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THE
TREES IN THE GARDENS
PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING BIBLE
SCRIPTURES;
(GENESIS 2:15-17; 3:22-24) (ACTS 10:39, 40 with John 19:40-42) (LUKE 23:39-43
WITH REVELATION 22:1-4, 14)
God redeemed the
children of Israel out of Egypt. They
began their journey and went out into the wilderness of Shur. It then says in (Exodus
15:22-25) “They went three days in the wilderness and found no
water. And when they came to Marah, they
could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter; therefore the
name of it was called Marah (meaning bitterness). The people murmured against Moses, saying,
what shall we drink? Moses cried unto
the Lord, and THE LORD SHOWED HIM A
TREE”. There is a lesson here for us in these
words. This world is described as a “dry and thirsty land, where no water is”, (Psalm 63:1). Because of sin, man is separated from
God and at enmity with God. No matter
what a person accomplishes or accumulates in this life, there will be a void,
emptiness within, a thirst that can never be filled or satisfied apart from
reconciliation to God. The Bible puts it
this way in (Mark 8:36) ‘What shall it profit a man, if he
gain the whole world, and lose his own soul”?
Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul”? Did
you ever realize that you could lose
your own soul? If you go through life
rejecting God’s Savior and God’s offer of salvation, you are in pursuit of
other things in exchange for your own soul.
There is a “time to die” for every person. Death is the absence of the spirit (soul)
from the body. At death the body goes to
the grave to await resurrection to either eternal life or eternal judgment.
(Read John 5:28, 29). Your spirit or
soul however, will pass immediately to either the conscious enjoyment of Heaven
or the conscious torment of Hell. (Read
Luke 16:22, 23). Which will it be for
you my friend? How can you escape Hell
and gain Heaven? THE LORD WANTS TO SHOW YOU A TREE.
The answer is in a TREE, called the “TREE OF LIFE”. In this
message we want to consider “THE TREES
IN THE GARDENS”. By way of outline
we will focus on the following:
1. THE
TREE OF LIFE IN THE GARDEN OF EDEN (GENESIS 2:15-17; 3:22-24)
2. THE
TREE OF LIFE IN THE GARDEN OF THE CRUCIFIXION (ACTS10:39, 40; JOHN 19:40-42)
3. THE
TREE OF LIFE IN THE GARDEN OF HEAVEN (LUKE 23:39-43; REVELATION 22:1-4, 14)
- THE
TREE OF LIFE IN THE GARDEN OF EDEN (GENESIS 2:15-17;
3:22-24)
The Lord wants to show you THIS TREE. When
God created Adam and Eve, they were put into the Garden of Eden to dress it and
to keep it. (Genesis 2:16). It then says, (Genesis
2:16, 17) “The Lord God commanded the man, saying, of every tree of the
garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou
shalt surely die”. They disobeyed God and fell into sin. As soon as they sinned they sought to hide
their sin. They became aware of their nakedness
and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons. (Genesis
3:7). It is a picture of man’s
inadequate efforts to deal with the issue of sin in their own lives. When God came into the Garden and called
Adam, he along with his wife, was hiding amongst the trees of the garden. The trees were for food and beauty, and the TREE OF LIFE” was God’s provision for
eternal life; they were not intended as a hiding place from God. Their fall into sin brought shame, fear,
sorrow and death. God’s judgment was
pronounced upon them. When sin came in,
death came in. The moment Adam sinned he
died spiritually; years later he died physically as well. It says in (Genesis 3:21) “The Lord God made coats of skins,
and clothed them”. An innocent animal was sacrificed to provide a
covering for their sin. Blood had to be
shed. This was a foreshadowing of a
greater sacrifice (the sacrifice of God’s innocent Son) that would be required
to provide the believing sinner a “robe of righteousness and a garment of
salvation”. God was true to His word and
judgment was pronounced upon them. It
says in (Genesis 3:23, 24) “The Lord God sent him (Adam)
forth from the Garden of Eden”. “He
drove out the man, and He placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubim’s, and a flaming sword which turned
every way, to keep the way of the TREE
OF LIFE”. Because
of sin, Adam and Eve forfeited their right to the TREE OF LIFE. Dear
reader, the story of Adam and Eve is no mere myth, folklore or legend but an
actual event in human history. Sin has
been transmitted by Adam to all his posterity.
The whole human race has been infected with the “virus of sin”. It says in (Romans
5:12) “As by one man (Adam) sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and
so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned”. Here is the result of Adam’s fall upon
his posterity. Notice how “all
encompassing” this verse is. We have the
following revealed to us:
·
We have the SOURCE OF SIN – “By
one man”
·
We have the SPHERE OF SIN – “sin
entered into the world”.
·
We have the CONSEQUENCE OF SIN – “and death by sin”
·
We have the DEVASTATION OF SIN – “and so death passed upon all men”
·
We have the UNIVERSALITY OF SIN – “for that all have sinned”.
Dear reader, this truth
affects you personally. It says all
have sinned and all will
die. This includes you. Will you be saved and
escape hell and gain Heaven? Because of
sin, Adam and Eve and all their posterity, have been banished from the Tree of Life. Judgment upon sin was absolutely
necessary because God is a holy, righteous and just God. But God is also a God of love, mercy and
grace. Even in the midst of judgment
being pronounced upon our first parents, God spoke of One who would come that
was called “the seed of the woman” (speaking of His Beloved Son, the Lord Jesus
Christ). God said there would be a
conflict between the serpent (Satan) and Jesus Christ. The Lord would “bruise the serpents head”
(Satan’s mortal wound) though He Himself would be bruised in the conflict (Calvary and the Cross).
See (Genesis 3:15). This conflict would
involve another tree. We can rightly
call this:
- THE
TREE OF LIFE IN THE GARDEN OF THE CRUCIFIXION (Acts 10:39,
40) & (John 19:40-42)
The Lord wants to show you THIS TREE. We
read in (John 19: 41) “In
the place where He was crucified there was a GARDEN”. Speaking
of the Lord Jesus Christ, it says in (Acts 10:39) “Whom they slew and hanged on a TREE”. This
is what sinful man did to Him. (Isaiah 53:3)”He was despised and rejected of men; a man of
sorrows, and acquainted with grief”. The
Son of God was the delight of His Father’s heart. The heavens were opened unto Him on a number
of occasions and God’s voice was heard to say (Matthew 3:16, 17) “This is my beloved Son, in whom
I am well pleased”. Before sinful man however, it was a different
matter. (Psalm
69:4) “They that hate me without a cause
are more than the hairs of mine head, they that would destroy me, being mine enemies wrongfully, are
mighty”. They said (Luke 19:14) “We will not have this man to reign
over us”. Before Pilate, the loud cry of the Lord’s enemies was (John 19:15) “Away with Him, away with Him,
crucify Him”. Then we read in (Luke 23:33) “And when they were come to the place
called Calvary, there they crucified Him”. Here
is man’s ultimate sin and supreme rebellion, the execution of God’s beloved
Son.
My friend, it was for
your sins that Jesus hung upon that cross at Calvary. Have you
ever considered this? It says in (1 Peter 2:24) “Who
His own self bare our own sins in His own body ON THE TREE”. (1 Peter 3:18)
“Christ …suffered for sins the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to
God”. But, at Calvary, we not only have the sinful, rebellious heart
of man revealed, we have also the display of God’s love in all its fullness. The divine side of Calvary is that (Romans 8:32) “God spared not His own Son, but
delivered Him up for us all”. The Lord Jesus Christ was (Isaiah 53:4) “Stricken, smitten of God and afflicted”. (Isaiah 53:10) ”It pleased the Lord to bruise
Him; He hath put Him to grief, when thou shalt make His soul an offering for
sin”. After the Lord Jesus hung
upon the cross for three hours, there was a supernatural darkness that covered
that scene for the next three hours.
During those three hours of darkness the waves and billows of God’s
wrath and judgment were poured out upon Him.
When He took your heavy load of sin upon Himself, He bore the judgment
of God that was due to you. Calvary’s
cross was a “tree of death” for the Savior, but it can be a “TREE OF LIFE” for
you my friend if you will believe in Him and accept Him as your own personal
Savior. The Bible declares with no uncertainty that man
is unable to provide salvation by his own efforts, be they ever so religious,
righteous or remarkable. But, God has
made a way of salvation and has revealed it in His Word, the Bible. The gift of God’s righteousness is available
to all who will believe. Will you
believe in God’s beloved Son? There is
nothing in this life that you will ever achieve or receive that can be compared
to God’s gift of salvation. The hymn writer put it as follows;
Salvation, Salvation, Vast, full
and free
Through the precious blood of the
Son of God
Who was slain on Calvary
We love to sing of the Lord who
died,
And His wondrous love proclaim
How there’s life and peace through
the Crucified,
And salvation through His Name.
Oh, the height and depth of His
boundless love,
And His mercy who can tell,
When He came to the cross from the
throne above
To save our souls from hell.
For those who are saved,
“born again” by the Spirit of God, they will have access to “THE TREE OF LIFE”. They will have
access to:
- THE
TREE OF LIFE IN THE GARDEN
OF HEAVEN
(Luke 23:39-43)
& (Revelation 22:1-4, 14)
The Lord wants to show you THIS
TREE. In (Luke 23:39-43) we read the story of the conversion of the thief as he hung upon the
cross next to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Upon the thief’s confession of faith in Christ, the Lord said to him (Luke 23:43) “Today shalt thou be with me in PARADISE”.
“PARADISE” is a Persian word that means a “park” or
enclosed “garden”. The Jews used this word to describe the
place where the redeemed (those saved and born again) go between death and
resurrection. For us today it means
heaven. In the “garden of heaven” there
is a tree. It says in (Revelation 22:1, 2) “And he showed me a pure river of water
of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the
Lamb. In the midst of the street of it,
and on either side of the river, was there THE
TREE OF LIFE, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit
every month: and the leaves of THE TREE were
for the healing of the nations”. Regarding
the “Tree of Life”, we further read in (verse 14 of the
RV) “Blessed are they that wash their robes (a metaphor for obedience to
the Word of God) that they may HAVE RIGHT TO THE TREE OF LIFE, and may enter in through the gates
into the city”. Dear reader, if
you remain in your sins and continue to reject the Lord Jesus Christ as your
Savior, you will have no right, no access to the “tree of life”. It says in (2 Peter 3:9) “The Lord is longsuffering to us-ward, not
willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance”. God, in wondrous love, mercy and
grace, has put THE TREE OF LIFE WITHIN
OUR REACH. Because of “the tree in the garden of the crucifixion”
man can have access to “the tree in
the garden of heaven”. The poet
stated it as follows;
Glory to the blessed God, and the Lamb who shed
His blood
From the throne the river flows, bringing life wherever
it goes.
On each side the LIVING TREE, in our reach by faith we see
TREE OF
LIFE for everyone, who believes
in God’s own Son.
WHOSOEVER, glorious word, telling out the heart
of God
He His judgment has delayed, wishing all men to
be saved
It’s for every bitten one, just to look on God’s
own Son
Live and tell out far and wide, that for all men
Jesus died.
My friend, I can tell you on the
authority of the Word of God, that God loves you. He wants you to be saved. As you read this message you are at “the
crossroads” in your life. Which way will
you go? Will you continue to reject the
Savior and God’s offer of salvation? Or,
will you believe on Him and receive Him as your Lord and Savior? It’s your decision and your responsibility.
Please give this matter your most
serious attention. Will you be a
believer or a non-believer? Your eternal
destiny depends on your decision.
CHRISTIAN MESSENGER