WEBVTT 00:00.000 --> 00:04.140 Welcome to the Valley Baptist Church Sermon Podcast. 00:04.860 --> 00:08.240 We're so glad you're here, and we hope this message inspires you, 00:08.460 --> 00:12.020 builds your faith, and moves you toward a deep relationship with God. 00:12.560 --> 00:15.160 Today, you'll find great insight into the Bible 00:15.160 --> 00:17.840 and learn how you can apply it straight to your life. 00:18.220 --> 00:20.380 So welcome, and enjoy the message. 00:21.520 --> 00:24.760 Well, God keeps calling me to do impossible things, 00:24.840 --> 00:26.260 so I'll depend upon him. 00:26.940 --> 00:28.520 Does God ever do that to you? 00:29.460 --> 00:31.660 You know why God does that within our life? 00:31.720 --> 00:33.920 Because God loves you. 00:34.800 --> 00:43.640 He knows your greatest need is to abide and depend upon him, to walk intimately and faithfully 00:43.640 --> 00:45.260 with God. 00:49.820 --> 00:54.480 And so God often brings situations and things within our life that demand that we depend upon him. 00:54.740 --> 01:00.920 It is his goodness and his grace being demonstrated within our life. 01:01.900 --> 01:08.660 Now, Andrew has an amazing sermon next week on rest, all right, from Genesis chapter 2, 01:08.720 --> 01:14.800 verses 1 through 3. But this week, we're going to skip ahead to verse number 4, and we're going to 01:14.800 --> 01:26.620 talk about work, although it may take us just a little while to get there. Now, the Bible is the story of God and mankind. 01:26.620 --> 01:30.860 And Genesis tells us how the story begins. 01:30.860 --> 01:38.520 And the most important parts of the story are that God made you and that God is the 01:38.520 --> 01:42.600 only one who can save you. 01:42.600 --> 01:52.660 God is your creator and God is your creator, and God is your Savior. He is the only one who can pay for sin 01:52.660 --> 02:00.820 and restore us back to the way that he originally made us, to restore us back to his rule and reign 02:00.820 --> 02:07.180 and relationship with him. And so God is the main character of the story of the Bible. 02:07.880 --> 02:13.740 He's the author of the Bible and he is the hero of the Bible. 02:14.640 --> 02:17.240 Did you know that's true also in your life? 02:17.820 --> 02:21.520 That God is the main character of the story of your life. 02:22.020 --> 02:28.020 That God is the author of your life, that God is the author of your life, and if you will let him, God will be 02:28.020 --> 02:37.240 the hero of your life as well. Now, if you're going to understand reality, you have to understand that 02:37.240 --> 02:50.040 God created you. And the most important thing about you is that you were made in the image of God. And that means many things, 02:50.160 --> 02:56.620 but it definitely means two things. First of all, it means that you have value, dignity, and worth 02:56.620 --> 03:11.220 because you bear God's image. You were made to be like God, to know God, and enjoy God. You are made to reflect God 03:11.220 --> 03:21.020 and represent God within and upon the earth. But secondly, to be made in God's image means that you 03:21.020 --> 03:28.080 have been called to have dominion. God created us in his image, and part of that is 03:28.080 --> 03:36.340 he gave us dominion over the earth. And what that means is that you are to use all that God has 03:36.340 --> 03:49.440 given you for his glory and for the benefit and the good of other people. And so part of what it means to be human is to live for God's glory 03:49.440 --> 04:00.940 and to live for others' good. Now Genesis chapter 1 gives us the big picture of creation. 04:01.760 --> 04:08.100 But Genesis chapter 2 goes back to day 6 in creation, and it gives us a fuller picture 04:08.100 --> 04:14.440 of what God is doing. Now, sometimes you see this in a movie, don't you? There's a great scene 04:14.440 --> 04:21.140 within that movie, but then later in the movie, it goes back, and you're able to see something 04:21.140 --> 04:25.700 that you didn't see before that gives you a new perspective and a deeper 04:25.700 --> 04:35.840 understanding. And that's what God is doing in Genesis chapter 2. Genesis chapter 1 describes 04:35.840 --> 04:47.680 to us the equality of men and women, that God created men and women in his image, that men and women are the same, and that we are equal 04:47.680 --> 04:56.080 and that we are created equally in the image of God. But then in Genesis chapter 2, it describes 04:56.080 --> 05:05.620 the differences in how God designed men and women. And so while we are the same, we have equal dignity, value, and worth, 05:06.140 --> 05:14.020 we are designed to be different within how God made us and how we are to live. 05:14.880 --> 05:20.340 Now, we see in the Bible that we are not to run from these differences, but we are to celebrate 05:20.340 --> 05:25.460 these differences. That the difference between men and women is inherent, that 05:25.460 --> 05:32.420 is creational, that it is a part of how God has designed us and we operate best 05:32.420 --> 05:39.000 when we operate within the parameters and the design of how God has made us. 05:39.000 --> 05:45.080 And so let's begin reading in verse number four. 05:46.580 --> 05:47.179 It says, 05:47.180 --> 05:51.520 This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, 05:51.980 --> 05:54.800 and the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens, 05:55.080 --> 05:59.920 before any plant of the field was in the earth and before any herb of the field had grown. 06:00.640 --> 06:06.060 For the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to till the ground. 06:06.640 --> 06:10.420 But a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground. 06:10.660 --> 06:14.920 And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, 06:15.300 --> 06:28.500 and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being. Now, there's something incredibly special that's going on 06:28.500 --> 06:36.200 here in the creation of man. First, it describes God in a very personal way. In chapter 1, 06:36.780 --> 06:47.100 the word Elohim is used to describe God. That's kind of the general name for God. But you'll notice here it begins to describe God as the 06:47.100 --> 06:57.340 Lord God. That word Lord is a translation of the personal name for God, Yahweh. And so Yahweh, 06:57.720 --> 07:10.540 Elohim, formed and created man. And so God is described as powerful in creation, and he is described as 07:10.540 --> 07:20.880 personal and relational in the creation of man. Secondly, we see in Genesis 1 that God spoke 07:20.880 --> 07:27.520 things into existence. But when he creates man, it says that he formed man. In fact, we're 07:27.520 --> 07:33.120 going to see that a little bit later, and it's repeated for emphasis. It's the word for 07:33.120 --> 07:43.380 handcrafted. It's a picture of a sculptor that is shaping something, and it's giving special 07:43.380 --> 07:48.780 attention to its creation. God gave special attention to the 07:48.780 --> 07:55.820 creation of man. And then it says that he formed him from the dust, but then it says 07:55.820 --> 08:08.900 that he breathed life into man, and man became a living being. It's a picture almost as if God is face to face and he kisses man, 08:09.180 --> 08:16.420 that he breathes spiritual life so that he goes from just being a physical body but now 08:16.420 --> 08:30.500 being a spiritual being. It is a very intimate and very personal picture of God creating man. Do you know that God made us to be both 08:30.500 --> 08:38.300 physical and spiritual beings? It's important that we understand not only that we are physical, 08:39.140 --> 08:47.420 but that we also are spiritual. Now, there's a prevailing worldview called naturalism within the world that teaches 08:47.420 --> 08:54.240 that the material universe is all that there is and all that there ever was. There is no 08:54.240 --> 09:06.160 spiritual component to the universe. There's no spiritual component to man, but that we are simply physical creatures. 09:09.660 --> 09:12.980 Now, naturalism is left with a very implausible belief that unintelligent matter created intelligent beings, 09:13.700 --> 09:16.940 that lifeless matter created life, 09:17.800 --> 09:23.200 that irrational matter created rational beings, 09:23.200 --> 09:28.340 that impersonal matter made personal creatures. 09:29.700 --> 09:37.080 And so the modern man says that man is nothing special, that you and I are simply the product 09:37.080 --> 09:46.680 of the random colliding of atoms, that there is no inherent value to human life, that we're no really more valuable than a rock. 09:46.780 --> 09:54.220 We just happen to be a more complicated and complex configuration of physical matter. 09:55.600 --> 09:59.840 Now, of course, if all we are is physical, 10:00.900 --> 10:13.400 then really free will becomes an illusion. Because all you really are is the inevitable chain of cause and effect of the material universe. 10:13.400 --> 10:27.360 And so you have no spiritual volition to be able to really actually choose anything. It appears that way, perhaps, but you're just a victim of 10:27.360 --> 10:35.800 cause and effect within the physical universe. But what we see within this passage is that 10:35.800 --> 10:47.920 we are physical in that God formed us from the dust, but we also see that we are spiritual in that God breathed life into us. 10:48.320 --> 10:50.400 It explains our volition. 10:50.720 --> 10:54.180 It explains our ability to choose. 10:55.500 --> 11:03.360 And so the Bible says that the living God is the one who created life and created living beings. 11:03.920 --> 11:07.580 That the intelligent God is the one who created intelligent 11:07.580 --> 11:15.500 beings. That the personal God created personal beings. That the rational God created rational 11:15.500 --> 11:28.320 beings in a rational creation. And it explains our self-consciousness. It explains our autonomy. It explains our free will and our rationality. 11:29.260 --> 11:33.000 But look what he says in verse number eight. 11:34.840 --> 11:47.620 It says, the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden. Now, the word Eden means delight. It was a garden of delight. And there he put the man whom he had formed. 11:48.200 --> 11:51.620 And out of the ground the Lord God made every tree grow 11:51.620 --> 11:53.820 that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. 11:54.360 --> 11:57.000 The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden 11:57.000 --> 11:58.780 and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 11:59.380 --> 12:01.980 Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden, 12:01.980 --> 12:05.440 and from there it parted and became four river heads. 12:05.900 --> 12:07.900 The name of the first was Pishon. 12:08.340 --> 12:12.760 It is the one which skirts the whole land of Hevelah, where there is gold. 12:13.200 --> 12:15.360 And the gold of that land is good. 12:15.960 --> 12:17.800 Bedelium and the onyx stone are there. 12:18.220 --> 12:20.560 The name of the second river is Gihon. 12:20.980 --> 12:24.080 It is the one which goes around the whole land of Cush. 12:24.500 --> 12:26.500 The name of the third river is 12:26.500 --> 12:34.580 Hittikal. It is the one which goes toward the east of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates. 12:35.920 --> 12:50.120 Now, I want you to notice that God puts man in a garden, and he gives man water and food and everything that man needs to flourish 12:50.120 --> 13:00.120 and to thrive. Here's the principle. God has made us both dependent and free creatures. 13:01.180 --> 13:05.640 Now, the Bible teaches that you and I are dependent. 13:05.820 --> 13:06.920 We're dependent on water. 13:07.080 --> 13:08.180 We're dependent on food. 13:08.520 --> 13:10.180 We're dependent on oxygen. 13:10.520 --> 13:18.140 We're dependent on relationships because ultimately we are dependent upon God as our creator. 13:19.040 --> 13:26.820 But the Bible teaches that God is different than us in that God is independent. In fact, this is one 13:26.820 --> 13:32.160 of the ways that God is distinct from everything else in creation. Everything 13:32.160 --> 13:41.320 else is dependent upon God, but God is dependent upon no one and nothing. Every 13:41.320 --> 13:48.060 need that God has is provided within himself. So he has nothing that he needs 13:48.060 --> 13:57.740 outside of himself. And so God did not create us because he needed us. God created us because he 13:57.740 --> 14:05.280 wants us. You know, the only thing better than being needed is being wanted. 14:07.680 --> 14:10.759 God wants you. 14:10.760 --> 14:15.359 He wants a relationship with you. 14:15.360 --> 14:21.119 He wants you to know him and to enjoy him. 14:21.120 --> 14:28.939 Now, as created beings, our identity is to be found in God. 14:28.940 --> 14:29.940 We cannot understand what we are or who we are apart from our Creator. 14:36.280 --> 14:49.080 And while we have many aspects of our identity, none of those aspects are to be understood apart from the One who created us. Now, self-identity apart from the creator is a rejection of our creaturely dependence upon God 14:49.080 --> 14:57.860 and if you and I do not define ourselves by creation then we will become forced to define 14:57.860 --> 15:05.720 ourselves by the current culture and our culture is very confused about identity. 15:06.680 --> 15:10.180 Our culture is confused as to what it means 15:10.180 --> 15:12.900 to be created by God. 15:13.740 --> 15:16.360 We're confused about the differences 15:16.360 --> 15:17.620 between men and women, 15:17.740 --> 15:18.760 what it means to be a man 15:18.760 --> 15:19.980 and what it means to be a woman. 15:20.560 --> 15:23.180 We're confused about marriage. 15:23.640 --> 15:26.900 We're confused about human sexuality. 15:27.100 --> 15:32.700 We're really confused about all of reality and our place and our design within it. 15:32.700 --> 15:39.000 Now, in all of these different aspects, we want to be very kind and compassionate. 15:39.940 --> 15:43.860 There are a lot of people who are confused and they're hurting. 15:44.560 --> 15:47.100 And there's consequences to that confusion. 15:48.240 --> 15:51.220 There's a lot of pain that results from that. 15:51.420 --> 15:54.180 So we want to be very kind and compassionate. 15:54.180 --> 15:59.280 At the same time, we want to be very clear and convictional about what God says. 16:00.620 --> 16:07.900 You see, sin creates confusion between the way God created us and the way that we perceive 16:07.900 --> 16:17.500 ourself. We all struggle with the issue of creating our own self-identity rather than 16:17.500 --> 16:28.740 accepting our God-given identity. But when we accept our God-given identity, that is what brings freedom to our life. 16:29.460 --> 16:35.440 It is then that we begin to truly live out the way that we were designed to live. And whenever 16:35.440 --> 16:47.660 we live contrary to the way we are designed, things start to break down and not work. But as soon as we come into alignment with who God is 16:47.660 --> 16:54.880 and who he made us to be and the way that God designed us, our life begins to make sense 16:54.880 --> 17:08.560 and we begin to live out the purpose that God has for us. Now, I want you to notice that God makes us humble and honorable at the same time. 17:09.460 --> 17:14.820 He makes us from the dust of the ground, which is a very humble position. It's a very lowly 17:14.820 --> 17:27.160 position. But he also makes us from his breath, which is a very honorable position. We are made of the dust of the ground like the animals, 17:27.320 --> 17:32.720 which is very lowly, but we also are made in the image of God, which is very honorable 17:32.720 --> 17:49.460 and dignified. And with this spiritual nature that God has given us, we are given the freedom of choice and we are given moral responsibility. A part of being 17:49.460 --> 17:58.100 made in the image of God is that we have free will and that we have moral responsibility. 17:59.340 --> 18:09.000 Now, the Bible teaches that God created man without sin. When he created us, it says that he said 18:09.000 --> 18:20.000 it is good. In fact, he said it is very good. And so we see that evil does not originate with God. 18:20.000 --> 18:29.620 Evil originates with Satan and later with mankind who joined Satan in rebellion against God. 18:30.040 --> 18:39.360 And so what we're going to see is that man chooses evil. God didn't create evil. It did not 18:39.360 --> 18:47.940 originate with God because evil is not a thing that is created. It is a choice that is made. 18:48.780 --> 18:55.560 It is a choice to choose against the goodness and the will of God. 18:56.760 --> 19:06.820 Now, imagine that you go down to Home Depot and you say, I'd like to have a five-gallon bucket of evil, please, 19:08.020 --> 19:12.300 the clerk may kind of look at you a little funny and not be sure what you're talking about. 19:12.840 --> 19:28.220 Why? Because evil doesn't have an ontological existence. Evil is not a thing. Evil is a choice. And so evil came into the world when we chose to go against God and to 19:28.220 --> 19:36.400 go our own way. Now I want you to notice in verse 9 that the tree of life and the 19:36.400 --> 19:42.400 tree of the knowledge of good and evil are both in the center of the garden. And 19:42.400 --> 19:46.780 temptation within your life will always be at the center of your life. 19:47.860 --> 19:54.780 You will never be able to get away from temptation in this life. And temptation we see here 19:54.780 --> 20:00.620 is just as much an opportunity to do the right thing as it is to do the wrong thing. 20:01.560 --> 20:10.580 Both the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge and good and evil were right next to each other in the midst of the garden. And so when you are tempted to lie, when you are 20:10.580 --> 20:17.200 tempted to be bitter, when you are tempted to steal, when you are tempted to be selfish, you 20:17.200 --> 20:27.280 have just as much of an opportunity to choose the pleasures of obeying God as you do to choose to reject God and to go your own way. 20:28.720 --> 20:32.580 Notice what it says in verse 15. 20:34.260 --> 20:35.359 It says, 20:35.360 --> 20:37.620 Then the Lord God took the man 20:37.620 --> 20:43.540 and put him in the Garden of Eden to tend and to keep it. 20:44.840 --> 20:53.320 God made us to work. Now, verse 5 says that there was no man to till the 20:53.320 --> 21:00.160 ground. And so one of the major problems in Genesis chapter 2 is there's so much to do and no man to 21:00.160 --> 21:09.000 do it. And so God forms man where there is no man to do the work, and he places him in the garden 21:09.000 --> 21:17.780 to get the job done. Now, there is nothing more dangerous than a lazy and bored man. 21:18.840 --> 21:25.320 You know how much sin results from boredom? I mean, ask the teenagers. 21:25.660 --> 21:28.160 You know, they get bored and bad things start to happen. 21:28.700 --> 21:36.060 And when a man is not productive, when a man does not have purpose outside of himself, 21:36.280 --> 21:41.040 it leads to all kinds of problems within a man's life. 21:41.880 --> 21:47.940 And so notice that before God gives Adam a wife, he gives him a job. 21:49.140 --> 21:53.320 You know, that's a pretty good order. I've got three daughters. I think that's a pretty good 21:53.320 --> 21:59.500 order. Before you get a wife, you get a job. In fact, before he gets a wife, he has to name and 21:59.500 --> 22:06.960 order everything within his life. And once he has a job and once he has named and ordered everything in 22:06.960 --> 22:16.240 his life, then God gives him a wife. Do you know that God made us to work? One of the ways that we 22:16.240 --> 22:28.880 image God is we work in the same way that God works, that we rest in the way that God rested, that we follow his example. And what that means is that 22:28.880 --> 22:34.440 we ought to pray, Lord, help me to do the work you want me to do in the way that you want me to do it. 22:35.520 --> 22:50.020 Help me to do work that will last and that matters, and help me to do it in a way that honors and glorifies you. Now, the primary way that we image God is by loving God 22:50.020 --> 22:59.040 and loving people. In the New Testament, it says we are to love one another as God loves us. 22:59.720 --> 23:06.600 Jesus says we are to love our enemies because our Father in heaven makes it to reign on the just and the unjust. 23:07.020 --> 23:11.400 And so we are to love our enemies because God loved us when we were his enemies. 23:12.280 --> 23:17.000 We are to image God in our love for him and our love for one another. 23:17.000 --> 23:23.400 And our work is the living out of our love for God and our love for people. 23:24.400 --> 23:29.560 We are to work for God's glory and for the good of 23:29.560 --> 23:38.420 others. And when we begin to do that, that gives our work great meaning and purpose. Now, if all I 23:38.420 --> 23:47.100 do is I work for myself, there's not a lot of meaning and purpose in that. It doesn't go very far. But if my work is 23:47.100 --> 23:54.380 motivated by my love for God and my love for others, that gives everything I do, no matter 23:54.380 --> 24:08.600 how menial, great dignity, great meaning, and great purpose within our life. Now, he says he put them in the garden to tend and to keep it. This word tend 24:08.600 --> 24:18.300 has the idea of building, developing, and cultivating. Now, that's kind of innate within us, 24:18.560 --> 24:27.960 isn't it? I mean, we want everything we do to get bigger, better, faster, stronger, more efficient. 24:28.300 --> 24:32.080 Now, that can be distorted, but that's the way God made us. 24:32.960 --> 24:34.700 We want to be growing things. 24:34.800 --> 24:36.400 We want to be developing things. 24:36.500 --> 24:41.600 We want to be cultivating things within our life because that's a part of the purpose 24:41.600 --> 24:44.300 that God has given us within work. 24:45.240 --> 24:46.340 And so here's the principle. 24:47.500 --> 24:51.600 Change happens when we start taking responsibility. 24:53.360 --> 24:57.920 God didn't just give Adam a wonderful place to live. 24:57.920 --> 25:02.320 He gave him a responsibility to grab a hold of. 25:03.880 --> 25:05.980 And God does that within our own life. 25:06.880 --> 25:09.220 He places us where there's a need 25:09.220 --> 25:10.680 and he tells us to get to work. 25:10.980 --> 25:12.980 And so I want to encourage you 25:12.980 --> 25:16.320 to embrace where God has currently put you 25:16.320 --> 25:17.460 within your life. 25:19.220 --> 25:21.920 Did you know that boys complain about where they are 25:21.920 --> 25:25.820 but men cultivate where they are that's the 25:25.820 --> 25:32.420 difference between a boy and a man and so instead of complaining about your 25:32.420 --> 25:38.960 wife cultivate your wife develop and cultivate your relationship with her 25:38.960 --> 25:47.200 instead of complaining about your kids cultivate cultivate your kids. Invest in them, love them, sacrifice for them, 25:47.200 --> 25:54.000 show them what it means to lay down your life for someone else. Instead of complaining about 25:54.000 --> 26:01.600 your job, build it, develop it, cultivate it for the glory of God and the good of those around you. 26:01.600 --> 26:08.000 Instead of complaining about your body or your house, cultivate your body or 26:08.000 --> 26:19.180 your house. God puts us here to grow us and to meet needs. And so it's time to get to work, 26:19.820 --> 26:28.620 to do what God has placed us here to do, to represent and to reflect him in our work. 26:29.680 --> 26:34.280 You are at Valley Baptist Church because there is a need. 26:35.160 --> 26:36.960 We need every one of you. 26:37.880 --> 26:40.700 The mission is greater than any one of us. 26:40.880 --> 26:42.920 It's as great as all of us. 26:43.820 --> 26:47.360 You are in the life group that you are in because there is a 26:47.360 --> 26:55.900 massive need for you to be a part of it, to help it to flourish and to thrive, to make disciples, 26:56.180 --> 27:06.300 to glorify God, and to build other people up within their life. And so we've got to stop saying that this church or this life group exists for me. 27:07.240 --> 27:10.440 That's the way that boys talk. 27:11.320 --> 27:16.620 A man takes responsibility and says, I exist for this family. 27:17.440 --> 27:20.260 I exist for my wife. 27:20.380 --> 27:22.220 I exist for my children. 27:22.540 --> 27:29.380 I exist for my children. I exist for my church. I exist to glorify God and to help other 27:29.380 --> 27:39.720 people. Now, taking responsibility means that we not use piety as an excuse for passivity. 27:41.120 --> 27:47.640 You know, sometimes you might ask a guy, hey, you know, you're going to ask her out? 27:47.720 --> 27:48.800 Well, I'm praying about it. 27:49.120 --> 27:50.220 Well, how long have you been praying? 27:50.340 --> 27:54.359 About five years. 27:54.360 --> 27:57.680 Well, I'm not sure that's still piety. 27:57.840 --> 27:59.680 That kind of sounds more like passivity. 27:59.800 --> 28:03.620 I don't think that's a piety that most women are looking for, you know. 28:04.800 --> 28:07.500 Sometimes you got to do something. 28:08.380 --> 28:15.340 And so we ought to pray about everything, but we also ought to get involved in what God has 28:15.340 --> 28:30.600 given us and called us to do. And so taking responsibility also means that we choose reality over fantasy. Now, passive men choose fantasy over reality. 28:32.360 --> 28:35.860 They, instead of helping people in real life, 28:36.420 --> 28:40.220 they just help people on a video game in a fantasy world. 28:41.300 --> 28:44.220 Passive men, instead of saying, this is my wife, 28:44.300 --> 28:45.780 they fantasize about another woman. Instead of saying, this is my wife, they fantasize about another woman. 28:46.980 --> 28:51.540 Instead of saying, this is my job, they fantasize about someone else's job. 28:52.620 --> 28:58.020 Instead of saying, these are my finances, they fantasize about someone else's finances. 28:59.340 --> 29:08.620 Change happens in a man's life when he accepts his situation and says, let's build. Let's get to 29:08.620 --> 29:16.740 work. Let's start developing and cultivating this relationship. Let's start building and cultivating 29:16.740 --> 29:28.660 this situation for the glory of God and the good of the people around him. And so brothers, let's stop making excuses and start making progress. 29:29.840 --> 29:39.260 Let's stop complaining and let's get to work. Now women, we need your help and we need your 29:39.260 --> 29:45.700 encouragement. First of all, the men in your life need you not to enable them to be passive. 29:46.420 --> 29:51.760 They need you to challenge them to be active. They need you to say, you know, 29:52.420 --> 29:58.360 you're the spiritual leader of this home, and we've got this problem. What are you going to do 29:58.360 --> 30:06.300 about it? How are you going to solve it? How can we work together to get the job done? 30:06.300 --> 30:10.840 And you'll find that when you have high godly expectations, 30:11.500 --> 30:15.960 that is better for your husband or the man within your life 30:15.960 --> 30:18.000 or the boy that you're trying to shape to be a man 30:18.000 --> 30:20.940 than just about anything else. 30:21.680 --> 30:24.460 But if the man or the boy in your life 30:24.460 --> 30:28.640 begins to follow the Lord in some way, cheer him on. 30:29.820 --> 30:37.900 Encourage him because God is at work in his life, and it's really easy to get discouraged. 30:38.700 --> 30:45.000 In a fallen world, work is often not as fruitful as it once was. 30:50.380 --> 30:52.340 It's often not as satisfying, and there's all kinds of obstacles the enemy throws and just the fallen nature of creation. 30:52.800 --> 30:56.760 And so getting to work and taking responsibility is hard, 30:57.660 --> 30:59.540 and we can easily grow discouraged. 30:59.860 --> 31:10.500 And so we need to encourage one another to serve the Lord, to lead, and to live for him. Now look once 31:10.500 --> 31:19.040 again what it says in verse 15. It says, then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden 31:19.040 --> 31:26.220 of Eden to tend and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man saying, of every tree of the garden you may freely 31:26.220 --> 31:32.720 eat, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you 31:32.720 --> 31:43.740 eat of it you shall surely die. Now notice God gave man many yeses and one no. He put him in the 31:43.740 --> 31:45.560 garden and he says, it's time to get to work. 31:45.640 --> 31:48.340 I want you to tend it, and I want you to keep it. 31:48.540 --> 31:51.120 Now, this word keep has the idea of protecting 31:51.120 --> 31:54.020 and guarding what God has given you. 31:55.640 --> 31:56.920 Men, that's our calling. 31:58.180 --> 32:00.920 Men exist to lay down our lives 32:00.920 --> 32:02.760 and to sacrifice for others. 32:03.960 --> 32:06.560 We don't exist to live for ourselves. 32:08.220 --> 32:16.340 We live, we exist to sacrifice for the good of other people and for the glory of God. And men 32:16.340 --> 32:29.060 are called to protect and to guard what God has given us. You see, God put Adam where he wanted him, and then he gave Adam his word. 32:30.040 --> 32:32.140 And that's what God does within our life. 32:32.960 --> 32:37.720 He puts us in a particular place in the spiritual battle of the world, 32:38.500 --> 32:48.540 and then he gives us his word to lead us and guide us to fight the battle that we are to fight, to guard and protect 32:48.540 --> 32:57.200 the people around us, to lay down our life and sacrifice for the spiritual good of others. 32:58.420 --> 33:02.480 Now, we see in this passage that men are called to be the spiritual leaders of their home, 33:03.320 --> 33:05.280 that they are to bear the responsibility for the culture and spiritual leaders of their home, that they are to bear the responsibility 33:05.280 --> 33:10.300 for the culture and the climate of their home. Now, that doesn't mean that everything that 33:10.300 --> 33:15.520 happens in your home is your fault. You know, there are multiple sinners everywhere, right? 33:16.340 --> 33:21.260 Not everything that happens in your home is your fault, but what it does mean is that it's your 33:21.260 --> 33:27.740 responsibility, that no matter what happens, if it's you, then you're to 33:27.740 --> 33:35.440 take responsibility. If it's someone else, then you are to cultivate. You are to love. You are to 33:35.440 --> 33:40.920 sacrifice, and you are to lead. Now, this command is never given again. It's not given to Eve. 33:41.700 --> 33:47.260 This was Adam's responsibility to pass on God's word to his family. And we're going 33:47.260 --> 33:56.720 to see that Adam massively failed in doing this. It is our job to pass on God's word and to lead 33:56.720 --> 34:05.240 our family to know and to follow God's word. You know what that means? That means, men, you need to know your Bible. 34:10.700 --> 34:12.180 How can you lead your family to follow what God says if you don't know what he said? 34:18.880 --> 34:26.420 And so we need to become intimately acquainted with God's word. This is God's blueprint for your life. This is God's blueprint for your marriage. This is God's blueprint for your children. 34:27.480 --> 34:30.200 This is God's blueprint for our church 34:30.200 --> 34:34.700 and for whatever ministry that God has called you to do. 34:35.460 --> 34:37.840 We are to know God's word 34:37.840 --> 34:44.160 and we are to lead in example of following God's word. 34:44.160 --> 34:49.700 And the Bible will tell you how to love and to lead your family, 34:50.700 --> 35:00.340 how to love and to lead others around you. Now, I know what all of us men are thinking, 35:00.340 --> 35:07.900 and that is, well, what if I fail? And the reality is, we know that all of us are going 35:07.900 --> 35:15.040 to fail. You know what the problem with men is? We're sinners. It's the same problem. Often, 35:15.400 --> 35:20.160 I'll tell young couples that are about to get married, I go, you know, the problem with marriage 35:20.160 --> 35:31.140 is it's two sinners getting together, you know, and sin really messes everything up. We're going to see that in chapter 3 of Genesis. And so what happens when we fail? There's a very important 35:31.140 --> 35:35.820 principle in the Bible. When the ideal is lacking, God's grace is abounding. 35:37.540 --> 35:44.740 The Bible says a righteous man falls down, and yet he rises back up. He falls down, and yet he rises 35:44.740 --> 35:47.280 back up. You know, I love David 35:47.280 --> 35:52.860 because the Bible says he was a man after God's own heart. And when you read the story of David, 35:52.940 --> 35:57.520 and you see his adultery, you see his sin, you see him get away from the Lord, you think, well, 35:57.560 --> 36:05.660 how is this man a man after God's own heart? David was great at sinning, but you know what else David was great at? He was great 36:05.660 --> 36:13.680 at repenting. And men, we need to get great at repenting. We need to model repentance to our 36:13.680 --> 36:25.480 family. We need to initiate reconciliation, and we need to encourage the people around us to follow the Lord. 36:29.780 --> 36:31.099 You know, years ago, COVID hit, and I was discouraged. 36:31.100 --> 36:34.379 My wife was discouraged. 36:34.380 --> 36:37.439 My kids were discouraged, and my church was discouraged. 36:37.440 --> 36:39.079 In fact, the whole world seemed to be pretty discouraged, you know? 36:39.080 --> 36:42.099 I don't know if you remember that. 36:42.100 --> 36:42.559 But did that come to Bakersfield too? 36:42.560 --> 36:43.899 I don't know. 36:43.900 --> 36:50.359 It was down south at the time. 36:50.360 --> 36:57.580 But everyone in my life was discouraged. And I was talking to our associate pastor and we were having a conversation about encouragement. And I said, you know, I just don't have the gift of 36:57.580 --> 37:05.680 encouragement. And he looked me square in the eye and he says, how long are you going to use that as an excuse not to grow 37:05.680 --> 37:31.280 in Christ-likeness? I'll try to do different, okay? It was such a bold and needed truth. Guys, we can't do this apart from the Lord. We can't do this without God. 37:32.420 --> 37:38.320 In fact, apart from me, Jesus said you can do nothing. And so what we need to do is we need 37:38.320 --> 37:56.040 to depend upon God. We need to spend time with him and allow his grace to transform our heart and to renew our mind and to give us a right spirit so that we can love and sacrifice for our family. 37:56.260 --> 38:07.360 So that we can lead and love the people that God has placed within our life. At the center of the Garden of Eden 38:07.360 --> 38:09.880 was the tree of life 38:09.880 --> 38:12.980 and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 38:14.280 --> 38:17.220 But there's another tree that's spoken of in the Bible 38:17.220 --> 38:19.800 and it's not in a garden, 38:20.140 --> 38:23.020 it's on a hill called Calvary. 38:24.860 --> 38:28.940 And on that tree that we call the cross, 38:31.160 --> 38:35.000 Jesus laid down his life and sacrificed himself 38:35.000 --> 38:39.640 so that he could undo what happened at the first tree, 38:40.700 --> 38:45.400 so that he could forgive us of sin 38:45.400 --> 38:48.280 and give us a new life 38:48.280 --> 38:51.440 that is filled with his presence, 38:52.000 --> 38:54.740 his power, and his grace. 38:56.200 --> 38:58.100 You see, there is the tree of life 38:58.100 --> 38:59.900 that brings regeneration. 39:01.160 --> 39:03.900 There is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil 39:03.900 --> 39:06.160 which brought condemnation, but there is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which brought condemnation, but 39:06.160 --> 39:14.720 there is the tree of Calvary that has brought redemption. 39:14.720 --> 39:24.500 God took his son and placed him where he was needed, and he gave him the job and the work 39:24.500 --> 39:26.839 of salvation. 39:26.840 --> 39:30.900 And Jesus took responsibility for those things 39:30.900 --> 39:32.680 that were not his responsibility. 39:33.140 --> 39:37.200 He took responsibility for your sin and for my sin, 39:37.360 --> 39:38.940 and he died in our place. 39:40.560 --> 39:44.160 But then the giver and the creator of life 39:44.160 --> 39:45.500 came back to life, 39:45.820 --> 39:50.380 and he offers all who will come to him eternal life. 39:50.820 --> 39:53.880 Jesus did every good work that we fail to do, 39:54.060 --> 39:57.480 and he protects us from sin and from death. 39:58.980 --> 40:01.400 Jesus says, whoever will come to me, 40:02.860 --> 40:05.240 whoever will come to the cross of Jesus 40:05.240 --> 40:10.940 will experience life and not death 40:10.940 --> 40:14.240 forever and ever. 40:16.080 --> 40:19.600 Jesus is our creator 40:19.600 --> 40:23.560 and Jesus is the only one 40:23.560 --> 40:26.020 that is our Savior. 40:28.040 --> 40:32.080 Let's bow together in an attitude of prayer. 40:35.240 --> 40:37.080 And here in a few moments, 40:37.940 --> 40:41.380 as we worship God, 40:44.060 --> 40:49.500 I want to ask you to pray about what God wants you to do today. 40:53.080 --> 41:04.520 I want you to ask God to move in your life and to do things that you can't do on your own, 41:04.520 --> 41:09.540 that you can only do by his strength and his grace. 41:11.480 --> 41:14.640 Here in a few moments, we're going to have counselors here at the front, 41:14.720 --> 41:16.000 and we're going to ask you to come. 41:17.460 --> 41:20.800 And if you've never given your life to Jesus as your Lord and Savior, 41:21.360 --> 41:23.360 we want to invite you to do that today. 41:24.580 --> 41:28.280 He loves you. He created you. 41:29.120 --> 41:34.020 He died for you. He rose for you, and He's coming again. 41:36.560 --> 41:43.560 And all those who trust in Him will experience life forevermore. 41:44.980 --> 41:47.339 I want to invite you to come to Jesus today as your Lord and Savior. will experience life forevermore. 41:47.340 --> 41:49.780 I want to invite you to come to Jesus today as your Lord and Savior. 41:51.080 --> 41:55.180 I want to invite you to be baptized. 41:55.180 --> 41:57.440 If you've already given your life to Christ, 41:58.840 --> 42:02.160 to come and publicly profess 42:02.160 --> 42:04.600 that you believe in Jesus, 42:04.840 --> 42:06.820 that he died for you and rose again, 42:06.940 --> 42:09.280 that you are his disciple, that you belong to him. 42:11.280 --> 42:13.400 You can come forward and say, I want to be baptized. 42:13.760 --> 42:15.600 We can set up a time for you to do that. 42:17.080 --> 42:19.460 Maybe the Lord's leading you to join this church. 42:20.920 --> 42:22.520 Do you be a part of this community 42:22.520 --> 42:25.160 and the mission that God has given us? 42:25.200 --> 42:30.900 It's an amazing opportunity to not only know God, but to serve God. 42:31.940 --> 42:47.400 We want to invite you to come, to believe, to belong, to serve and to sacrifice for our king. To be a part of what God is doing here 42:47.400 --> 42:51.040 and what God is going to do. 42:54.060 --> 42:55.660 Maybe you're here this morning 42:55.660 --> 43:01.620 and the Holy Spirit is moving in your heart. 43:01.740 --> 43:03.740 There's some area of your life 43:03.740 --> 43:08.700 that God wants to be first in, 43:11.260 --> 43:17.400 that God wants to develop and to build and to cultivate 43:17.400 --> 43:19.920 for his glory and the good of other people. 43:22.120 --> 43:24.720 And I invite you this morning to pray, 43:25.740 --> 43:28.780 to come down to these steps and to pray, 43:30.280 --> 43:33.640 whether that be a relationship or it be a situation, 43:33.880 --> 43:36.559 whatever it is, 43:36.560 --> 43:39.840 say, God, help me to be a blessing. 43:40.960 --> 43:48.780 Help me to lay down my life and sacrifice it for you. 43:53.340 --> 43:55.640 Our Heavenly Father, we thank you for this time of worship. 43:57.780 --> 43:59.960 God, you are so good. 44:01.500 --> 44:03.780 And you are so gracious. 44:09.420 --> 44:14.660 Lord, I look at this passage and I realize how far I have fallen from who you created me to be 44:14.660 --> 44:18.620 and who you saved me to be. 44:20.620 --> 44:23.460 God, I pray by your grace 44:23.460 --> 44:29.680 that you would help me to live out the calling 44:29.680 --> 44:32.440 that you've put on my life. 44:34.920 --> 44:36.580 Lord, we need you. 44:38.680 --> 44:41.620 God, there are those here that need salvation. 44:42.580 --> 44:44.340 They need you to save them. 44:44.500 --> 44:46.820 Open their eyes and open their hearts to 44:46.820 --> 44:57.260 your grace and your love this morning. There are some who need to declare their allegiance to you 44:57.260 --> 45:05.200 through baptism publicly, Lord. They've given their life to you, but now they need to go public with that faith. 45:06.600 --> 45:11.160 Give them the strength to step out and to stand up. 45:12.580 --> 45:16.860 God, there are others that need to come and be a part of this church. 45:17.460 --> 45:20.080 Lord, you didn't save us to be alone. 45:20.220 --> 45:22.260 You saved us to be a part of your family. 45:23.560 --> 45:25.320 So, Lord, call those people. 45:27.820 --> 45:31.120 There are many of us, Lord, that just need to seek you, 45:31.560 --> 45:39.940 to rely upon your power and your presence and your grace and your strength, Lord, 45:39.960 --> 45:45.960 to help us to develop and to build and to cultivate the life that you've called us to. 45:48.120 --> 45:52.720 Help us to lay down our lives and to sacrifice for your glory and the good of others. 45:54.000 --> 45:55.860 So, Lord, bless this invitation. 45:57.420 --> 45:58.880 Draw us to yourself. 46:00.640 --> 46:04.700 Help us to know, experience, and see your glory and grace. 46:05.280 --> 46:32.440 In Christ's name we pray, amen. new sermon is released. If you feel the Lord calling you to take the next step in faith through salvation, service, or giving, don't wait. Reach out to us by texting podcast to 88988. 46:32.720 --> 46:39.540 That's podcast to 88988 or connect with us on one of our social media platforms. You can also visit 46:39.540 --> 46:52.060 our website, valleybaptist.org to find even more great resources. No matter where you are in your journey, know that we love you, we're praying for you, and we can't wait to see what God will do in your life.