The Fall of Man
The Fall of Man
Aim: Seeking and embracing a all powerful God
Topics:
Mankind has fallen backward away from God.
GOD’S PEOPLE HUMBLY FALL FORWARD TO THE FEET OF CHRIST.
We need to keep moving forward so we don’t fall backward.
Our relationship with God is either growing or it is falling backward.
The Garden of your heart.
Background:
Several notable events have taken places in Gardens
Gardens represent perfection, rejection, betrayal, redemption, new life, empowerment, protection, and growth.
The Garden of Eden / Serpent in the Garden
There was no death, sin, bloodshed, or disease in this unspoiled environment. That all changed when Adam and Eve rebelled by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 3:6–7), shattering the perfection of this world.
The Garden of Gethsemane / Prayer
The Garden of Gethsemane is famous for being the location where Jesus prayed and his disciples slept the night before he was crucified.
Jesus Prays in Gethsemane / Mark 14:32–42 / Matthew 26:36–46 / John 17:15–23).
On the night of His arrest, Jesus led His followers to the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives where He poured out His soul to the Father in prayer (Matthew 26:36–46).
He pleaded for the protection and unity of His immediate disciples and for all of us who would come to faith through their ministry (John 17:15–23).
The Tomb in the Garden / Resurrection
All four Gospels record the burial of Jesus in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. John records the following details:
Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid.
So there they laid Jesus, because of the Jews’ Preparation Day, for the tomb was nearby. (John 19:41–42)
Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus in the Garden
The Roman soldiers and Temple guards had come to arrest Jesus with swords, staves and horses. Our Lord identified Himself as the Person for whom they were seeking, but He did so by using the very name of God.
Jesus identified Himself to this company of soldiers and Temple guards with the words spoken to Moses at the burning bush - "I AM". Jesus spoke the name the Lord God Almighty used with authority.
John 18:1 When Jesus had spoken these words, he went forth with his disciples over the brook Cedron,(O.T. Kidron) where was a garden, into the which he entered, and his disciples.
John 18:2 And Judas also, which betrayed him, knew the place: for Jesus offtimes resorted thither with his disciples.
John 18:3 Judas then, having received a band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns and torches and weapons.
John 18:4 Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye?
John 18:5 They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I am he. And Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them.
John 18:6 As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground.
Some commentaries suggest 300 to 600 men
No Power on earth can resist God’s word, truth or revelations.
JESUS SURRENDERED HIMSELF TO EVIL SO WE CAN OVERCOME EVIL.
JOHN 18:6 AS SOON THEN AS HE HAD SAID UNTO THEM, I AM HE, THEY WENT BACKWARD AND FELL TO THE GROUND.
Thus, Christ was declared to be more than a man. Our Lord chose to give them this proof of his infinite power that they might know that their power could not prevail against him if he chose to exert his might, seeing that the very breath of his mouth confounded, drove back, and struck them down to the earth.
They went backward, and, like men thunder-struck, fell to the ground. It should seem, they did not fall forward, as humbling themselves before him, and yielding to him, but backward, as standing it out to the utmost.
Application
What Does John 18:6 Mean?
He stepped forward, during their cowardly approach, under a cover of darkness, and answered with that tremendous, earth-shattering, awesome name, "I AM".
He spoke the name that God used to identify Himself.
"I AM" is the title Christ used to identify Himself as the eternal God and Prince of Peace so many times during His earthly walk.
"I AM the Door of the Sheepfold.
I AM the Light of the world.
I AM the Bread of Life.
I AM the Resurrection and the Life."
"I AM the Way and the Truth and the Life. No man comes to the Father, except by ME."
How does apply to mankind today?
Does God grow in the garden of your heart?
Does our life betray his Spirit given to us?
Do we continue to fall back on our old ways, nature, or character? (Background)
Do we recognize Jesus as God’s spirit in human flesh and fall to our knees with humbleness? (Forward)
Sin entered in a garden and sin was defeated in a garden.
Is you life a garden where your death to self brings new life to bloom and flourish?
John 12:24-26 (NIV)
Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
One who has chosen you to be His own longs to find delight in the garden of your heart.
How can you make your heart a garden for God?
Carefully tend it by spending time with Him in prayer and intimate worship.
Preparing the Soil
We cannot plant in hard soil; therefore, we must not allow our hearts to become hardened. Tilling the soil is arduous labor, and so is keeping our hearts soft. God gives his children a new, soft heart. (Ez. 36:26)
We need to stay on top of those pesky weeds! Vigilantly identifying and pulling weeds so that they do not overtake our hearts.
God wants to change our hearts so that we will show by our speech and by our actions that we respect his will and do it.
God offers each one of us the greatest treasure possible – indestructible peace, joy, and friendship with him in his everlasting kingdom.
We can lose that treasure if we refuse the grace – the free gift of God’s blessing and strength – which the Lord Jesus has won for us through his victory on the cross.
