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South Bay SDA Church

Genesis

Jeremy Arnall

01 The Creation Account: Let There Be Light

02 Day 2 of Creation: Under Heaven’s Quilt

03 Day 3 of Creation

04 Let There Be Time

05 Day 5 of Creation

06 Day 6 of Creation

07 And God Said, “Let There Be Rest”

08 Media & Mediums

09 The Naked Truth About Righteousness

10 The Naked Truth About Righteousness

11 What Worship Costs and What Love Requires

12 Two Lines, Two Legacies

13 Terms & Conditions

14 The Mantle of Love

In the 1929 Rose Bowl, California, and I'm not a football fan, but it's an interesting story.

This is back in 1929, the California Roy, California's Roy Riegels recovered a fumble and did something that made him infamous in college football's history.

You see, confused amidst the chaos, he began running full speed toward his own end zone.

His teammates finally tackled him at the 1 yard line, but the damage was already done.

Georgia Tech scored 2 points on the next play, which became the winning margin.

And forever after that, he was known as wrong way Regals.

Many believers, many of us, have made the same mistake.

We think we can flirt with the world, edge around it without consequences.

We reasoned that since we're not too close yet, we're fine.

But truth be told, the direction we're running, simple point here, the direction we're running tells the story of where we'll end up.

This morning I want to encourage you with the good news that Jesus is pursuing you.

Title of the message this morning is, The Way Home.

Lord, please speak to our hearts this morning.

Help us to hear a voice, your voice, and help us to embrace your Word, and may the words come home to each of us individually.

The only way for this to happen, Lord, is for your Holy Spirit to so work in a marked manner in this room that my words are reinterpreted by your Spirit and given to each heart so that each 1 will receive it as a message from you.

So please, Lord, wash us and cleanse us, that we might be filled with your glory, with your Holy Spirit, that we might realize more afresh the mystery of God, Christ in us, the hope of glory.

We're in a series on the book of Genesis and we're returning to chapter 3 for the third time.

Okay, And this, we'll move on next week, but I want to go back to Genesis and today we're just going to use our Bibles, not going to use the screen.

I'm only looking at 1 verse in Genesis 3, okay?

And I want you to open your Bibles to Genesis chapter 3.

Everybody usually can find Genesis pretty easily.

And he placed cherubim at the east of the Garden of Eden and a flaming sword which turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life." I want you to notice the phrase, to guard the way to the tree of life.

We're going to explore the way, its meaning, and how God has progressively moved closer to humanity.

From the front porch, that is, from the courtyard, to dwelling within our very hearts.

The phrase the way, if you were to search that in your New King James version at least, you'll find that it appears in scripture 284 times the way.

And I had many texts, but I'm only going to share with you 3 this morning.

But I encourage you, it's a rather interesting study to study the way as it's used in scripture.

But for instance, in speaking of Abraham, God says, for I have known him in order that he may command his children and his household after him that they keep the way of the Lord to do righteousness and justice.

Jesus also declared, "'I am the way, the truth, and the life.

"'No 1 comes to the Father except through me.'" So whereas in Genesis chapter 18, verse 19, we see the way being associated with righteousness and justice.

We see in John 14 and verse 6 that the way is Jesus.

So Jesus is righteousness and justice embodied.

Third, the early church was called the way.

Acts 9 verse 2 says, so that if he found any who were of the way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

Thus Jesus was so central to their identity, the early church, that they were simply known as the people of the way.

If the cherubim guard the way to the tree of life, how is Jesus the way?

To understand we need to see 3, hear me now, we need to see 3 front porches.

3 front porches where God has progressively drawn us to himself.

Until finally we are brought into the house.

The Bible mentions trees, okay, you may think that you're bouncing, just stay with me, okay.

The Bible mentions trees more than any, I'm talking about trees now.

We're talking about the first front porch and I want to introduce you to the trees.

The Bible mentions trees more than any other living thing except God and people.

Jeremiah 17 verses 7 to 8 states that those who trust in the Lord are likened to a tree planted by the waters.

And Proverbs 3 verse 18 likens God's word to a tree of life.

So it's interesting to think about this in light of the story in Genesis.

You see, Genesis 8 verse 11 says that when Noah received the olive branch that they were granted hope.

So they receive an olive branch and granted hope.

Genesis 18 verse 1 says that Abraham sat under the oaks, that is the trees of Mamre when he met with Jesus.

Exodus 3 and verses 2-5 says that Moses stood barefoot in front of the burning bush, the tree if you will, that contained the glory of God, making the ground around him holy.

So inspiration says that the tree of life was more glorious than any other tree.

Genesis 49 verse 22, Joseph a type of Christ who God used to make a way for Israel was likened to a tree.

He climbed the sycamore tree to see Jesus.

In fact, Jesus, the Word that became flesh, compared Himself to a vine in John 15 when he said, I am the vine, you are the branches.

So it was that he must die, but as a seed he would sprout and become like a tree of which we may be grafted in.

In fact, he told us, catch this, to eat his flesh and blood, that is, we are invited to eat from this living tree of life.

We eat from the Word of God, ingesting the truth by faith, remembering that the Word is likened to a tree as we read.

And it makes sense that we remember that Jesus compares himself to the Word.

Thus it is that Jesus guards the way, but at the same time makes a way by becoming the way, the truth, and the life.

A tree of life, if you will, of which we are invited to partake.

When Adam and Eve sinned, God didn't abandon them.

He could have taken the garden to heaven immediately and left humanity in darkness.

But instead, Genesis 3 and verse 24 says, he placed cherubim at the garden's entrance.

According to Leslie Harding's book, with Jesus in his sanctuary, we learn, and I quote, placed means put in a tent.

It's from the Semitic root from which came the Hebrew word shekinah.

So while The text says he placed the cherubim there.

We may actually understand that he rested his Shekinah there with the cherubim.

You see, the word Shekinah means to dwell.

So here we have the presence of God dwelling amidst the cherubim and this fits as the cherubim are the angels that are usually associated with God's presence.

Now you may be questioning, but just Hear this out.

For example, you find the cherubim, you know, on the Ark of the Covenant and woven into the curtains of the most holy place.

And this is further substantiated by what we read in Patriarchs and Prophets, page 83, where we read, in regards to this spot outside the garden, she is writing in regards to the opportunities that were afforded those who lived before the flood, what we call sometimes the antediluvian, diluvians.

Notice the quote, the advantages enjoyed by men of that age.

To gain a knowledge of God through his works have never been equaled since.

And so far from being an era of religious darkness that was, this was, that was an age of great light.

So she's saying that before the flood it was an age of great light.

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Series

Genesis

10 The Naked Truth About Righteousness

Transcript

Parent Series

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