Separated from Him
Scripture Reading: Genesis 3:8-24
8 And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and
Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of
the garden.
9 Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?”
10 So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I
hid myself.”
11 And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I
commanded you that you should not eat?”
12 Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree,
and I ate.”
13 And the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”
The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
14 So the LORD God said to the serpent:
“ Because you have done this,
You are cursed more than all cattle,
And more than every beast of the field;
On your belly you shall go,
And you shall eat dust
All the days of your life.
15 And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her Seed;
He shall bruise your head,
And you shall bruise His heel.”
16 To the woman He said:
“I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception;
In pain you shall bring forth children;
Your desire shall be for your husband,
And he shall rule over you.”
17 Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten
from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’:
“ Cursed is the ground for your sake;
In toil you shall eat of it
All the days of your life.
18 Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you,
And you shall eat the herb of the field.
19 In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread
Till you return to the ground,
For out of it you were taken;
For dust you are,
And to dust you shall return.”
20 And Adam called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.
21 Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.
22 Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and
evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live
forever”— 23 therefore the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground
from which he was taken. 24 So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east
of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the
tree of life.
Today we are continuing with the series we've been working on for the last few
weeks; the words Yeshua spoke from the cross. Our scripture reading today
seems pretty far from the cross but it's really much closer than it may seem. It
begins with the LORD Yahweh walking in the garden in the cool of the day and look
at what happens. Adam and his wife hide from the presence of God. I think that's
the first thing that sin does in our lives. Most people think of God rejecting them
because they have sinned, when in actuality the first that happens in this account
is not that God rejects man but rather man rejecting God; choosing to hide from the
presence God. You can see that happen with believers today. So many times
you'll see people who are regulars in a fellowship of believers, that will just stop
coming. Usually, it's because they've fallen into some sort of sin and somehow feel
unworthy to be in God's presence, which becomes counterproductive. The more
you stay away from fellowship the more likely you are to sin, and the more you sin
the more you stay away from fellowship. It's kind of the catch 22 of sin.
We move directly into the blame game. Adam pretty much blames Eve and God
buy telling God that it was the woman He put there that caused him to sin. Then
Eve explains that it really isn't her fault because she was deceived by the serpent.
There's always a reason for our sin; an excuse for it. How many times do you hear
of parents blaming their children's friends for their bad behavior. Adults tend to
blame circumstances like the economy for things like cheating on their taxes or
underhanded dealing in business. I can remember doing things like switching tags
on things at the store, which is most definitely stealing but rationalize it with things
like - Oh, the store is so rich they won't even miss it! How about when the clerk at
the store gives you an extra ten dollar bill? People always find a reason. Things
really haven't changed much from the garden.
So, God runs down all the consequence for the three; the serpent, the woman and
the man. Things changed drastically for all three that day. It was not going to be
pretty. But verse 21, I believe, puts the character of God into perspective. While
man's first reaction was to hide from God because of his nakedness, look at what
God does. He makes a way to cover their nakedness. He provides the way by
making clothes of animal skins. Hence we have our first blood sacrifice, because
I'm sure you're aware that there has to be blood to remove an animals skin. But
you see that God doesn't kill the animal because He's mean and wants to see the
animal dead. It happens because man's nakedness needs to be covered. You
see sin causes problems for the one who sins, but it also causes problems for
those who don't. I'm sure the animal who was slain, in God's economy it was likely
a lamb. I'm sure that animal was like - what did I do? Hey, I didn't have any fruit!
I've heard people ask the question - If there is a God, why is there so much pain
and suffering in the world and the answer is simple, because of the sin of man.
When a man gets drunk and drives, getting into an accident that takes the life of a
young mother, that woman's children, her husband, her parents and friends all
suffer but not because they committed the sin. When two teenagers decide to play
grown up in the backseat of a car, the child that comes from that casual union will
have done nothing wrong yet it will have grow up dealing with many negatives their
parent's choices may have caused. How many children have had to grow up with
out a father or with parents who have to work dead end jobs because of bad
choices? Sin is not discriminating; it doesn't play favorites. It will destroy anything.
Exodus 34:6-7 - 6 And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the
LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, 7
keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means
clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s
children to the third and the fourth generation.”
This verse may seem contradictory but it isn't. At first glance you see that Yahweh
is merciful and gracious, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. Then in the
same sentence it says by no means clearing the guilty. How can it say He is
forgiving yet will not clear the guilty? That does sound odd, doesn't it? But it's
perfectly rational when you analyze what is being said. Let's look at an example.
Let's say a thief steals someones car and gets caught by the police. The victim
can end up forgiving the person for what they've done but the thief will still suffer
the legal consequences of his guilt. The forgiveness and the guilt are independent
of one another. Just as in the garden, God provided the covering for their sin; their
nakedness. However, they still had to deal with the consequences of that sin.
We just celebrated the feast of unleavened bread the day after Passover. Before
the feast began, we went through the entire house getting rid of all the leaven. All
the bread, the crackers, stuffing, anything with yeast or any other leavening agent.
Exodus 12:14-15
14 ‘So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD
throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance. 15
Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven from
your houses. For whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that
person shall be cut off from Israel.
Why? Because the leaven is to represent sin. God gave us His feasts to teach us
just as Yeshua taught with parables. It's much easier to teach lessons that will be
remembered when examples are given. Yahweh told us to keep these feasts as an
everlasting ordinance because repitition, practice, is a very effective teaching
method. So, we went all through the house getting rid of the leaven but guess
what? Before the feast was over we found a few things that were overlooked for
one reason or another. A small package of cupcakes in the pantry, a mostly eaten
bag of Ritz crisps in the cabinet, and believe it or not one lone hot dog bun was
hiding in the bread box; in the bread box no less! I have no idea how we missed
that one. Anyway, the point is that we were REALLY trying to get the leaven out,
We had made a point of getting the leaven out. Yet, we still missed some. It's the
same way with sin. You can really want to get rid of sin. You can be really trying
hard, and still it will be there. It's much easier to keep sin out of your life if you
never let it in to begin with. I believe this is one of the things the Father wants us to
learn by observing this feast.
1 Corinthians 5:6-8
6 Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7
Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are
unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. 8 Therefore let us keep
the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the
unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
Paul tells us that a little leaven leavens the whole lump. We have to get rid of the
sin because sin is like a cancer. It may start small but if not eradicated it will
completely take over. Sin breeds more sin and spreads like an infectious disease.
Have done something like tell a lie and then that make you tell several other to
keep the first one from being found out? That's they way it works with sin. When
you start getting comfortable with sinning, even what you'd call a little bit, you better
watch out. That's how it happened with me. It started out with little things as a
teenager but by the time I'd come to faith in Messiah, I had done so many things I
would have sworn I'd never do.
1 Corinthians 15:33-34
33 Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.” 34 Awake to righteousness,
and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame.
It is very easy to get deceived into thinking you can handle the sin that you're into,
but what will end up happening is that sin will handle you. Just like a little pinch of
leaven will make a big hunk of dough leavened, so a little bit of sin will do the same
to us.
Jamies 1:14-16
14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then,
when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth
death.
16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.
Selfish desires lead to sin and then sin leads to death. James also tells us not to
be deceived. Do you wonder why we keep being told not to be deceived? Do you
think it could be beause it is human nature to be deceived by this. Maybe that's
why the want to warn us. Even Yeshua on the cross gives us a warning. Mark 15:
34 - And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eloi, Eloi, lama
sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” Jesus
was in agony. Why? Because sin separates us from God, and though He had
never sined, He now had the sin of the world placed on Him. Just on a side note I
found out a little something this week that I'd like to share. There were three daily
sacrifices at the temple in Jerusalem. The morning sacrifice was at the third hour,
which is when Yeshua was put on the cross (Mark 15:25). Then there was the
sacrifice in the afternoon at the ninth hour, and this is when Jesus died on the
cross. And the final sacrifice was at evening, which is when He was placed in the
tomb.
Isaiah 59:2-3
2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God;
And your sins have hidden His face from you,
So that He will not hear.
3 For your hands are defiled with blood,
And your fingers with iniquity;
Your lips have spoken lies,
Your tongue has muttered perversity.
Sin will separate us from God. That in itself is the true punishment. As Jesus was
just moments from death He used His words to remind us of the true agony that
comes from our sin. Even with Him who knew no sin, the weight of sin was
unbearable.
2 Corinthians 5:17-21
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away;
behold, all things have become new. 18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to
Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 that is, that
God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them,
and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we
implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. 21 For He made Him who knew no sin
to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Praise be to God! He has made us a new creation. No more are we to be filled
with the old leaven of sin but not we are to be filled with the unleaven of His
righteousness. No more are we to accept the sin of the world and say - But
everyone is doing it - or - It's no big deal! It is a big deal because now we know
that those things will cause us to hide from God and create guilt that still has
consequences. Let us learn to recognize when that little bit of leaven comes in so
we can get rid of it before it leavens the whole lump; before it causes more sin
within us.
Sermon by: Denise Baxley
Date: April 15, 2007
Scripture Reading: Genesis 3:8-24
8 And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and
Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of
the garden.
9 Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?”
10 So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I
hid myself.”
11 And He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I
commanded you that you should not eat?”
12 Then the man said, “The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree,
and I ate.”
13 And the LORD God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?”
The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
14 So the LORD God said to the serpent:
“ Because you have done this,
You are cursed more than all cattle,
And more than every beast of the field;
On your belly you shall go,
And you shall eat dust
All the days of your life.
15 And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her Seed;
He shall bruise your head,
And you shall bruise His heel.”
16 To the woman He said:
“I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception;
In pain you shall bring forth children;
Your desire shall be for your husband,
And he shall rule over you.”
17 Then to Adam He said, “Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten
from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it’:
“ Cursed is the ground for your sake;
In toil you shall eat of it
All the days of your life.
18 Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you,
And you shall eat the herb of the field.
19 In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread
Till you return to the ground,
For out of it you were taken;
For dust you are,
And to dust you shall return.”
20 And Adam called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.
21 Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.
22 Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and
evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live
forever”— 23 therefore the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground
from which he was taken. 24 So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east
of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the
tree of life.
Today we are continuing with the series we've been working on for the last few
weeks; the words Yeshua spoke from the cross. Our scripture reading today
seems pretty far from the cross but it's really much closer than it may seem. It
begins with the LORD Yahweh walking in the garden in the cool of the day and look
at what happens. Adam and his wife hide from the presence of God. I think that's
the first thing that sin does in our lives. Most people think of God rejecting them
because they have sinned, when in actuality the first that happens in this account
is not that God rejects man but rather man rejecting God; choosing to hide from the
presence God. You can see that happen with believers today. So many times
you'll see people who are regulars in a fellowship of believers, that will just stop
coming. Usually, it's because they've fallen into some sort of sin and somehow feel
unworthy to be in God's presence, which becomes counterproductive. The more
you stay away from fellowship the more likely you are to sin, and the more you sin
the more you stay away from fellowship. It's kind of the catch 22 of sin.
We move directly into the blame game. Adam pretty much blames Eve and God
buy telling God that it was the woman He put there that caused him to sin. Then
Eve explains that it really isn't her fault because she was deceived by the serpent.
There's always a reason for our sin; an excuse for it. How many times do you hear
of parents blaming their children's friends for their bad behavior. Adults tend to
blame circumstances like the economy for things like cheating on their taxes or
underhanded dealing in business. I can remember doing things like switching tags
on things at the store, which is most definitely stealing but rationalize it with things
like - Oh, the store is so rich they won't even miss it! How about when the clerk at
the store gives you an extra ten dollar bill? People always find a reason. Things
really haven't changed much from the garden.
So, God runs down all the consequence for the three; the serpent, the woman and
the man. Things changed drastically for all three that day. It was not going to be
pretty. But verse 21, I believe, puts the character of God into perspective. While
man's first reaction was to hide from God because of his nakedness, look at what
God does. He makes a way to cover their nakedness. He provides the way by
making clothes of animal skins. Hence we have our first blood sacrifice, because
I'm sure you're aware that there has to be blood to remove an animals skin. But
you see that God doesn't kill the animal because He's mean and wants to see the
animal dead. It happens because man's nakedness needs to be covered. You
see sin causes problems for the one who sins, but it also causes problems for
those who don't. I'm sure the animal who was slain, in God's economy it was likely
a lamb. I'm sure that animal was like - what did I do? Hey, I didn't have any fruit!
I've heard people ask the question - If there is a God, why is there so much pain
and suffering in the world and the answer is simple, because of the sin of man.
When a man gets drunk and drives, getting into an accident that takes the life of a
young mother, that woman's children, her husband, her parents and friends all
suffer but not because they committed the sin. When two teenagers decide to play
grown up in the backseat of a car, the child that comes from that casual union will
have done nothing wrong yet it will have grow up dealing with many negatives their
parent's choices may have caused. How many children have had to grow up with
out a father or with parents who have to work dead end jobs because of bad
choices? Sin is not discriminating; it doesn't play favorites. It will destroy anything.
Exodus 34:6-7 - 6 And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the
LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, 7
keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means
clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s
children to the third and the fourth generation.”
This verse may seem contradictory but it isn't. At first glance you see that Yahweh
is merciful and gracious, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. Then in the
same sentence it says by no means clearing the guilty. How can it say He is
forgiving yet will not clear the guilty? That does sound odd, doesn't it? But it's
perfectly rational when you analyze what is being said. Let's look at an example.
Let's say a thief steals someones car and gets caught by the police. The victim
can end up forgiving the person for what they've done but the thief will still suffer
the legal consequences of his guilt. The forgiveness and the guilt are independent
of one another. Just as in the garden, God provided the covering for their sin; their
nakedness. However, they still had to deal with the consequences of that sin.
We just celebrated the feast of unleavened bread the day after Passover. Before
the feast began, we went through the entire house getting rid of all the leaven. All
the bread, the crackers, stuffing, anything with yeast or any other leavening agent.
Exodus 12:14-15
14 ‘So this day shall be to you a memorial; and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD
throughout your generations. You shall keep it as a feast by an everlasting ordinance. 15
Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven from
your houses. For whoever eats leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that
person shall be cut off from Israel.
Why? Because the leaven is to represent sin. God gave us His feasts to teach us
just as Yeshua taught with parables. It's much easier to teach lessons that will be
remembered when examples are given. Yahweh told us to keep these feasts as an
everlasting ordinance because repitition, practice, is a very effective teaching
method. So, we went all through the house getting rid of the leaven but guess
what? Before the feast was over we found a few things that were overlooked for
one reason or another. A small package of cupcakes in the pantry, a mostly eaten
bag of Ritz crisps in the cabinet, and believe it or not one lone hot dog bun was
hiding in the bread box; in the bread box no less! I have no idea how we missed
that one. Anyway, the point is that we were REALLY trying to get the leaven out,
We had made a point of getting the leaven out. Yet, we still missed some. It's the
same way with sin. You can really want to get rid of sin. You can be really trying
hard, and still it will be there. It's much easier to keep sin out of your life if you
never let it in to begin with. I believe this is one of the things the Father wants us to
learn by observing this feast.
1 Corinthians 5:6-8
6 Your glorying is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7
Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are
unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. 8 Therefore let us keep
the feast, not with old leaven, nor with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the
unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
Paul tells us that a little leaven leavens the whole lump. We have to get rid of the
sin because sin is like a cancer. It may start small but if not eradicated it will
completely take over. Sin breeds more sin and spreads like an infectious disease.
Have done something like tell a lie and then that make you tell several other to
keep the first one from being found out? That's they way it works with sin. When
you start getting comfortable with sinning, even what you'd call a little bit, you better
watch out. That's how it happened with me. It started out with little things as a
teenager but by the time I'd come to faith in Messiah, I had done so many things I
would have sworn I'd never do.
1 Corinthians 15:33-34
33 Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.” 34 Awake to righteousness,
and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame.
It is very easy to get deceived into thinking you can handle the sin that you're into,
but what will end up happening is that sin will handle you. Just like a little pinch of
leaven will make a big hunk of dough leavened, so a little bit of sin will do the same
to us.
Jamies 1:14-16
14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then,
when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth
death.
16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.
Selfish desires lead to sin and then sin leads to death. James also tells us not to
be deceived. Do you wonder why we keep being told not to be deceived? Do you
think it could be beause it is human nature to be deceived by this. Maybe that's
why the want to warn us. Even Yeshua on the cross gives us a warning. Mark 15:
34 - And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eloi, Eloi, lama
sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” Jesus
was in agony. Why? Because sin separates us from God, and though He had
never sined, He now had the sin of the world placed on Him. Just on a side note I
found out a little something this week that I'd like to share. There were three daily
sacrifices at the temple in Jerusalem. The morning sacrifice was at the third hour,
which is when Yeshua was put on the cross (Mark 15:25). Then there was the
sacrifice in the afternoon at the ninth hour, and this is when Jesus died on the
cross. And the final sacrifice was at evening, which is when He was placed in the
tomb.
Isaiah 59:2-3
2 But your iniquities have separated you from your God;
And your sins have hidden His face from you,
So that He will not hear.
3 For your hands are defiled with blood,
And your fingers with iniquity;
Your lips have spoken lies,
Your tongue has muttered perversity.
Sin will separate us from God. That in itself is the true punishment. As Jesus was
just moments from death He used His words to remind us of the true agony that
comes from our sin. Even with Him who knew no sin, the weight of sin was
unbearable.
2 Corinthians 5:17-21
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away;
behold, all things have become new. 18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to
Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 that is, that
God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them,
and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.
20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we
implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. 21 For He made Him who knew no sin
to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Praise be to God! He has made us a new creation. No more are we to be filled
with the old leaven of sin but not we are to be filled with the unleaven of His
righteousness. No more are we to accept the sin of the world and say - But
everyone is doing it - or - It's no big deal! It is a big deal because now we know
that those things will cause us to hide from God and create guilt that still has
consequences. Let us learn to recognize when that little bit of leaven comes in so
we can get rid of it before it leavens the whole lump; before it causes more sin
within us.
Sermon by: Denise Baxley
Date: April 15, 2007
