Praise the Lord, everyone.
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Welcome to
Imperative Life Lessons.
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I'm Pastor Ryan
Johnson. I drive a compact car,
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which is funny because
I'm 6'4", and though I have to
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origami myself into the vehicle,
it's great with gasoline
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mileage, so I
love my little vehicle.
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One thing, however, sometimes
when I disconnect my phone
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from calls, the satellite radio
comes on and tries to sell me
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a subscription. Now,
often I am so busy between calls
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that I don't bother to
switch it off and that's how
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from conversation to
conversation, I'm inundated
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with snippets of appeals
for me to buy satellite radio.
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And then intermittently,
they'll toss in a classic song
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to wet my appetite.
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Now, I'll only hear the
first few bars because zoom,
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I'm off to another phone call
and eventually, I'll get annoyed
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and I'll take the time
to click the radio off.
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One day after
hours of advertisement,
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I reach this point of
frustration, and I leaned
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forward to turn off the
pesky radio but, just then,
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the first few bars of a song
began to play the low rhythmic
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thrum of a lead guitar, no,
this was not a hymn from church,
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this was rock and roll.
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So maybe I should have hastened
to power down the device
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but then the lyrics hit,
rising up back on the street,
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huh, did my time, took my
chances, went the distance,
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now I'm back on my feet, just
a man and his will to survive.
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It's the eye of the
tiger, I got caught up...
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Do you know that song?
It's from a famous 1980s film
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about a boxer who beats
the odds by the might of his
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willpower and training.
The underdog pulls himself up
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by his own bootstraps
and emerges victorious.
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So this song just like
the film, it's very popular,
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its popular. You
want to know why?
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Because people love a story
like that, we love stories of
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self-perseverance and stick-to-
itness of how, thanks to one's
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amazing inner strength, he
was able to rise to the top.
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She was able to be the best,
the message being that if you
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work hard enough, long enough,
smart enough, you can make it.
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And you know, there is some
good old fashioned solid advice
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in that and almost every
culture has a similar ethos
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reach within
yourself, work hard, overcome.
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Which is why so many Christians
struggle with the concept
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of righteousness by faith.
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I know, that was quite a change
of direction, but hear me out.
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When it comes to our salvation,
it's not our own inner strength,
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it's not our own
works but God's strength,
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God working in us
by grace through faith.
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That can seem very backward
to the way we are programmed
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in our society, even the laziest
among us enjoy being able
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to say, look, I did that.
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But as far as salvation
goes, that is not the way.
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Let's look at some
Biblical examples and be saved
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by grace through faith.
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Father in
heaven, you do the work
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that preacher said to me
one time righteousness by faith
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is being saved and believe
me, you have done that work.
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Save us, Lord, in Thy
name we pray. Amen and Amen.
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The earth was in its
original state, not the dark and
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formless mess spoken
of in Genesis chapter one
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verses one and two.
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But the state that God intended
for it, a state so perfect
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that God Himself
looks at His earth and says,
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yeah, that's good.
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And of course it was.
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God is good, His work is good.
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Have you ever considered
how in the very beginning
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when the world was
indeed dark and misshapen,
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God was able to see
beyond what it was and toward
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what it could be? Is He
not the same way with us?
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Though our lives be dark
and shapeless, God looks,
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He moves, and He appreciates
what we can be by His grace.
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But yes, the earth was good and
glorious, in its Godly grandeur
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Clear springs gurgled, animals
in harmony with each other
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made their dens and nests.
The skies were ever clear,
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a mist covered the
earth at dawn, singing birds,
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dancing butterflies,
most importantly to us,
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God had said in Genesis
chapter one and verse 26...
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Can you imagine what
perfect people look like?
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Neither can I.
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But we've never seen
true physical perfection,
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every angle and joint
ratio a testimony to the beauty
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of their creator. Yet beyond
the physical beauty of this
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first couple, consider
their spiritual beauty.
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They were not only without sin
but also without the tendency
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towards sin.
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They were upright, not
stooped or marred in character
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they carried not the
baggage of sinful parents
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for God was their Father,
they were Godly, they were holy.
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But here's a term, they
were righteous, yes, they were.
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Righteous, righteous,
what exactly does that mean?
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We talk about it all
the time righteous this and
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righteous that. You know
the Hebrew word for it is
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Tzaddiq, and it is by
definition a state of Godliness,
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ethical rightness,
truthfulness, justice,
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for more on these meanings,
a young lady named Lisa Marsh,
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gave an amazing talk,
you should check her out.
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So, how did they
acquire this Godliness?
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Were they deserving
of it? Did they earn it?
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Was it because they've
been formed from righteous dirt?
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No, it was a gift.
It was a consequence
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of their being created in
the image of a righteous God.
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The first man, Adam, contributed
nothing to his on formation.
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He wasn't firstly created from
the waist up, after which he
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sat forward and took over
and fashioned his own legs
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and feet. The first woman,
Eve did not choose the rib from
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her husband, which God then
would incorporate into her form.
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Rather, the Bible states in
Genesis chapter 2 and verse 7
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And the Lord God formed
man from the dust of the of the
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and breathed into his
nostrils the breath of life
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and man became a living soul.
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The characteristics of our
righteous God were given to them
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by God, they
couldn't have worked for it,
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they didn't earn it.
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Now, read what the Bible states
about this first perfect couple
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in Genesis chapter two
and verse 25, it says...
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Many times, we focus
on the nudity implied here
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but while no, they
weren't wearing any garments
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made of hands anyway, it's more
fascinating that they were not
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ashamed. They felt no
shame. The Hebrew word here is
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pronounced bosh, and here
are some synonyms for that.
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They were not dejected;
they were not disappointed,
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they were not anxious,
they were not confounded,
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but look at this use of shame.
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Bosh, which can be
found in Psalms chapter 34,
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verses 4 and 5, and it shows
up in the New International
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Version. I'm going to read
from there, look, it says...
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I sought the Lord, and He
answered me, he delivered me
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from all my fears, verse
five. Those who look to Him are
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radiant; their faces are
never bosh, covered with shame.
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Adam and Eve were not covered
with shame, they were radiant.
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In Exodus 34 verse 35 it says
that after communicating with
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God, Moses' face was shining,
it was radiant, so Adam and Eve
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may have worn no fabric
but they also wore no shame,
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they were radiant.
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This is a consequence of being
righteous by the hand of God
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naked, but not only
because they wore no clothes
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naked because they wore no
shame, they were comfortable
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as they were in the
presence of the Lord.
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I was talking to my dad and
he reminded me of how my son
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Carson used to run around
the house without clothes on
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when he was a toddler,
he couldn't see the need
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for clothing because he
was comfortable as he was
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in the presence of his father.
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The same applied to Adam
and Eve, they had no shame,
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they were righteous.
You know righteousness is a
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spiritual form of clothing,
it is. Look what is says
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in Psalm 132, verse
nine. It says...Look at this...
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So, to have been perfect
and naked meant to be without
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shameful covering
yet having radiance and a
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righteous covering.
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Okay, back to Genesis,
but now Genesis chapter three,
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now I'm going to begin
in verse three. It says...
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God had commanded the couple
to stay away from the fruit
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of a specific tree. This tree
that they called the Knowledge
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of Good and Evil, it
makes sense they'd known good
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for they'd been made
good but if they'd disobeyed
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God and ate of this tree
they would also know evil.
00:12:24.31\00:12:27.68
Now, according to the
text both Adam and Eve
00:12:27.71\00:12:31.78
disobeyed God and ate
of the tree and the effect
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was immediate, it says
that their eyes were opened
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just as the serpent
had promised in verse five.
00:12:42.32\00:12:45.96
But there was another effect,
they knew they were naked.
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Now let's break that
down, the opening of their eyes
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was their new knowledge of evil
and then there is a conjunction
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and they knew from
the Hebrew root "yada,"
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it means known, it was clearly
understood to have acknowledged,
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they detected
that they were naked.
00:13:10.62\00:13:13.92
Something had changed
in their state of being.
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The righteousness and
the radiance were gone
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yet they had put on shame,
shame is a robe, very thick
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and heavy, yet it leaves
the wearer cold and exposed.
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Have you worn the heavy,
itchy but exposed robe of shame?
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When you walk through your
life, do you feel like you are
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naked to everyone? Are
you no longer comfortable
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the way you are before
your father, even though He has
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seen you at your
worst and your best.
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Nobody likes to feel that
way, it's awful to feel that way
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Adam and Eve felt
this way, they were dirty,
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they were dimmed, disgusting,
they were experiencing the
00:14:01.84\00:14:05.14
painful transition from a
Godly nature to a sinful nature
00:14:05.17\00:14:09.98
and you know what?
Something had to be done.
00:14:10.01\00:14:13.15
They needed a solution; they
need a fix, so in verse seven
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it says, they sewed fig leaves
together to cover themselves.
00:14:17.15\00:14:21.96
Now, this may seem like a
simple, even naive attempt to
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cover up much in the way we
shield ourselves with our arms
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if we are accidentally
exposed in public. But remember
00:14:30.83\00:14:34.24
it wasn't just bared
skin and diminished radiance,
00:14:34.27\00:14:39.41
it was the robe of
shame, the loss of belonging,
00:14:39.44\00:14:43.55
the complete
out-thereness of their sin.
00:14:43.58\00:14:47.75
You ever committed a shameful
act, and everybody knew about
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it? This is what they attempted
to cover with the leaves,
00:14:51.99\00:14:56.59
but, where did
the leaves come from?
00:14:56.62\00:15:01.10
Yes, I know the garden,
creation but why the fig leaves?
00:15:01.13\00:15:06.97
Why not? I don't
know, hide in the lake or
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hide behind a rock.
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Or smear on some mud, and the
answer is there in plain sight.
00:15:11.67\00:15:17.05
Look at Genesis chapter two
we're going to read verse 15
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God had given Adam a
job to keep the garden,
00:15:30.09\00:15:34.30
it was his work by
seeking a covering Adam and Eve
00:15:34.33\00:15:41.50
were trying to restore
their righteousness but,
00:15:41.54\00:15:44.44
by choosing the fig leaves,
they sought righteousness
00:15:44.47\00:15:48.44
by their works.
00:15:48.48\00:15:50.58
They were trying to restore
themselves via their efforts,
00:15:50.61\00:15:56.18
via their labors, trying to work
themselves back into restoration
00:15:56.22\00:16:00.16
with God. But it wasn't enough,
when God called, they still hid.
00:16:00.19\00:16:06.93
Our own efforts to
cover our sin are never enough
00:16:06.96\00:16:11.47
we cannot be saved by our works.
00:16:11.50\00:16:13.94
Look what Paul states
in Ephesians chapter two
00:16:13.97\00:16:17.27
and verse eight. It says...
00:16:17.31\00:16:18.87
You can't earn it even if
we worked for eternity friends
00:16:29.98\00:16:35.99
we could not earn our
way back into righteousness,
00:16:36.02\00:16:39.09
righteousness by
works does not work.
00:16:39.13\00:16:44.27
All it does is create a
vicious cycle where we work
00:16:44.30\00:16:49.20
and it isn't enough, and we
work and it still isn't enough,
00:16:49.24\00:16:53.58
it's never enough and then
we despair, and then we give up.
00:16:53.61\00:16:58.78
I imagine when the fig leaves
didn't work, Adam might have
00:16:58.81\00:17:03.85
tried lilies, oh no,
tree bark, then vines,
00:17:03.89\00:17:07.36
with none of his efforts...
Ahh, I'm just talking...
00:17:07.39\00:17:10.73
None of those
would have been enough
00:17:10.76\00:17:13.23
but God did not let it get
that far, He didn't let him fall
00:17:13.26\00:17:19.23
into that cycle, look what God
does in Genesis chapter three
00:17:19.27\00:17:23.20
and verse 21. It says...
00:17:23.24\00:17:25.67
Coats of skins, God made a
sacrifice, God killed a lamb
00:17:25.71\00:17:44.03
to cover them, righteousness
could not be restored by works
00:17:44.06\00:17:50.50
it required a sacrifice.
00:17:50.53\00:17:53.97
A gift through faith in
the Creator who would provide,
00:17:54.00\00:17:58.84
they didn't earn
righteousness in the beginning
00:17:58.87\00:18:02.11
and they
couldn't earn it back now.
00:18:02.14\00:18:04.71
It was a gift before, and
thanks to the sacrifice of Jesus
00:18:04.75\00:18:10.29
it's a gift now, but
this rankles a bit, huh?
00:18:10.32\00:18:15.39
Because we as humans have
an infinity for stories of
00:18:15.42\00:18:20.96
hard work, blood, sweat, tears,
our legends, our history are all
00:18:21.00\00:18:24.87
riddled with tales of effort and
toil we like to beat the odds
00:18:24.90\00:18:29.37
with no help at all, hmm,
the eye of the tiger, huh.
00:18:29.40\00:18:32.74
Think of the story of the 300
soldiers at Thermopylae, huh,
00:18:32.77\00:18:36.24
facing the odds with
courage, think of the legend
00:18:36.28\00:18:39.41
of John Henry, who beat a
steam engine with his might.
00:18:39.45\00:18:42.72
Makta, who leads her Sioux
tribe into battle, we love it,
00:18:42.78\00:18:48.22
we eat it up, but when
it comes to our salvation,
00:18:48.26\00:18:51.89
overcoming our desire to earn
it can be the greatest challenge
00:18:51.93\00:18:57.53
of all, can't earn it.
00:18:57.57\00:19:00.44
But don't be dismayed, friends,
this is actually the best news
00:19:00.47\00:19:05.41
that we could
receive, and here is why.
00:19:05.44\00:19:09.11
Luke tells us why
in Luke chapter 23,
00:19:09.14\00:19:13.11
this is not a story of
personal might and strength,
00:19:13.15\00:19:17.19
this is a story of
helplessness and faith.
00:19:17.22\00:19:20.36
Let's read verse 33...
00:19:20.39\00:19:25.16
Jesus is suspended upon
the cross because He's dying
00:19:35.97\00:19:41.74
for the sins of this
world, He is clothed in shame
00:19:41.78\00:19:46.11
for transgression
that He did not commit.
00:19:46.15\00:19:49.08
Take a moment and see Him there.
00:19:49.12\00:19:52.95
The stripes from
His beating are weeping,
00:19:52.99\00:19:56.49
the thorny crown has
lodged itself into his skull,
00:19:56.52\00:20:00.16
the nails tear at his ligaments,
and all of creation is watching
00:20:00.20\00:20:05.70
withheld breath as the
promise alluded to the garden
00:20:05.73\00:20:10.11
when God sacrificed a
lamb to cover His children is
00:20:10.14\00:20:13.27
fulfilled but to His right and
His left there are two thieves.
00:20:13.31\00:20:19.21
Men who have worked
hard to earn their place
00:20:19.25\00:20:23.05
on their crosses, and
they too are dying, though they
00:20:23.08\00:20:27.29
have not endured the physical
assault which Christ has
00:20:27.32\00:20:31.23
endured. Verse 39...
00:20:31.26\00:20:33.40
Verse 42...
00:20:53.35\00:21:03.36
One thief tempts Christ, just
as Satan did in the wilderness,
00:21:23.65\00:21:29.38
about three years earlier,
when He said, if thou be the Son
00:21:29.42\00:21:33.72
of God, do something to
prove it, and in this case
00:21:33.76\00:21:35.56
save yourself and by
your works save us Jesus
00:21:35.59\00:21:37.36
could have done it.
00:21:37.39\00:21:41.96
He could have called ten legions
of angels to destroy everything
00:21:42.00\00:21:46.70
and set Him free. But
then there was the other thief
00:21:46.74\00:21:51.64
who, for once in his
life, was completely helpless.
00:21:51.67\00:21:55.88
His arms and legs were bound,
his hope for escape was gone,
00:21:55.91\00:22:00.68
he couldn't fight; he
couldn't work to save himself,
00:22:00.72\00:22:05.42
in fact, I wonder how
the following exchange
00:22:05.45\00:22:09.46
would have gone had the
man felt he still had any power
00:22:09.49\00:22:13.83
at all realizing
his helplessness.
00:22:13.86\00:22:17.57
Could you see
yourself? in the gospel?
00:22:17.60\00:22:18.93
Realizing his helplessness
he makes a leap of faith,
00:22:18.97\00:22:23.34
he seeks righteousness
in Jesus, not by his works,
00:22:23.37\00:22:27.68
but by faith, Lord, remember me.
00:22:27.71\00:22:30.85
I can't earn it, I don't
deserve it, I lean completely
00:22:30.88\00:22:35.58
on you to save me,
Father, and Jesus saves him.
00:22:35.62\00:22:42.29
You know what this shows
us? It shows us that if you've
00:22:42.32\00:22:46.39
noticed your efforts to save
yourself, I've been fruitless,
00:22:46.43\00:22:50.20
if you feel helpless and
powerless, shamed, and hurt,
00:22:50.23\00:22:54.34
if you feel your arms
and legs have been pinned and
00:22:54.37\00:22:57.67
you can't fight
anymore, no eye of the tiger,
00:22:57.71\00:23:00.81
just eyes filled with
tears, then be of good cheer
00:23:00.84\00:23:04.91
my friend. You're in the perfect
position of self-realization
00:23:04.95\00:23:08.98
to stop working and let
faith in Jesus, restore your
00:23:09.02\00:23:13.02
righteousness. That's the news.
00:23:13.05\00:23:17.13
Not just that we can do
nothing to earn salvation
00:23:17.16\00:23:20.73
but that through faith
in Jesus, we don't have to.
00:23:20.76\00:23:24.00
Might have righteousness
by faith, we may have it,
00:23:24.03\00:23:30.51
oh, thank you, Lord, for
saving us, thank you God,
00:23:30.54\00:23:36.91
for lifting us, thank you
for removing the robe of shame
00:23:36.95\00:23:42.88
and giving us a
robe of righteousness.
00:23:42.92\00:23:50.83
One of the hardest things
about being a pastor and in some
00:23:50.86\00:23:58.87
of the other professions,
many of you encounter this, too
00:23:58.90\00:24:03.87
is having to minister to people
who are really, really grieving.
00:24:03.91\00:24:12.41
Going to hospitals where
family members are about to be
00:24:12.45\00:24:19.62
unplugged as it were...
00:24:19.65\00:24:22.16
Some of you have been family
around the bedsides of people
00:24:22.19\00:24:27.80
when they were
unplugged as it were.
00:24:27.83\00:24:31.27
Some of you have been in
the ministry position, a nurse,
00:24:31.30\00:24:35.47
a doctor, an elder, a
deacon, a pastor, or a friend,
00:24:35.50\00:24:40.34
when this
unplugging takes place.
00:24:40.38\00:24:43.75
You hate to get
that call, you do.
00:24:43.78\00:24:48.75
I got to tell you, I have really
experienced some mighty things
00:24:48.78\00:24:53.72
from my time at the bedside
as I was watching someone
00:24:53.76\00:24:59.09
fall asleep until Jesus came.
00:24:59.13\00:25:02.33
But I think about
this one, the call came in,
00:25:02.36\00:25:08.80
pastor, we are unplugging
this brother, will you go
00:25:08.84\00:25:16.95
and be with the
family? I said, of course.
00:25:16.98\00:25:21.52
You go to places like
this, it's nice to have
00:25:21.55\00:25:26.39
your wife with you,
spouse, to pray together,
00:25:26.42\00:25:30.09
together present a front of
ministry to the grieving family.
00:25:30.13\00:25:36.16
We went, we were there
and I go in and a gentleman
00:25:36.20\00:25:44.37
is lying there, and the
family is around and you know,
00:25:44.41\00:25:49.64
you take a little
time to know the person,
00:25:49.68\00:25:51.68
you walk up there,
that's how I was taught,
00:25:51.71\00:25:54.85
you take their hand and you
talk to them, you talk to them
00:25:54.88\00:25:59.52
as though they can hear
you because you know what?
00:25:59.55\00:26:02.36
Many, many times, they
can, and then I may pull a
00:26:02.39\00:26:07.36
family member aside, and I
say hey, how are you doing?
00:26:07.40\00:26:10.80
God be with you. Read
some texts and I asked
00:26:10.83\00:26:14.70
what was this person like?
00:26:14.74\00:26:16.47
I did that here, and the
response was he was terrible.
00:26:16.50\00:26:21.14
This was a rough
brother right here.
00:26:21.18\00:26:24.85
Oh, if I could tell
you the things, ha ha ha,
00:26:24.88\00:26:29.82
and you know, it's
uncomfortable when that happens.
00:26:29.85\00:26:34.62
Sometimes it does, and
I was being told this and
00:26:34.66\00:26:38.69
the person said if only
they could have given their life
00:26:38.73\00:26:43.37
to Christ before this.
00:26:43.40\00:26:47.20
In this particular
case, I went up to the bed
00:26:47.24\00:26:51.27
and I took the man's
hand and I said Hey brother,
00:26:51.31\00:26:56.11
I always say this.
00:26:56.14\00:26:57.48
Sorry, we got to meet
like this, I'm Pastor Johnson
00:26:57.51\00:27:01.68
and I just want to
know, after everything you've
00:27:01.72\00:27:04.75
been through, do you want
to give your life to Christ?
00:27:04.79\00:27:09.02
If you do, just go
ahead and squeeze my hand.
00:27:09.06\00:27:13.76
I asked this brother this
two times, first time nothing,
00:27:13.80\00:27:18.73
second time, I felt the
squeeze and his significant
00:27:18.77\00:27:23.41
other saw the squeeze
and a little bit later
00:27:23.44\00:27:27.38
he fell asleep in Jesus.
But, I looked at his significant
00:27:27.41\00:27:32.68
other and she is
looking at me with eyes that ask
00:27:32.71\00:27:37.05
was it enough?
00:27:37.09\00:27:38.79
Oh, in faith, it was enough.
00:27:38.82\00:27:43.06
Saved by grace.
00:27:43.09\00:27:45.83
Father in heaven, save
us, in thy name we pray.
00:27:45.86\00:27:49.43
Amen! God be with you.
00:27:49.46\00:27:52.03
And be Encouraged.
00:27:52.07\00:27:54.40