And I saw a new heaven and a
new earth. For the first heaven and the
first earth were passed away, and there was no more sea. And
I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God
out of heaven, prepared as a bride, adorned for her husband. And
I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle
of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall
be his people, and God himself shall be with them. and be their
God. And God shall wipe away all tears
from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow
nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the former
things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne
said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, For
these words are true and faithful." The Word of God is true. It's
faithful. Rest your immortal soul on the
truth of Christ. He said, I am the way, the truth,
and the life. I love how John finishes this
book At the very end, come, Lord Jesus, even now, come, come. Tom's going to lead us in the
hymn on the back of our bulletin. Let's stand together. Sing the praises of Jehovah For
his free and sovereign race In his purpose God determined He
would save a chosen race Sing the praises of Jehovah for the
gift of His dear Son. None but Jesus Christ could save
us, God and man, the Holy One. Sing the praises of Jehovah,
Who sent Christ, the Lamb who died. He accomplished our salvation,
All His sons are justified. Sing the praises of Jehovah for
the cross of Calvary. Jesus satisfied the Father, set
His captive people free. Sing the praises of Jehovah,
for the Spirit's work within. He revealed to us the Savior,
and made known our guilt of sin. Sing the praises of Jehovah,
honor him with thankfulness. Bless his name, the Lord has
saved us by Christ's blood and righteousness. Please be seated. For our scripture reading this
morning, would you turn to Luke chapter 16. Luke chapter 16,
we're going to read in verse 19. Faith comes by hearing, and hearing
by the Word of God. And it's my hope and prayer this
morning that He would enable me to hear as we read this passage. There was a certain rich man
which was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously
every day. Clear description of a Pharisee,
self-righteous, outwardly moral, in the eyes of men, a good man,
and he did very well. Verse 20, and there was a certain
beggar named Lazarus which was laid at his gate full of sores. If you want to know what a sinner
is, here it is in verse 20. A beggar. Lazarus, that word
meaning from the figured Hebrew name from Eleazar, which means
God is his help. Full of sores. leprous, condemned
to die, unable to do anything for himself, but to beg, and
this is what he desires to beg for, verse 21, desiring to be
fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table. That
is my only desire this morning, that the Lord Jesus Christ would
speak to my heart, make it effectual, Let me know that his shed blood
was for me. Just a little morsel is all I need. That's our desire.
And it fell from the rich man's table because all he cared about
was line upon line, precept upon precept, being very religious.
Did not know that it was the bread of life. Moreover, the
dogs came and licked his sores. And it came to pass that the
beggar died and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom. She said earlier, Greg, being
delivered. And that is, you notice that
what every beggar is waiting for, to be delivered. And Abraham is the Lord Jesus
Christ. And that's where we came from
in eternity's past, being returned, birthed in Christ's heart. And
that's where we're gonna go home to. And the end of verse 22,
the rich man also died, and was buried. I long for that
day when this old man is buried. Now verse 23 is very sobering
to verse 31 because this is a conversation that's happening in eternity
between the soul and with our Lord. I don't want to be in hell. I don't. Let's read. And in hell he lift up his eyes
being in torment and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his
bosom. And he cried and said, Father
Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip
the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue, for I am
tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember
that thou in thy lifetime receiveth thy good things, And likewise,
Lazarus evil thinks. Now that's interesting to me.
For what man seems to be good, God calls it evil. And what man
seems to think to be evil, God calls good. But now he is comforted and thou
art tormented. For with thy words thou shalt
be justified, and with thy words thou shalt be condemned. And
read on. Here's the condemning. And he said, and beside all this,
our Lord says, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed. So that they which would pass
from hence to you cannot, neither can they pass to us that would
come from thence. The sword of my gospel divides. Those who considered to cross
foolishness, perisheth. But to them who are being saved,
it is the power of God. Then he said, I pray thee therefore,
Father, that thou wouldst send him to my father's house, for
I have five brethren, that he may testify unto them, lest they
also come into this place of torment. And Lord says unto him,
they have Moses and the prophets, let them hear them. And he said, here's the condemning,
here it is, verse 30, look what he says. And he said, nay, Lord,
nay, I don't, I've done the precepts, I've done the lines upon line,
I've done all that. They don't need to hear that. But if one went unto them from
the dead, they will repent. Jews always seeketh a sign, don't
they? They walk by sight. And the Lord said to him, if
they hear not my word, Moses and the prophets, neither will
they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead. Faith comes
by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. I pray he would
give us ears this morning. Shall we pray? Lord, it is truly our heart's
desire, because you have placed this desire in us, to ask and
to cry out that you would give us ears to hear. We are dependent
upon you, Lord, for everything, and most especially the destiny
of our immortal souls, which is in your hands, to do whatever
you please. And Lord, we bow to that. But
we do ask for Christ's namesake and for what he has accomplished
for sinners. Lord, you would enable us to
hear your still small voice. Lord, just a crumb is all we
ask. Let us know that your shed blood
was for me. Lord, we want to worship you.
We want to exalt you. Lord, enable us by your spirit
and by the truth of your word. Lord, we know if you do that,
Lord, we will leave here rejoicing in you as our all in all. Bless your speaker now, our pastor,
your preacher, Lord, oh, in power and in freedom, for we ask it
in Christ's name, amen. Let's stand together once again
and we'll sing hymn number 352, 352 from the Hardback Temple. Jesus, lover of my soul, let
me to thy bosom fly. While the nearer waters roll,
while the tempest still is high, Hide me, O my Savior, hide, Till
the storm of life is past. Safe into the haven guide, O
receive my soul at last. Other refuge have I none, hangs
my helpless soul on Thee. Leave, ah, leave me not alone,
still support and comfort me. All my trust on Thee is All my help from Thee I bring,
Cover my defenseless head With the shadow of Thy wing. Thou, O Christ, art all I want,
more than all in Thee I find. Raise the fallen, cheer the faint,
heal the sick, and lead the blind. I am all unrighteousness. False and full of sin I am, Thou
art full of truth and grace. Faintest grace with Thee is found,
Grace to cover all my sin. Let the healing streams abound,
Make and keep me pure within. Thou of life, the fountain art,
freely let me take of Thee. Spring Thou up within my heart,
rise to all eternity. Please be seated. I like hymns that are addressed
directly to the Lord, don't you? You know, sometimes I feel uncomfortable
when we sing, Tell Me the Old World Story, because that hymn
is addressed to the preacher. And then sometimes, you know,
I'm not able to rejoice when we're just singing things that
are true, but when we address them to Christ, I love that hymn. That has a blessing. Thank you, Tom and Cheryl. If you'd like to find in your
Bibles, the first text we'll be turning to will be Matthew
chapter 13. Matthew chapter 13. I've titled this message, Wind
in the Trees. Wind in the Trees. Have you ever
been in a forest far removed from the noise of man and listened
to the wind blowing through the trees? Almost sounds like voices sometimes,
doesn't it? Depending on the the direction
of the wind and the force of the wind and the position of
the trees. It can be a very beautiful sound. of the wind blowing through
the trees. It's much unlike the sounds that
we're more accustomed to, the sound of the ocean, which is
very constant and almost monotonous, can put you to sleep, can't it?
But the wind blowing through the trees, it's always ever-changing. The tone can be very beautiful. God has written his word with
many shadows, many types, many allegories, and they're all designed to give
us some understanding of the gospel. The Lord himself spoke
oftentimes in parables. Now, the tree is mentioned many,
many times in the scriptures. And we're going to take a few
moments this morning and look at a few of them and see how
it is the Lord uses the natural event of a tree to illustrate
the gospel. And my hope is that the wind
of the Spirit will blow through these trees. and give us some
understanding of who the Lord Jesus Christ is and what he's
done to accomplish the salvation of the trees of righteousness,
which are the plantings of the Lord. Now, not everybody will
be able to hear this voice. You might be in a forest and
become fearful in thinking that the sound of the wind blowing
through the trees really are the voices of some evil spirit
and not be able to discern the real truth of it. And that's
what this passage in Matthew chapter 13 points to. If you have your Bibles open,
I'll get there. in just a moment. Matthew chapter
13, and we'll begin reading in verse 10. And the disciples came
and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? Lord, why are you using allegories? Why are you speaking in parables? Why are you revealing these glorious
spiritual truths in types and shadows. And verse 11, the Lord answers
that question and said unto them, because it is given unto you
to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them
it is not given. John chapter 17, our Lord said,
Father, I pray not for the world. I pray for them, which thou hast
given me out of the world, thine they were, and thou hast given
them unto me. Lord, I'm laying down my life
for the sheep. This message of the gospel is
not for them. That's why I'm speaking in parables. And unless the wind of the Spirit
blows through the trees that we're going to look at in the
scriptures, we'll not see the truth of it. We'll not understand
it. The things of the Spirit are
spiritually discerned. The natural man cannot receive
them, neither can he know them. The Spirit gives life. The flesh profiteth nothing. Don't try to figure out God's
Word with worldly wisdom. Ask the Spirit of God to open
the eyes of your understanding and to reveal to you the glory
of the gospel. The mystery, that's what it's
called, a mystery. the mystery of the kingdom of
God. And it is a mystery in that it's hid from the natural man. Look at verse 12. For whosoever
hath to him shall be given that he shall have more abundance,
but whosoever hath not from him shall be taken away, even that
he hath. Therefore speak I to them in
parables, because they seeing see not, and hearing they hear
not, neither do they understand." Now this is a direct quote from
Isaiah chapter 6. It is the most often Old Testament
passage quoted in the New Testament. which tells us of its importance.
And what the Lord, remember when Isaiah said, when the Lord called
Isaiah to preach the gospel, and Isaiah said, Lord, how long
do I do it? You know, because the Lord told
him, he said, they'll have ears, but they will not hear. Eyes
they will have, but they will not see. And Isaiah said, Lord,
how long? How long do I have to do this?
And the Lord said, until the cities be wasted without inhabitants
and the land be utterly desolate. But out of it, there will be
a 10th. There will be a remnant. There
will be some that will hear. Most will not. Oh Lord, count
me in the sum. Don't let me be part of the majority. Verse 14, and in them is fulfilled
the prophecy of Isaiah, which saith, by hearing you shall hear
and shall not understand, and seeing you shall see and not
perceive. You won't be able to understand
the parables, the types, the shadows, the allegories that
God has given us in his word unless the spirit of God reveals
them to you. The truth of the gospel can only
come to the heart by divine revelation. No amount of study, no amount
of intellect, no amount of effort, no amount of works, no amount
of human wisdom can begin to understand. Here's the Lord saying,
because it was not given to them, it was given to you. They cannot
see. For this people's heart is waxed
gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they
have closed, lest at any time they should see with their eyes,
and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts,
and should be converted, and I should heal them." They won't
hear. Yes, I've not revealed it to
them, but they bear full responsibility for their unwillingness to hear.
And here's what I'm saying to you this morning. If you're able
to hear the gospel and believe the gospel, it is all God's fault. If you are not able to hear the
gospel and believe the gospel, it is all your fault. That's what God says. So those
who believe give to Him all praise and all glory for their ability
to come. And those who don't bear full
responsibility for their own unbelief. Now, the natural man
would say that's a contradiction. It may be a paradox, but it's
not a contradiction. And it is consistent with what
the scriptures teach, and that's exactly what the Lord's saying
here. But, verse 16, blessed are your
eyes that they see, for they see, and your ears for they hear. Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jonah. Flesh and blood did not reveal
this unto you, but my Father which is in heaven. Lord, open
the eyes of my understanding. Lord, unstop my ears, enable
me to hear thy voice. Lord, if you leave me to myself,
the gospel will remain a mystery and I will be lost. Oh, how important. And we never
get beyond this, do we? We never are able to say, well,
I've got that down. I don't need God anymore. This
is a cry of faith, Lord, if you ever leave me to myself, I'll
forget, what he said, those who have not, even what they have
will be taken away from them. Lord, if you take away, if you
leave me to myself, I'm gonna lose everything I've got. For verily I say unto you, that
many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things
which you see and have not seen them and to hear those things
which you hear and have not heard them. Lord, why do you speak in parables? Because it's not given to them,
but it is given to you. My hope and prayer for each one
of us right now is that we'll be saying in our hearts to the
Lord, Lord, give it to me. Give it to me. Give me the understanding
of who I am. Give me the understanding of
who Christ is. Give me the understanding of
how it is that you save sinners. Lord, I need to be saved. Turn
with me, if you will, please, to Isaiah chapter 44. Isaiah
chapter 44. Now, the truth of this passage,
as we hope for the wind of God's Spirit to blow through the trees,
just a few of them, There's hundreds referenced in the scriptures,
but we're just going to look at a few of them. And we hope
that the wind of the spirit will blow through the trees and the
voice of God will speak. Now this passage begins by describing
the natural man, the man who has ears, but he doesn't understand
the man who has eyes, but he doesn't see. He knows that the
tree has something to do with his salvation. He knows that,
but he doesn't understand. the trees as they reveal the
gospel in the scriptures. Look at me in verse 14. He hewed
him down cedars, and taketh the cypress and the oak, which he
stretcheth for himself among the trees of the forest. He planteth
an ash, and the rain doth nourish it. So here's the natural man. He plants the tree, and the tree
grows. Then shall it be for a man to
burn, for he will take thereof, and warm himself, yea, he kindleth
it, and baketh bread, yea, he maketh a god, and worshipeth
it. He maketh it a graven image,
and falleth down thereto." So he plants a tree because he knows
this tree has something to do with his salvation. And the tree
provides for him warmth, the tree provides for him food, and
the tree provides for him a God. He burneth part thereof in the
fire, with part thereof he eateth flesh, he roasteth roast, and
is satisfied. Yea, he warmeth himself, and
saith, Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire. And the residue
thereof he maketh a God, even his graven image. He falleth
down unto it, and worshipeth it, and prayeth unto it, and
saith, Deliver me, for thou art my God. Now if you think this
passage of scripture is just speaking of some sort of ancient
practice of religion where idols are actually carved from wood
and sat on that, a lot of folks still do that today. Oh, it's
much broader than that. It's much broader than that.
We're going to see that in the rest of this passage. The real
meaning of the tree of life. The real meaning of the tree
of the knowledge and good of evil. Verse 18, they have not known
nor understood. They have shut their eyes and
they cannot see and their hearts that they cannot understand.
They are willfully ignorant. They are worshiping a tree. one that they've planted, one
that has warmed their flesh and fed their bodies. and none consider
it in his heart. Neither is there knowledge nor
understanding to say, I have burned a part of it in the fire.
Yea, also I have baked bread upon the coals thereof. I have
roasted flesh and eaten it. And shall I make the residue
thereof an abomination? Shall I fall down to the stock
of a tree? They don't see. They do not know
that they're worshiping a false god. Now here's what the scripture
says. God has sent them a lie. He sent them a lie because they
believe not the truth. Turn with me to 2 Thessalonians
chapter two. We're gonna come back to this
passage so hold on to it there. verse 10 2 Thessalonians chapter
2 verse 10 and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that
perish they are deceived in thinking
that their decision making and that their works and that their
will are the means of their salvation. They're bowing down to a tree. They're bowing down to a carved
wooden object that they've made for themselves to worship. They've
set themselves up on the throne of God because they received
not the love of the truth. They wouldn't trust Christ alone
for their salvation. They didn't believe that he was
sufficient for their salvation. They thought they had to do their
part. That they might be saved if they
had the love of the truth. If they had a genuine hope and
trust in Christ alone for all their righteousness and all their
salvation, and they loved God's righteousness, rather than going
about to establish their own righteousness, they'd be saved. And for this cause, verse 11,
and for this cause, because they refused to believe and love the
truth, for this cause God shall send them strong delusion that
they should believe a lie. that they all might be damned
who believe not the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness."
Now don't think that having pleasure in unrighteousness means that
they were indulging themselves in worldly pleasures of the flesh. They were pleasuring themselves
in what they had done in order to make what Jesus did work for
them. They pleasured themselves in
their free will. They pleasured themselves in
their good works. They had no love for the truth.
God sent them a strong delusion that they should believe a lie. When God sends you a strong delusion,
you're not going to be delivered from that delusion. God sends it. He doesn't just
dangle it. What I'm saying to you is that
if you ever are blessed to hear the gospel, cling to Christ. Don't turn away
from Him. Don't believe the lie. Don't
take pleasure in your perceived righteousness, which God calls
unrighteousness. Don't do it. It'll be to the damnation of
your soul. So now back in Isaiah chapter
44, these people have cut down a tree, they planted the tree,
they cut it down, they cook their food, they warm their body, they
carve their idols, and they have no idea. They have no idea when
they walk into their free will churches and sit down and sing
songs to Jesus that it is an abomination to God. They have
no idea. They have no idea that what happens
in this city in brightly lit religious edifices is much more
evil on Sunday mornings. is much more evil in the sight
of God than any shameful act that takes place in dark smoke-filled
rooms on Saturday night. They have no idea. That's exactly what the Lord
is saying here. God is more offended by Christ
dishonoring man-made, free will, works religion than he is by
anything else. Anything else. They don't know it's an abomination.
You see that in the end of verse 19? They fall down to the stalk
of their tree. They think they're worshiping
God. When actually all they're doing is piling the hot coals
of God's wrath and judgment on their own heads. Oh, don't do
that. You will, I will. If the wind
of the Spirit doesn't blow through the trees and reveal to us the
meaning of them. If God doesn't open the eyes
of our understanding, if He doesn't reveal the parable of the gospel
to us, we'll not know it. He feedeth on ashes a deceived
heart, verse 20, in Isaiah chapter 44. He feedeth on ashes, a deceived
heart hath turned him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul,
nor say." Now you see the next two words in italics? That means
they're not in the text. But it reads better if you just
reverse the two. It's not a question. It's a statement. Just reverse those two words.
If you want to leave those italicized words in there, it's fine. But
here's what this verse says. He feedeth on ashes, a deceived
heart hath turned him aside, that he cannot deliver his soul,
nor say there is not a lie in my right hand. He can't say that. He cannot
say to God, there is not a lie in my right hand. Why? Because
God sent him a strong delusion and he has believed the lie. He's believed it. But it's still a lie. It doesn't matter how sincere
he is. It doesn't matter how committed
he is. It doesn't matter how dedicated he is. It's still a
lie. And no lies of the truth. The truth of the gospel, if you
know the truth, the truth will set you free. All right, let's
read on. Remember these, O Jacob and Israel. Now there's not a whole lot of
places where the Lord mentions Jacob and Israel right together.
You understand it's the same person. It's our two natures,
isn't it? Jacob, the supplanter, the old
man, the natural man, born into this world, and Israel, the prince
of God, who wrestled with the Lord Jesus Christ, and was left
with a limp, reminding him of his weakness and his dependence
all of his life. And the Lord changed his name
that day at the River Jabbok when he stayed up all night in
prayer. And the Lord changed his name,
Israel. He gave him a new nature. And
now he's calling, and so this message from God is to each of
us, understanding that we've all got two natures. We've got
the old man who can do nothing but sin. That's all he can do. He's not capable of producing
any righteousness. And then there's the Prince of
God. There's the new man, the new nature who can do nothing
but righteousness before God. The old man one day is gonna
be put back in the grave, and we'll receive a new body. Remember these, O Jacob and Israel,
for thou art my servant. I have formed thee. Thou art
my servant, O Israel. Thou shalt not be forgotten of
me. If I'm going to be saved, It's
only going to be because God has not forgotten me. I can't tell you how frequently
I lose sight of Him. How easy it is for me to turn
my attention away from Him and to forget all of His graces and
all of His kindness and all of His goodness if God saves me
based on my remembrance of Him. I'm in trouble. What's he saying? I haven't forgotten you. I'll
never leave you nor forsake you. No man can take you out of my
hand. I have blotted out, yes, as a
thick cloud, thy sins. Return unto me, for I have redeemed
thee. Now notice the Lord doesn't use
the judgment of wrath in order to appeal to his children to
return unto him. He uses his redemptive work on
Calvary's cross. It's the goodness of God that
leadeth to repentance. Religion is all based upon turn
or burn, you know, you gotta be, the goodness of God. is what
breaks the heart and causes us to flee in faith to the Lord
Jesus Christ. He said, I've redeemed you. I've
bought you with a price. I've shed my precious blood.
I've covered your sins before God. Look what he says in the
next verse. I have blotted out as a thick cloud thy transgressions,
and as a cloud thy sins return unto me, for I have redeemed
thee. Sing, O ye heavens, for the Lord
hath done it. God Almighty, listen now very
carefully, salvation is of the Lord. He's done it all. He's the Alpha and the Omega,
the beginning and the end, the first and the last. God Almighty,
according to His own will and purpose, chose a particular people
in Christ before time ever began. It's his sovereign prerogative
to do that. No man can say unto him, what
doest thou? No object of clay can say to
the potter, why hast thou made me thus? He's the potter, we're
the clay. He has the sovereign right to
make of the same lump of clay some vessels of honor and some
of dishonor. I've done it. I've done it. The Lord Jesus Christ came into
this world not to make an offer of salvation, not to put money
in the bank that you can draw from. He came in order to pay
a debt to God for those whom God had chosen. And he paid it
off in full. When he said, it is finished,
it was finished. Everything necessary for the
salvation of God's people was accomplished in the life and
death of the Lord Jesus Christ. The proof of that is seen in
the resurrection of our Lord. God would not allow his holy
one to see corruption. He raised him from the dead.
That's the evidence that we have that God is satisfied with Christ. He said, it's expedient for you
that I go away. If I go not away, the Holy Spirit
will not come. But when he comes, when he comes,
he will convict the world of sin, of righteousness and of
judgment, of sin because they believe not on me, of righteousness
because I go to my father, and of judgment because the prince
of this world is judged. Is the Holy Spirit any less God
than God the Father, God the Son? No. When the Spirit of God
comes in power, He convicts the people of God of their sin because
they believe not on God, of their righteousness because they have
an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous One,
and of judgment because the head of the serpent was crushed at
Calvary's cross and God's people were delivered by the accomplished
work of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's salvation that belongs
to God. He's the one who keeps his people
from falling and presents them faultless before the throne of
God. Sing, O ye heavens, for the Lord
hath done it. Shout, ye lower parts of the
earth. Break forth into singing, ye
mountains, O forest, and every tree therein, for the Lord hath
redeemed Jacob and glorified himself in Israel. Sing, trees! Oh, Lord, would
you blow the wind of your spirit through the trees of righteousness
and show me, Lord, your glory? The gospel of God's free grace
in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ is the only message
of salvation in this world that gives to God all the glory. All the glory. He's done it. The Lord hath redeemed Jacob
and glorified himself. An accomplished redemption. Now
very quickly, just a few moments, I want to point out a few trees.
First is, and we don't have to turn to the passage, you know
these trees. There's the tree of the knowledge
of good and evil that is in the midst of the Garden of Eden,
which God forbade Adam and Eve to eat from. It's the very tree
that the serpent tempted Eve with. And he told her, God doesn't
want you to eat of that tree because he knows in the day in
which you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you'll become
like God. And she ate and she gave to her
husband and he ate. And God said, in the day in which
you eat of that tree, you shall die. What is the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil? What was so tempting about that
tree? Now Eve saw that the fruit of
it was pleasing to the eye and sweet to the taste and able to
make one wise and she took and did eat. The lust of the flesh,
the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. What is this knowledge
of good and evil? God said man has eaten of the
tree and now he's become like us. He's got the knowledge of
good and evil now. Before that, Adam was innocent.
Before that, Adam knew nothing of evil. All he knew was of good. And once he ate the tree of the
fruit, his eyes were opened and he saw the difference between
good and evil. The temptation was that in the
day in which you eat of this tree, you'll have a free will
like God. Yes, your eyes will be opened. Yes, you will become like God.
And because you are so virtuous, because you are so inherently
moral, you will be able to make the right choice. The tree of the knowledge of
good and evil is the temptation of free will. Does man have a
will? Yes, you got a will. Is it free? No. It's in bondage to your nature. You cannot choose that which
is good. Paul said, to will is present
with me, but how to perform that which is good I find not. The law is holy and just and
good, but I am sold under sin. I cannot choose that which is
holy. I cannot do that which is right
in the sight of God. Why? Because I've eaten of the tree
of the knowledge of good and evil. My eyes have been opened.
I see the difference. I see the difference between
right and wrong. I just can't do what's right. I can't do it. And because now I see the difference,
and because I cannot choose that which is right, and I always
choose that which is wrong, I'm dead. Cast out of the garden. There's another tree in the garden.
It's the tree of life. You remember, the Lord told,
the Lord's speaking with himself. He's speaking for the Father,
Son, and the Holy Spirit, having this conversation in Genesis
chapter three, and they said, man has become like us, and lest
he eat of the tree of life and live forever, we've gotta put
him out of the garden. God put Adam and Eve out of the
garden, and stationed an angel with a flaming sword, the scripture
says, to protect the tree of life. For had Adam and Eve been
able to eat from the tree of life, in their fallen sinful
state, they would have lived forever just like that, dead
and separated from God. They had to die physically in
order to be able to eat of that tree of life. Revelation chapter
22 speaks of that tree of life. There's a river that flows clear
as crystal from the throne of God in Revelation chapter 22,
and on both sides of that river is the tree of life, which produces
its fruit. Twelve seasons, twelve months
out of the year, it's always bearing fruit. Psalm chapter
1 speaks of that tree of life. Turn with me there. People look at Psalm chapter
1 and they say, well, I want to be that man. The only way
you're going to be that man is to be found in Christ. It's the
only way you're going to be the man of Psalm 1, because this
is about the Lord Jesus Christ. And the only hope that you and
I have To be blessed like this man is to be found in him. Not having our own righteousness,
which is of the law, but that righteousness which is by the
faith of Jesus Christ. Blessed of God is the man that
walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, never did he. Nor
standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the
scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in
his law doth he meditate day and night. Who's that? That's Christ. He's the one that meditated on
the law of God. He's the one that made the law
of God honorable. He is the end of the law for
righteousness. We don't destroy the law by faith. We fulfill the law. Looking to
Christ in faith is the fulfillment of God's law. But man goes about
trying to establish his own righteousness. Why? He's cut his God out of
the same tree that he's used to warm himself and feed himself
by. He doesn't understand. These
two most significant trees in the garden, the tree of the knowledge
of good and evil, which is the tree of free will, and the tree
of life, which is the only hope we have for redemption, and it's
a picture of Christ. Look at verse three. And he shall
be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that bringeth
forth his fruit in his season. And he will. He brought about
the fruit of righteousness through his death on Calvary's cross.
He brings about the fruit of regeneration every time one of
those for whom he died is born again by the power of the Spirit
of God. In his due season, he shall bring
forth his fruit. His leaf also shall not wither,
and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." Can you say that about
yourself? Whatsoever you've done in your
life has prospered? If God's revealed to you the
tree of life and the tree of knowledge of good and evil, you
know that nothing you've ever done in your life has prospered.
You've failed at everything you've put your hand to. If you put your hand to the salvation
of your soul, I can promise you on the authority of God's Word,
you will fail. Here's another tree. You know which one it is. It's
the tree on Golgotha. the one on which the Son of God
bore in his body the sins of his people upon a tree, putting
them away once and for all, offering himself not to man. What the
Lord Jesus Christ did on Calvary's cross was not an offer of salvation
to you and me to be accepted or rejected. It was an offering
made to God. for all the sins of all God's
people and God Almighty accepted that offering. Do you believe
that? Has the wind of the Spirit blown
through these trees to reveal to you the accomplished work
of the Lord Jesus Christ? Cursed is everyone that hangeth
upon a tree. Now there's an illustration of
this in the scripture. Do you remember David's son Absalom? And hair in the scripture is
a picture of a man's glory, a woman's glory is her hair. That's given
many times in the scriptures, but remember what happened to
Absalom? Riding upon his horse, scripture says he got his hair
caught in a tree and was hung in that tree until they came
and pierced him through with a sword. What a picture of Christ.
It was his glory. hung Him upon that tree, satisfied
the demands of God's holy justice for all the sins of all God's
people. And God, with the sword of His wrath, sheathed it into
the heart of His own Son. He drank damnation dry and put
away all the sins of all of God's people for all times." What a
glorious tree that is. We're called the trees of righteousness,
which is the planting of the Lord. Lots of other trees mentioned
in scripture. We're likened to a palm tree.
We're likened to a teal tree. I want you to think with me in
closing, just for a moment. What John the Baptist said when
he came preaching the gospel, And he said, the axe of God has
been laid to the root of the tree. And he called them, he called
them to come to Christ, to repent and to believe the gospel. And
I want to close this message by calling you and me to come
right now in faith to Christ, knowing that the Lord has to
reveal the mystery of the gospel to us. The wind of the spirit
is the only thing that can blow through the trees and speak to
us with the voice of God. But here's what the scripture
says in Ecclesiastes chapter 11. You don't have to look it
up. If the tree, if the tree fall toward the South or toward
the North, in the place where the tree falleth, there it shall
be. The axe has been laid to the root of
the tree. There's going to come a day sooner than we think. I want you to think about death.
I do want you to think about it. I don't want you to be like
so many people that I know and that I've met who refuse to talk
about it or think about it or consider it until it's right
there in front of their face. I want you to think about it
with hope. I want you to think about it
with joy. I want you to think about it with anticipation. The
axe has been laid to the root of the tree. There's going to
come a day sooner than you and I think where the axe of God
is going to be laid to the root of our tree. Sooner than we think. It's coming. It is appointed unto man once
to die. And whether that tree falls to
the south or whether it falls to the north, there it lieth. You don't move the tree after
it's been cut down. I had someone call me this past
week. A member of my family passed
away and my brother called me and said, he said, would you
please pray for her soul? She's dead. She's gone. And he wants me to pray for her
soul. No need. Where the tree falls,
there it shall lie. How do I know which direction
I'm going to fall in? Well, has the voice of God spoken
to your heart? Has he caused you to know that
it's not of him that willeth nor of him that runneth, but
of God that showeth mercy? Has he caused you to see the
damnation of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and
your own depravity? Has he caused you to say, Amen,
Lord, that's me. I ate that fruit. I can't choose
what's right. Has he caused you to believe
that the Lord Jesus Christ himself is the only tree of life? And
that he prospered in everything he did. That his wheat leaf shall
not wither and in due season he shall produce his fruit. And
in glory he's planted by that river of crystal water. And the
way he accomplished it was on Calvary's tree. The only hope
you have of having your sin put away, the only hope you have
of having the law satisfied, the only hope you have of having
the righteousness of God is through the finished, accomplished work
of the Lord Jesus Christ. You believe that he is the Son
of God and that he accomplished what he came to do. Which way? Your tree's going to fall. It's
like we were talking about during the break, Brian. We don't know
when it's going to fall. We think, you know, I've got a few years
left. Maybe not. Maybe not. Today is the day of
salvation. Which way is your tree going
to fall? Because when it falls, that's the direction it will
stay in for all eternity. Let's pray. Our Heavenly Father,
we ask that You would cause us to to look to Christ. Oh Lord, open the eyes of our
understanding. Blow the wind of your spirit
through the trees of scripture and cause us to believe on Christ. For it's in his name we pray.
Amen. Brother Tom? 168 in the hard back temple.
Let's stand together. Lord, I hear of showers of blessing,
Thou art scattering, full and free. Showers the thirsty land
refreshing, Let some drops now fall on me. Even me, even me, Let Thy blessing
fall on me. ? Pass me not, O tender Savior
? Let me love and cling to Thee ? I am longing for Thy favor
? Whilst Thou art calling, O call me ? Even me, even me ? Let thy
blessing fall on me ? Pass me not, O mighty spirit ? Thou canst
make the blind to see ? Witnesser of Jesus' merit ? Speak the word
of power to me Even me, even me, let thy blessing fall on
me. Love of God so pure and changeless,
blood of Christ so rich and free. Grace of God so strong and boundless,
magnify them all on me. Even me, even me, let Thy blessing
fall on me. Pass me not, thy lost one bringing,
Bind my heart, O Lord, to thee. While the streams of life are
springing, Blessing others, O bless me. Even me, even me, Let Thy blessing fall on me. Thank you.