01man so we
12:02make sense.
12:03If you're
12:04there in
12:04Genesis chapter
12:052, go over
12:05to Genesis
12:06chapter 5.
12:07Just turn a
12:07page.
12:08Genesis chapter
12:095 verse 2.
12:09I want you to
12:10see how I'm
12:10using the word
12:11man.
12:11We would
12:11probably say
12:12mankind today,
12:13but if you
12:14look at me
12:15with Genesis
12:15chapter 5 verse
12:162.
12:19Male and
12:19female, he
12:20created them
12:21and he
12:22blessed them
12:23and named
12:23them man.
12:26So I'm
12:27using that
12:27term man like
12:28God is using
12:29it in Genesis
12:295 too.
12:30So we would
12:30probably say
12:31mankind, but
12:31just for
12:32sincere, I'm
12:32going to use
12:33the word man
12:33as we're going
12:34through, which
12:34means men
12:35and women,
12:36males and
12:37females, mankind
12:38as a whole.
12:41So this
12:41habitat God has
12:42prepared is
12:43bountiful and
12:44it's beautiful.
12:45It is rich
12:46resource and
12:47life-giving
12:47water adorned
12:48with precious
12:49metals, jewels.
12:52The garden
12:53itself, it was
12:54like a temple,
12:55like a temple.
12:56There was no
12:56physical structure
12:57there, but it
12:58was like a
12:58temple in which
12:59man offered
13:00worship to God
13:01and was daily
13:02employed in
13:03offering the
13:04sacrifices of
13:05thanksgiving and
13:06praise.
13:06It became as
13:07if it was a
13:08tabernacle, a
13:09temple, the
13:09whole garden
13:10area.
13:12See, the garden
13:13was like a
13:14temple in
13:15which man
13:15worshiped God
13:16and was daily
13:16employed, daily
13:17employed in
13:18offering these
13:18sacrifices.
13:19That was his
13:20job.
13:22It became his
13:24act of worship
13:25to the creator
13:26to tend, to
13:27work this
13:28garden.
13:30So now we
13:30have this garden
13:31that's been
13:31created by man,
13:32but what was
13:32man's role in
13:34the garden?
13:34What was he
13:34supposed to do
13:35and was created
13:35for him?
13:36He was to
13:37work it and
13:38tend it, which
13:38we're going to
13:38see here in just
13:39a second.
13:39He was to
13:39bring out his
13:40full expression in
13:41this world, but
13:42what was his
13:42role in it?
13:43Look at the
13:43in verses 15
13:44through 17.
13:47The Lord God
13:48took the man
13:49and put him in
13:50the garden of
13:50Eden to work
13:52it and keep
13:54it.
13:55Two important
13:56verbs right there,
13:57to work it and
13:58keep it.
13:58And the Lord God
14:00commanded the man
14:01saying, you
14:02shall surely eat
14:03of every tree of
14:04the garden, rich
14:06resources of
14:07trees, but of the
14:09tree of the
14:10knowledge of good
14:11and evil, you
14:11shall not eat
14:13for in the
14:14day that you
14:14eat of it, you
14:16shall surely
14:17die.
14:17And then that
14:18brings us into
14:18the whole dialogue
14:19in chapter 3 of
14:21the serpent and
14:21Eve.
14:23So God told him
14:25to work it and
14:26to keep this
14:27garden.
14:28See, work is a
14:30God-given
14:31assignment and not
14:32a cursed
14:33condition.
14:33I know work is a
14:35four-letter word.
14:36I understand that.
14:37It's a four-letter
14:37word.
14:38But when you
14:39think about it, it
14:41is a God-given
14:41assignment.
14:42People say, well,
14:43chapter 3, man
14:44falls and the
14:46ground is cursed, but
14:47work itself is not
14:48cursed.
14:49The ground is
14:50cursed.
14:51Somehow we get in
14:51our mind that work
14:52is a bad thing and
14:53we shouldn't even ask
14:54people to work because
14:55it's bad to ask them
14:56to work.
14:57No!
14:57It's a God-given
14:58assignment for us to
14:59work.
15:00In fact, Westerman
15:01said, life without
15:02work would not be
15:03worthy of human
15:04beings.
15:06We are designed to
15:07tend, to keep this
15:09garden, this God has
15:11given to us.
15:12And this word
15:14translated work, it's
15:15common one for
15:16tilling or working or
15:21cultivating the
15:23garden.
15:24His job was to
15:25cultivate the
15:26garden.
15:27We get our word
15:28culture from that.
15:32Adam and Eve's job in
15:33the garden was to
15:33create a culture and
15:35in which God was
15:35worshipped, loved, and
15:37feared in this place
15:39that was like a
15:39temple, like a
15:40tabernacle, their
15:41offering of sacrifices
15:43to him, of their
15:44obedience to him.
15:48That was their role in
15:49this garden, to work
15:51it, to make a
15:53culture in which God
15:55is worshipped, loved,
15:57and feared.
16:00We are to be ministers
16:02of this created
16:03order that he has
16:04given, attending to
16:05it as he wills.
16:07Work is certainly
16:07intrinsic to part of
16:09that, tending and
16:10working this creation.
16:12Gordon Winham wrote,
16:14it should be noted that
16:15even before the fall,
16:16man was expected to
16:17work.
16:18Paradise was not a
16:19life of leisured
16:20unemployment.
16:23Work is who we are.
16:24We are to take
16:25God's creation and
16:26we are to work it and
16:27to tend it, to
16:28cultivate, to
16:30cultivate a culture in
16:32which God has
16:32worshipped, loved, and
16:33feared.
16:34That is God's desire in
16:36the garden.
16:36That is desire still for
16:38mankind.
16:39So man's work was to
16:41improve his
16:42surroundings, work the
16:43garden, and to
16:45protect from waste or
16:47loss, to tend it, to
16:49guard it, to keep the
16:50garden.
16:52So man's work in the
16:53garden as he was doing
16:55what God asked him to
16:56do, man's work in the
16:57garden was his service
16:59as if he was a priest in
17:01the temple offering up
17:02sacrifices to God.
17:04And what was his
17:05sacrifice?
17:06Obedience.
17:08Obedience is an act of
17:10worship.
17:11Every time you obey God
17:13from his word, when he
17:14tells us something to do
17:15or not to do, every time
17:17you obey it is an act of
17:18worship to God.
17:19You are worshipping God
17:20by your obedience.
17:24The author Dorothy Sayers
17:26wrote, work is not
17:27primarily a thing one
17:29does to live, but the
17:31thing one lives to do.
17:32It is or should be the
17:35full expression of the
17:36worker's faculties, the
17:38thing in which he finds
17:39spiritual, mental, and
17:42bodily satisfaction, and
17:44the medium in which he
17:45offers himself to God.
17:46And I can hear your
17:47brains turning right now
17:49and saying, that's not
17:50my workplace.
17:53That's not my
17:54workplace, but that's
17:55what was intended.
17:56That's what was desired
17:57by God.
17:58That's how it should be.
18:01And he's also not to
18:02work it only, but he's
18:03also to keep it.
18:05It actually means to
18:06guard it.
18:08Not to let harm come to
18:10the garden.
18:10He's to tend it.
18:13He's to guard it.
18:14And that word is
18:16actually used for
18:18responsibility in
18:19religious duties.
18:20In Leviticus 18.4.
18:23You shall follow my
18:24rules and keep, there's
18:27the word, and keep my
18:29statues and walk in
18:30them.
18:30So it has the idea of
18:32observing religious
18:33commands, this word
18:34keep.
18:34Again, we're back to
18:35this idea of a
18:36tabernacle, temple-like
18:37presence in which man is
18:38worshiping God through his
18:40obedience to him.
18:42I am the Lord, your
18:43God.
18:44And then the Hebrew
18:45behind this word keep
18:46has the idea of
18:47protecting from harm.
18:49It's not even let
18:50harm, when you think,
18:50well, there's no sin in
18:52the garden right now.
18:53What kind of harm could
18:54come to the garden?
18:55Well, his goal was to
18:57keep harm from coming.
18:59And he and Eve failed
19:01miserably in chapter 3
19:03because they let harm
19:04come to the garden.
19:06His job was to work it
19:07and to guard it, to
19:09tend it, to keep it.
19:11To protect from harm.
19:13So anything that would
19:14restrict the worship of
19:15God in his tabernacle-like
19:17garden, he has to stop
19:19that.
19:19He cannot let that
19:20happen.
19:21Man could let nothing get
19:22in between his obedience
19:23and working and keeping the
19:24garden, which was his act of
19:26worship and the creator.
19:27And he zealously guards
19:28anything that gets in the
19:30way of proper worship.
19:31He's to tend it.
19:33He's to work it.
19:34He's to keep it.
19:34He's to work it.
19:35He's to guard it.
19:38So the word work, we
19:40talked about cultivating,
19:42tilling, is also used in
19:44other places in the Old
19:46Testament for the word
19:47service.
19:48The word service.
19:51Look in Exodus 3.12.
19:54It's used in worship, in a
19:56religious sense of serving
19:57God.
19:58He said, but I will be with
20:00you.
20:00He's talking to Moses.
20:01But I will be with you.
20:03And this shall be a sign
20:04for you that I have sent
20:05you.
20:06When you have brought the
20:07people out of Egypt, you
20:08shall serve God on this
20:10mountain.
20:10That's the word we're
20:10looking at right now.
20:11It has a religious
20:12undertone.
20:13It's to minister to God, to
20:14serve God on this mountain.
20:16So to work is to serve God
20:18is the idea.
20:20So work from the root
20:21meaning to serve and keep
20:22meaning to look after or
20:23have charge over.
20:24And both of these terms are
20:26wrapped up together
20:27describing the Levitical
20:29priest in the temple or
20:30tabernacle.
20:31The same exact words are
20:32used for them.
20:33It gives us this religious
20:35undertone, this idea again
20:36of the garden being of a
20:37tabernacle like place where
20:40man offers up his worship
20:42to God by his obedience.
20:43Obedience is an act of
20:44worship.
20:47It's found in Numbers
20:48chapter 3 in 7 and 8 in
20:50both 7 and 8 we see the
20:52words multiple times used.
20:54They shall keep guard.
20:56There's a word right there.
20:57Keep over him and over the
20:59whole congregation.
21:00Before the tent of meeting
21:01as they minister, there's
21:03the word work, serve at the
21:05tabernacle.
21:06They shall guard.
21:07There's a word again, all
21:08the furnishings of the
21:08temple of the tent of the
21:10meeting and keep, there's a
21:11word again, keep guard over
21:12the people of Israel as they
21:14minister at the tabernacle.
21:16Again, these two words are
21:18used in reference to
21:19religious duties.
21:20So we get this picture of
21:21the garden being a
21:22tabernacle like structure in
21:23which man offers up his
21:25obedience to God as his act
21:27of worship.
21:29Martin Luther likened the
21:31tree to Adam's church, altar
21:33and pulpit.
21:34Here he was to yield to God
21:36the obedience he owed, give
21:38recognition to the word and
21:39will of God, give thanks to
21:41God and call upon God for aid
21:43against temptation.
21:46The garden was like a
21:47tabernacle.
21:49No physical structure there, I
21:50understand that, but it was
21:51like a tabernacle.
21:52All of the words that are used
21:54are very similar to religious
21:55words that we see in other
21:56places in the Old Testament.
21:59By working and keeping the
22:00garden, man was offering up
22:02sacrifices to God.
22:03His obedience is an act of
22:06worship.
22:09Remember when all is said and
22:10done and we get to the new
22:12heaven and the new earth in
22:14the book of the revelation.
22:16I want you to see something.
22:17There's a new garden there.
22:19The garden is there again.
22:20It's like the garden once more,
22:22but Revelation chapter 21 verse
22:2422, what do we see?
22:26And I saw no temple in the city
22:28for its temple is the Lord God,
22:31the almighty and the lamb.
22:33Again, no physical structure in
22:34this new garden, in the new
22:36heaven and the new earth.
22:37But again, it gives a picture of
22:39Eden being like a place of
22:41worship, like a tabernacle or a
22:43temple.
22:45We have an obligation to our
22:47creator to cultivate his
22:49creation according to his
22:51expressed will, to cultivate the
22:54idea of bringing into a culture,
22:58the idea of God being worshipped
22:59and loved and feared.
23:03And creating a culture in which
23:04God is worshipped, loved and
23:05feared is our goal.
23:06It was a goal of Adam and Eve.
23:08It's our goal to today.
23:09Yes, it's much harder today than
23:11there.
23:13And only believers can cultivate
23:16this kind of place.
23:18An unbeliever doesn't care about
23:19worshipping God.
23:20An unbeliever doesn't care about
23:21loving God.
23:21An unbeliever doesn't care about
23:23having a reverence for God, a
23:24fear for God.
23:25It's up to us to create this
23:27culture.
23:27It's not going to be done by the
23:28unbeliever.
23:29The unbeliever doesn't care at
23:30all.
23:31You and I have to be the ones to
23:32create this culture in which God
23:34is worshipped, loved and feared.
23:35It'll never fall into the hands of
23:37the unbeliever.
23:37They will not care.
23:40They cannot build a culture for
23:42God.
23:43So the duty to fulfill the
23:45creator's desire for tending and
23:47working his world is falls on us
23:49as believers.
23:50It is our responsibility to do
23:53that.
23:55The garden that man was placed
23:57into, that he was to work it.
23:59He was a minister, serve.
24:01He was to keep it.
24:02He was a guard from bringing in
24:03harm.
24:04That was his sphere of influence.
24:08So when God said, Adam and Eve,
24:09this is your sphere of influence,
24:11this guard right here, I want you
24:12to work it.
24:13I want you to keep it.
24:15I want you to create a culture in
24:17which I am worshipped and loved and
24:19feared.
24:20That is your role, Adam and Eve.
24:22And of course, if they wouldn't have
24:24sinned, all the successive
24:25generations coming from Adam and Eve
24:27would have had the same culture.
24:29The idea that God has worshipped and
24:30loved and feared.
24:31That was his sphere of influence was
24:36the garden.
24:37But you and I have other spheres of
24:41interest, spheres of influence that
24:45you and I have, where you and I need
24:47to be cultivating this idea of a
24:50culture that worships and loves and
24:53fears God.
24:54You and I have other influence, areas of
24:57influence, spheres of influence.
25:00And each one of these spheres of
25:01influence, the goal is to create a
25:03culture in that sphere of influence
25:05in which God has worshipped, loved
25:08and feared.
25:09And that's our duty.
25:12So what spheres of influence do you
25:14and I have that were to create this
25:16culture in which God has worshipped,
25:19loved and feared?
25:19The very first place we need to start
25:21is self.
25:23Self.
25:24Me.
25:25I need to create within me a culture
25:28in which God has worshipped, loved and
25:30feared.
25:31And it must start with right with me.
25:33See, every act of obedience is an act
25:36of worship.
25:37When I do what he's asked me to do or
25:40refrain from doing what he's asked me
25:41not to do, that in itself is an act of
25:43worship.
25:46So are my thoughts, are my actions, are
25:49my habits creating a culture in me in
25:53which God has worshipped, loved and
25:55feared?
25:57Or are my thoughts, actions and habits
25:59creating a culture in which God is not
26:01worshipped, loved and feared?
26:03It's got to start with me.
26:04It's got to start in us, in self.
26:06Self is the first sphere of influence
26:09that you and I have.
26:10It's over ourselves.
26:12We cannot let anything harm this state
26:18that we are in.
26:19The state of creating a culture in which
26:21God has worshipped, loved and feared.
26:23We cannot let any harm come to that.
26:25We cannot let bitterness spring up in
26:27us.
26:27We cannot let unforgiveness bring up in
26:29us.
26:29We can't let hatred spring up in us.
26:32We have to guard in us anything that
26:34would push us away from creating this
26:36culture in which God has worshipped,
26:38loved and feared.
26:38It has to start with the individual
26:40first.
26:42What is the next sphere of influence
26:44that you and I have?
26:45Our families.
26:47Our families is the next sphere of
26:48influence that you and I have.
26:50William Curter said,
26:51Christian homes draw people to
26:53Christ, both the children that God
26:56may bring into the family and those
26:57outside the church who witness a love
27:00that is committed, sacrificial and
27:02selfless, dependent moment by moment
27:05upon Jesus as Lord.
27:07So when someone walks into your house
27:09or someone walks into my house, what
27:11is the atmosphere they sense there?
27:13Do they sense attention?
27:15Hostility?
27:17Do they sense peace?
27:19What's the atmosphere they sense?
27:22Do all the people in my household, in my
27:24family, do they feel safe?
27:27Do they feel loved and honored and
27:29cherished as God intended us to treat
27:31one another?
27:34Parents with children still in the home,
27:37are we fulfilling God's calling to us as
27:39parents?
27:40Are we obeying his word that he's given
27:43to us for raising our children?
27:44Listen, God speaks often about raising
27:46children.
27:47We don't have to run to a bunch of
27:48books to find answers.
27:49He gives us answers here.
27:51But are we taking his word and living in
27:53obedience to him because obedience is an
27:56act of worship?
27:58One of the first references that is in the
28:00book of Deuteronomy here, Deuteronomy
28:02chapter six, this idea.
28:04You shall love the Lord your God with all
28:06of your heart and with all of your soul and
28:08with all of your might.
28:10And these words that I command you today
28:12shall be on your heart, not just on your
28:14lips, but on your heart, internally on
28:18your heart.
28:19You shall teach them diligently to your
28:21children.
28:22Teach these things, the words that he has
28:25commanded us.
28:26Teach your children about them, he says,
28:28diligently and it shall talk of them when
28:30you sit in your house and when you walk by
28:33the way and when you lie down and when you
28:34rise, every faucet of our life is embracing
28:38this idea of telling our children what God
28:41has said.
28:42You shall bind them as a sign on your
28:44hand and there shall be as frontlets
28:45between your eyes.
28:46You shall write them on the doorposts of
28:48your house and on your gates.
28:50So in our families, are we cultivating an
28:53environment in which God has worshipped,
28:55loved and feared?
28:56That is the second area of influence that
28:57we have, sphere of influence.
28:59The third sphere of influence that you and I
29:02have is our workplace, where we work at,
29:06our employment.
29:09Chuck Colson wrote in Breakpoint,
29:11the Reformation struck at society's dualistic
29:15view of work.
29:16Just as they saw the church comprised of all
29:18the people of God, not just the clergy, so the
29:21reformers saw all work, sacred and secular,
29:24intellectual and manual, as a way of serving
29:26God.
29:27Work was service.
29:29Work embraced as a calling expressed the
29:31glory of God and it's part of very literally
29:34following Jesus through our work.
29:36God provides for us and for our families
29:38contributes to the common good and also
29:40gives us a sense of fulfillment and
29:42satisfaction.
29:43He has given us work as a way to fulfill his
29:46mandate to us as humans to take dominion over
29:49the world.
29:50He has created as we work.
29:52We extend God's reign and influence as his
29:55agents or stewards.
29:56Our workplaces must be cultivated to create an
30:02environment in which God has worshipped, loved and
30:04served.
30:05And you say, but I'm not the boss at work.
30:07I don't control the policies.
30:09I understand that.
30:10But what are we doing as individuals within our
30:13workplace to further this idea of creating a
30:16culture in which God has worshipped, loved and
30:20feared?
30:21So by your actions, by your attitudes, by your
30:24very presence, are you cultivating a workplace in
30:28which God has worshipped, loved and feared?
30:30Third, our third sphere of influence.
30:34The fourth sphere of influence is this that you and
30:36I contact with and you have contact because you're here
30:38today.
30:39And that is the church.
30:41The church.
30:43The church is the body of Christ.
30:45It's God witness to a lost and dying world.
30:48We are the ones who are to take the gospel message to the
30:51people who are dead in their trespasses and sins so they
30:53can be made alive in Christ together with us.
30:56It is our job to do that.
30:57That's what we were supposed to do.
30:58That is plan A in this world.
31:02There is no plan B.
31:06There is no plan B.
31:08Plan A is God's plan.
31:10That's we as a church take the, his word to this lost and
31:14dying world.
31:15But it's more than that.
31:17It's more than that.
31:18That's what we're supposed to do.
31:20No, undoubtedly.
31:21But when someone walks through that door, what do they feel?
31:25What do they sense?
31:26Do they sense love, acceptance, a welcoming, an enjoyment of
31:32being around each other, which I'm describing you by the way, or
31:36do they sense, Oh, who is this new person?
31:38And they person sits all by themselves and no one ever talks
31:41to them.
31:41What did they sense when they walk into a church?
31:43It's supposed to be cultivating a culture in which God has worshiped, loved, and feared.
31:48But when they walk in, that's not what they sense.
31:51It is our job to create this culture.
31:54And the leader's responsibility in a church is to create an environment in which each member
31:59can reach their God-given potential.
32:01Each member then yields himself to Christ to be obedient to his word.
32:05And the church is a place where the kingdom of God is expressed to the world.
32:08They don't understand what it means to forgive.
32:12They don't understand what it means not to be bitter, not to complain.
32:15They don't understand what it means to be thankful or grateful.
32:18They don't get it.
32:19They cannot get it.
32:21They're blind to the truth.
32:23But when they walk in here, do they sense it from us?
32:29Each member fulfilling God's calling for them, exercising spiritual gifts, bringing the
32:33body to maturity through obedience.
32:35And again, obedience is an act of worship.
32:39So we had self we need to start with.
32:41And then we have our family as a sphere of influence.
32:43And then we have our workplace as a sphere of influence.
32:45And then we have the church as a sphere of influence.
32:47There are probably more I could have added, but I'm just going to add a fifth sphere of
32:51influence where you and I as believers, because the unbeliever is not going to do it.
32:56You and I as believers are going to create a culture in which God is worshiped, loved, and feared.
33:01And that sphere of influence is our nation, our nation.
33:08What governments don't understand around the world is that they are actually servants of God.
33:13That's in Romans chapter 13, verse four and six, twice it's mentioned that governments,
33:18whatever form of government is, they are servants of God.
33:20Their job is to serve God, to yield to him.
33:25Their job is to create a culture in which God is worshiped, loved, and feared.
33:30And I cannot think of a government on the face of this earth that's actually doing that right now.
33:35There may be that I'm not aware of.
33:38Now, a government is better than no government.
33:41Anarchy is always the worst thing.
33:42A government is better than anarchy.
33:44But I can't think of any government right now that's trying to create a culture in which God is
33:48worshiped, loved, and feared.
33:50It's not happening.
33:52Each government derives their authority from God who has all authority and delegates to whomever he will,
33:59this authority.
34:01And each government now is responsible to submit themselves to God, to worship, to love, to fear him.
34:06And when a government fails to do that, it is in violation of God's expressed will.
34:13God brought governments.
34:14He established governments.
34:16Genesis chapter nine.
34:17He established governments and governments serve a purpose.
34:21And the purpose of a good government would be to further the cultural mandate on the face of their land,
34:27their nation.
34:28That's a good government.
34:31They're to promote good and they're to punish evil.
34:35They're to work and guard.
34:38Work and guard.
34:40Serve and guard.
34:43So how, how do we influence our government so that they would create a culture in which God is worshiped,
34:53loved, and feared?
34:55Well, first thing I can tell you is get involved in local government.
34:59A non-believer is never going to do it.
35:02If you want to see our nation turn back, then we need to be involved in local government where you
35:07and I know what our mandate is to create a nation in which God is worshiped, loved, and feared.
35:12We need to be involved in local government.
35:16Pray, vote, serve, support those who are actually doing it.
35:24Be involved in the city council.
35:26If you're not on the city council and there's no positions open, come to the city council meeting, find out
35:30what's happening in your city.
35:33Join the school board, get elected to the school board, or go to the school board meetings to find out
35:37what's going on in our school district.
35:40Run for mayor.
35:45If we want to see this nation change, we're going to have to be involved in it.
35:50We cannot expect non-believers to do it.
35:52They cannot create a culture like that, but we can.
35:56We need to be involved.
35:59Then he moves on.
36:01And he, in verse 16, uses the word command, which is the first time the word is used in the
36:06Bible.
36:07God commanded the man.
36:08First time the word command is used in the Bible.
36:12He had given, God had given the natural world and all life forms boundaries.
36:15He also gives a boundary for Adam and Eve.
36:18And the boundary for Adam was just one tree.
36:21The only trial to which his loyal obedience could be exposed was just one tree.
36:26He may eat of all the other trees,
36:28but the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is not allowed to eat from it.
36:33He was tested to see if he would obey.
36:37A ruler can only rule others if he can rule himself.
36:45That was necessary for Adam to be tested.
36:47Could he rule himself?
36:50But this tree, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,
36:52what is this idea of the knowledge of good and evil?
36:56There's a whole lot to it.
36:57We don't have time to unpack it.
36:58It'd be hours probably.
36:59You can read theological books about it.
37:00But what is it talking about?
37:03Basically, it'll boil down to the knowledge of good and evil.
37:07It has the idea of human ethical autonomy.
37:12That we are now autonomous of God.
37:14We get to make our own ethics.
37:16We get to make our own morals.
37:18We are not responsible to adhere to God's ethics, his morals.
37:24Deciding what is right without reference to God's express will.
37:27That's the idea of knowing the knowledge of good and evil.
37:32God has never delegated ethical autonomy to anyone.
37:37He sets the ethics.
37:39He doesn't let us choose what ethics we should obey or not obey.
37:43He sets the ethics for us.
37:48He said, if you eat of this tree and the day that you eat of it,
37:53you shall surely die.
37:56And you say, that's really harsh.
37:58Just one tree, that's really harsh.
38:00And then, of course, we know they take them and kick them out of the garden.
38:03They're exiled out of the garden after that.
38:07Why are they exiled out of the garden?
38:09They're exiled out of the garden because in that state of fallenness,
38:12if they ate from the tree of life, they would stay in that state forever.
38:18See, kicking them out of the garden was an act of God's restraining grace.
38:22It was a good thing for them to leave the garden.
38:28Obedience to the commands of God results in life and blessing,
38:31and it is an act of worship.
38:34So, the danger, the danger for us is this.
38:39It's not cultivating God's creation wisely.
38:43In the spheres of influence of self or family or work or church or nation,
38:48we're not using wisely what God has instructed us to do.
38:55So, instead of honoring God and worshiping him in a tabernacle-like place,
39:03the tabernacle that mankind has erected is a tabernacle to his own honor,
39:09Tower of Babel, not to God's.
39:13God has prescribed for us all things that pertain to life and godliness,
39:17and this includes what he commands or prohibits us from doing.
39:22See, I don't like it when he tells me I can't do this.
39:25He's going to ruin my fun.
39:26I mean, it's not what the serpent's plea to Eve was,
39:29that God is holding back fun from you, holding back something from you.
39:34See, we can look at God's prohibitions to us like the world does and cry,
39:39oh God, you're ruining my fun.
39:41This isn't good.
39:42Think selfishness, by the way, when I say fun.
39:45Think selfishness, okay?
39:47And you're trying to keep something from us, God.
39:48We could look at the prohibitions of God like the world does.
39:51We could.
39:53Or we could see them as acts of restraining grace in our lives
39:59because he knows what is best and he loves us with a perfect love.
40:04He perfectly loves us.
40:06Think about that for a second.
40:09God is 100% perfect in everything he does.
40:13How can he not love you otherwise?
40:15He loves you with a perfect love.
40:20He knows what's best.
40:22So when he prohibits or commands, it's for our good.
40:25And by our obedience to God's commands, we demonstrate our loyalty to him,
40:30creating in our own spheres of influence, God's desire for us to work and tend his creation.
40:38Remember, our obedience is an act of worship.
40:42Let's pray.
40:43Father, we thank you for the directive given to the man and woman in this garden that you have made
40:50for them.
40:51A tabernacle-like garden where your very presence is there.
40:56Your very essence is there.
40:58And we thank you that you walked with them in the garden.
41:01Your very presence was there.
41:03And it was like a place where they offered up sacrifices to you through their obedience.
41:08And I thank you, Father, for your faithfulness, your faithfulness to us.
41:13And I pray that you would strengthen us to carry out this cultural mandate in our world
41:18so that we can see both in self, both in our families, and also in our workplaces or in the
41:24church or in our nation.
41:25We can see a culture that has been created that worships you and loves you and fears you, reverences you.
41:34Oh, Father, let it begin first in us and let it spread out to all the spheres of influence that
41:40you have placed us in
41:42so that we can see this mandate carried out in our own world.
41:47Oh, Father, we desire a place where you are worshipped, loved, and feared.
41:55And we want to create a culture that will do just that.
41:59Oh, God, use us in this world to do just that.
42:05We pray in Jesus' name.
42:07Amen.
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