This sermon delves into the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, emphasizing the themes of obedience to God, the consequences of doubt and disobedience, the impact of sin on humanity, and the separation from God due to sin. It highlights the need for repentance, humility, and returning to God for restoration and eternal life through Jesus Christ.

This is a long story and it really does touch one. There is so much that we can get from it, firstly listening to God or obedience to God. Listening and obeying him in all things. Now the point that we find here, doubt about that which God has spoken. This doubt which causes a person to be in two minds about the truth that he or she knows. Another point, the consequence of one's disobedience and doubt. If you read the chapter before this one, then you understand how sad this chapter is, the saddest chapter in the whole Bible. We find God rejoicing in his creation, the people that he had made. Everything he had made, he said it is good, it is very good. And when he then made man, he said it is very good. Mankind made in the image of God. And the Bible says that God then placed him in the garden where he wanted him to live. And he gave him work, that he would watch over the garden. And that nothing would be spoiled in this garden. God said here is your responsibility, now guard the garden for me, look after it for me. And then he told him different things that he should do in this garden. And the great freedom he gave him, he said now he has all the fruit, you can eat of any fruit as you wish, all of it is for you. But there is just one, that that tree you should not touch, otherwise you will die. Do not eat of the tree, if you eat of that tree, without any doubt you will die. It was a very clear message. Both of them heard it, neither of them was outside of this command. And we also, here as children of God, we are also given it. We are also commanded by him. Do not touch, do not eat of it, or if you eat of this tree, you will surely die. And we see now how things are in this world. We see now the results of sin. Now, I do not know how, but here is the serpent arriving on the scene. And we find this serpent, that the Bible says of him, more crafty than any other creature. And he then came and said, did God really say you should not eat of it? So the Bible says this serpent was more crafty than any other animal. So one does not really fully understand all the ins and outs of this serpent, because it could speak. Came to Eve in much cunningness with a question. And this question is not one to immediately put you on your guard, but to ask, did God really say? And listening to this, then she thought, well, did God really say that the seed of doubt was planted? And so here the serpent enters into a conversation with the woman. And so as the serpent speaks, he found a receptive ear, and it just went from one thing to the next. All that the serpent had to say, has God really said? And then she answers, yes, God said we can eat, but not from that tree. Something else that we can notice here, we need to closely concentrate on these three, Adam, Eve, and the snake. When the serpent came, where was Eve? We might say that she was perhaps very close to this tree. Maybe she was not there, or had a distance between herself and her husband. It could be that the serpent found her already staring at this forbidden tree and its fruit. Maybe she already knew that this was forbidden, but she was enticed, was looking at it. And so Satan came at the very moment when she was beginning to desire this fruit. And then the serpent said, no, you can eat. For God knows that the day that you eat of the fruit, you will be as wise as he is. So take, eat. So she took, this woman took it, she ate, passed it to her husband, he also ate of it. Then it says, after having eaten, their eyes were opened. One can ask a question, does this imply that during this conversation with the serpent, her eyes were closed? No, her eyes were open. And the glory of God covered her eyes. She did not see bad things. She only had an eye for that which was good, that which had God in it. But once her eyes were open and she took that which was forbidden, her eyes were opened in another way. And then they suddenly noticed we are naked. Now they could see things which they had not seen. They saw their condition in a new way which they had never noticed before. And it is very clear that something had radically changed, something was lost. Sin entered. Disobedience entered. And when things were spoiled in that way, now seeing them as being naked. And then as the sun began to set, in the cool of the day, they heard God coming. And they fled. They hid. No longer were they the same. It was not good as it was. For it says that God always visited them. In the cool of the day, God was always with them. One often wonders what conversations were there between them. These people of God and God himself. I can just see in my mind's eye that whatever it was, it was sweet. It was wonderful. It was heaven in the garden. They could converse and there was such a heavenly atmosphere because God was there. This thing called sin was absent. There was not even a word to describe it. For there was no evil. But then came the time when they directly went against what God had explicitly said. And they hid. For they heard the voice of God. Now they were not glad to hear him. Instead, they were ashamed to meet him. Inside them, they knew that they had sinned. They had done what was wrong. The glory was gone. The gold was now blemished. It had lost its shine. This precious gold was now blemished. Something had entered in. And this glory was now disturbed. This holiness was now disturbed. The joy and the peace of God which they enjoyed with him was now gone. It could be, child of God, as you sit here, there's something that responds inside you about this. Maybe you too have experienced that the peace and the joy, the holiness and God himself, you wonder, where has it disappeared to? Where have I lost it? How did it disappear from my life? Why is it that things now taste sour in your life? The joy is absent. And now when you hear God's voice, you wish you could run and hide. You no longer rejoice in it. That's what some people are like. The same people that rejoice to go to a service are now lazy. The same people that rejoice to be with God's children, now they have all manner of excuses to get out of their company. And you know full well the things you should not be doing. It is, I must not sin. You know it. But now maybe, perhaps a question arises even now. Is it really so? Is it really the truth that we can live without sin? Is it true that God said we should not take of this for it will cause death? And perhaps now you say, yeah, but God was just saying it lightheartedly. He wasn't fully serious. What has caused the shine of the gold to disappear in your life? Maybe you experienced that what you had once, it's no longer the same. If we speak of the first love and you know it's not there anymore, what is it that you've eaten? You once burned for the Lord? You were so glad to be in the company of God's children. You denied the things of the world. You just wanted to be there where God was. The serpent took his chance, he saw the gap, he saw that she was desiring it and so he came just with the question, did God really say, has God really said you can eat of all the fruit but not this one, no it can't be, no God sees that you will be equals, you will never die, take and eat. And Satan knew that by entering into one he would also be able to destroy the other. Maybe you've seen for yourself the damage that those who desert the Lord and those that allow sin to enter in, the damage, but maybe you find that you're part of it, their criticisms, their murmurings are yours too. But what is very painful is the distance between them and God. God comes, they flee. You see when sin comes into your life you no longer rejoice in being with fellow Christians. Maybe you seek those who are of the same level as you are. Maybe you are drawn to those who are lukewarm. So that's what lukewarm people are like. They like to spread gossip. They like to spread the news, the gossip. How did you end up being in their company now? Sin can enter in a very subtle, small way through a Christian, has God really said? And now you are surprised that you find yourself with those who are drinking, with those who are smoking, doing these different things and you wonder how. Well it's simple, it's because of your sin. They hear the sound of God coming, they hear his voice and they flee, they don't want to be there in God's presence anymore. Are you in the place where God put you? Do you still experience the sweetness of that place where God has put you? And the woman was created by God and she was put to be a help to Adam. But in this instance she was no help at all. Instead she only drew him down, pulled him back. And here is the big problem with Adam. Because that which God had expressly said to Adam, he now disobeyed and he also ate. May God help us. Remember what God once said to you. I must remember what God has said to me. What he has commanded me. Am I still clinging to that? Adam, as the man whom God created and the woman that God made to be human. But here Adam is forsaking the responsibility he had to God over. He has failed. He has not done what he should do. And now he has to face the consequence of his disobedience. This should remind us men that we should be alert and there where God puts us, guarding over. But maybe you have failed and you are no longer doing what God has told you to do. That which is defiling should not be found among us. We should not allow anything that defiles us as men. How often, how many men you find who just swallow everything that they give them. And so in order to keep the peace and to appear with good manners, the man just swallows everything that is given. God comes, they flee. And so God then asks Adam, where are you? He does not ask Eve. He asks Adam, the man, where are you? Have you eaten of the fruit which I told you not to eat? Instead of humbling himself, Adam denies. No, he does not accept. And then they start to pass the buck. They blame each other. It is this woman that you gave me. And so in fact they are blaming God. It is the woman you gave me. She is the one that caused me to sin. Then God asks of the woman, she says, no, it is the serpent who deceived me. And until today it is the same pattern. The nature of man is totally depraved. Our depraved nature is always in opposition, in rebellion against God. And instead of humbling ourselves, we pass the buck and we blame others. You say, it is that woman you gave me. She caused me to sin. Adam was no longer in the place where God had put him to be. He hid. And he has been busy now making loincloths. He sees himself as naked. You see what sin does to you? That which was covered by the glory of God, suddenly you see it in a different way. And the glory is gone and you flee from God. Have you eaten of that tree? No, Lord. It is that woman. You see, you cannot humble yourself. You cannot come down and bring yourself down. Brothers, we who are men, do we still know what it is like to humble ourselves under the hand of God? Do we still know the place where God has put us to be? Or are we fleeing God and making loincloths out of leaves? And until today, it is the same condition. Because of the madness of people. They do that. But God, he killed animals so that he would clothe them. So what happens today? That which God has appointed for us to dress, no, because the glory is gone, we do our own thing. Here in South Africa, not far away, just close to Port Shepston, there is a beach there. It is known as a freedom beach. Where nudists can have complete liberty. Copying the same things that are happening in countries like in Holland. And so, they are now moving into nudism. That which God has dressed you in, you now rebel against, you fight against it. God clothed them. And said, we are now, they are like us. Knowing good and evil. And God then expelled them from paradise. And so, they were removed by God and God then put a, blocked the road back into paradise in case they ate of the tree of life. And God then appointed cherubim with flaming swords to block the entrance so that they could not enter and then claim eternal life. They were excommunicated from the garden. Separated from holiness. Departed from God. They were distanced. They were not allowed now to eat of the tree of life for they had gone in opposition, in rebellion against God. What is it that you are busy eating? What fruit are you eating, child of God? What place are you in? What tree are you looking at? What tree are you staring at? Your heart is drawn to which type of fruit? There are some people, who are not satisfied. Like the children of Israel, they became dissatisfied with the manner that God did. When sin comes in, it spoils everything and it goes from one sin to the other. And so, they were dissatisfied. Then the children of Israel rebelled and they were murmuring and complaining. They were complaining and saying, what a drought we have, where is the water, where is the food? In the meantime, God had given them food this manner, but they complained and said it was better in Egypt. Child of God, with that which the Lord Jesus has done for you, be thankful. People do not enter into this condition of complaining and murmuring. The Bible also says, because they did not thank God, instead God gave them over to their perverted lusts. You might wonder, why is it that I am attacked by such a variety of perverted lusts? Well, you have not given glory to God. You have not thanked Him. He has handed you over. With what God has given you, be thankful. over it, lest someone steal your crown. So God stopped them. He blocked them from coming back into the garden. The Lord did not want them now to eat of the tree of life. He put those angels with the flaming swords outside to block their way. And we see how seriously God takes sin. He is not thinking of the time when He did have fellowship with them, and all the sweet and wonderful conversations they had in fellowship with each other, but when they had sinned, they had separated themselves from God. God parted from them. He put them outside of paradise. Child of God, you can ask yourself, are you living in paradise, or do you find yourself outside in the cold? In fact, a person might get to the point where they even ask themselves, am I a believer or am I not? Where a person finds himself no longer being right in the very heart of what God is doing, instead they just find themselves trailing on. Child of God, do not allow yourself to enter into that condition of growing cold. What has caused it? They are outside of the garden of paradise. The cherubim are there to guard the entrance that they should not come back in. But God, in His love, even though this creature of God has been put outside, God did not leave it there in saying, well, he who is inside is inside, he who is outside remains out. He sent his own Son, Jesus Christ. Though there was the gulf between man and God, God arranged the bridge so that mankind and God would once again be in fellowship. Here is the Lord Jesus, the Son of God, sent to save us, sent to seek us out, to go and rescue that which is lost. Jesus agreed. He wanted to become man, to haul us out of our wickedness, that He would once again bring us into life, back into the paradise. Even now, you are invited. Come out of your bush. Come out of that pit in which you are. Get out of that sin which you are following. For God has made the bridge for us. He has made it from His Son, Jesus, His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, His name. You must believe in Him and be saved. Then you will be returned into paradise. You will be numbered among those that have that peace and joy that God wanted us to have. Or are you still busy with your deceptive heart? Or don't be satisfied by having this heart and being in the forest? Don't be satisfied with chatting to the serpent and deceiving you. The amazing thing is this. The thing which troubles us, what do you want being in His vicinity? What are you doing close to that which is the big temptation? Why are you not fleeing from that temptation? Why are you so familiar with the temptation? Why are you a friend of those evils? The very thing that parts you from God, why are you having fellowship with it? Why are you still, you find yourself among those who have no part with God? God sent His Son, His only begotten Son. Whoever believes in Him will not be destroyed, but will have everlasting life. Jesus denied everything. Remember on the cross how He cried out. Where He experienced something that He had never known, separation from God. Where He cried out, My God, My God, why have you forsaken Me? Indeed, God had forsaken Him. God could not identify with Him. And it was so terrible for the Lord Jesus, He had never known that before. But God withdrew His presence because He wanted you to be hauled out of your sin and into life. Are you happy in the condition in which you find yourself? Your spiritual condition now, are you happy with yourself? When did the Lord last reveal Himself to you? When did God last speak to you? And if He spoke to you, did you obey Him? Did you listen? Do you find yourself not knowing, is it God speaking or is it the serpent? Maybe you find yourself where you don't even know the difference, you can't discern, is it God or the devil? How many aren't there who listen to the serpent and say it is God? And say that that which the serpent is saying is actually from God. How terrible the condition, if you find yourself that that which is black you call white and that which is white you call black. Those are characteristics of the one who is now distanced from God. Return, come back, here is the way, it is there. Come across this bridge, the bridge that takes you to heaven. Come out of your darkness, out of your bush. Come out of your sins which you love so much. Come out of the darkness which you have such pleasure in. Young people, girls, boys, do you still hear God? Who are you listening to? Who is the one that you hear better than the other? Or are you listening to the serpent? Maybe you are fascinated that the serpent can even speak. Wow, this serpent can talk. Let me lend an ear. What is it saying? And you are fascinated by his speaking. You listen and you hear. And as you are open to what the serpent says, you are now deaf to what God has to say. What are you doing with that thing which is parting you from the presence of God? Doesn't the Bible say, blessed is the man who does not walk in the ways of evil? Or in the counsel of wickedness? Who does not sit on the seat of mockers? What are you doing finding yourself in the group of those who are mockers and who are rebellious? You are sitting on your feet, not the seat of the devil. It is a mockery of the devil. You are not doing a good deeds and making fun of the devil. That is the mockery of the devil. He is the one that serves him. He is a mockery. But the Scriptures also say, blessed is that one who is in fellowship with God's people. He is the one who is like an evergreen tree, never dry even in winter, even in drought, because its roots are always connected to the water. Oh, what are you attached to? Where do your roots feed from? Don't be surprised when you find yourself spiritually dry. Well, it's because you're in the company of those who are living in drought. Come out of that forest, that dark forest, that bush. Come out of this life, this life of heaviness, because life, real life is there. Jesus is there. If you come to Him, your life will be changed. If you identify with Him, for He is life. He is the way. He is everything to us. If you come to Him, you'll find that you have everything. Come out of that drought or starvation. Come to Him who has the food of life, Jesus Christ. We are invited today, even if we were lost on the way, and we've been listening to the serpents, and we've stopped listening to God, we find ourselves outside of paradise, but because of the grace of God, the undeserved grace of God, He calls us to Himself. It's up to you how you respond. May you respond in the right way. Don't look at things and analyze things and you find yourself always in the wrong way. Look at the truth plainly as it is. Where God points out that it's wrong, humble yourself, confess your sin, that you'll find rest and life.