CONSEQUENCES, CHRIST, & CONNECTIONS

GENESIS 3:17-24

"MAKE THE CONNECTION" This was the point of a recent message but really it's the point of every message. God wants us to make the connection with the His Word and our lives. If we are lost He wants us to make the connection and be saved. If we are saved He wants us to make the connection and be sanctified. If we are sanctified He wants us to make the connection and be serving! Make the connection!

As we are going through Genesis on Sunday evenings there are sometimes truths that don't quite fit the paramaters of the messages being given at that time. But they are messages that we need, messages that we must give our hearts and ears in attention and respond to the leading of the blessed Holy Spirit. I pray this message is one of those.

I. THE CONSEQUENCES TO ADAM'S RACE

1. A CURSE [v. 17]

2. SORROW [v. 17]

3. THORNS [v. 18]

4. SWEAT [v. 19]

5. A return to DUST in Death [v. 19]

6. SEPARATION [v. 22-24]

7. A SWORD [v. 24]

II. THE CONSEQUENCES MET BY CHRIST

1. A CURSE Galatians 3:13

Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:

2. SORROW Isaiah 53:3-4

He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

3. THORNS Mark 15:15-19

And so Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged him, to be crucified. And the soldiers led him away into the hall, called Praetorium; and they call together the whole band. And they clothed him with purple, and platted a crown of thorns, and put it about his head, And began to salute him, Hail, King of the Jews! And they smote him on the head with a reed, and did spit upon him, and bowing their knees worshipped him.

4. SWEAT Luke 22:44

And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

5. DUST Psalm 22:15 (14-16)

I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels. My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death. For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.

6. SEPARATION Mark 15:34

And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

7. SWORD Zechariah 13:7

Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the LORD of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones.

[The following was adapted from www.wordsofhope.org]

God put it in the heart of an English Baptist, William Tyndale to translate the Bible into English. A Bible in the English language was just what the pope did not want. Tyndale sadly said, "In England there is no room for attempting the translation of the Scriptures." Did he quit?. No. . He just left England and went to live in Germany. There the FIRST ENGLISH BIBLE was printed, two sizes being made, one large and one small, for he thought if the English Catholic bishops found the large ones, he might be able to hide the smaller ones. Now they must be gotten to England. In barrels all covered with cloth and articles for sale, in bales that looked like cloth, in sacks of flour, in every way that could be found to hide them, they were sent across to England in large numbers, and the Catholic bishops found out they were being sold. Every seaport was carefully watched, and many a package of Bibles was found and BURNED. But more Bibles came. They could not stop them, and some of them would always get to people who wanted to read them. Finally the Catholic bishop of London had a bright idea! He decided he would buy all the copies that were printed, through a merchant in Germany! Then there would be no more Bibles to come across the water. He did not know that the merchant he asked to do this was a friend of William Tyndale. This friend knew that right at that time Tyndale needed money more than anything else to pay his printers for the work they had done and start a new printing of the Bible. So he said, "My Lord, I will be glad to attend to this matter. But it will take money to do it, for the men who have these books in Germany hold them at a high price.""My dear Sir," said the bishop, "do your best to get them for me, all of them, for they are very bad books. I will gladly pay you whatever they cost, for I intend to burn them all and end this matter."

What fun it was to the merchant! He went to Tyndale, bought his books at a good price and brought them over to England while Tyndale went right to work on a new improved printing for he now had plenty of money. The Bishop thought there'd never be another BIBLE in English. Imagine how he felt when he learned that more Bibles than ever before were coming into England. So many came that the officers simply could not stop them. "HOW CAN THIS BE?" a man who had been arrested for helping Tyndale, was asked. "I will tell you truly, my lord," the man replied, "tis yourself that gave us the money to print the Bibles!"

III. THE GREATER CONNECTION

Here is a wonderful thing. The connection between God and man was broken by Adam, a greater connection was put in place by Christ. If you have Christ you have the broadband instead of the dial-up conncetion to God. This package includes:

1. A DIVINE NATURE

2 Peter 1:4Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

I Cor. 15:47-49 The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second man is the Lord from heaven.
As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.

2. A HEAVENLY PARADISE

Revelation 2:7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

3. A DIVINE RIGHTEOUSNESS

2 Corinthians 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Philippians 3:9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

4. A BETTER INHERITANCE

1 Peter 1:3-5 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

5. A CLOSER RELATIONSHIP

Ephesians 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.

Romans 8:16-17 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.