Participants: Nathan Renner
Series Code: OTR
Program Code: OTR000782
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00:59 Hello and welcome to "On the Road".
01:01 I'm Pastor Nathan Renner, the senior pastor 01:03 of the Troy Seventh-day Adventist Church. 01:06 It's my privilege to be able to spend a little time 01:09 with you today, studying God's word. 01:12 Our topic is titled 01:14 "Jesus the Last Adam and the New Israel". 01:19 Fascinating topic diving in to the depths of scripture 01:23 talking about these important topics of Adam and Israel 01:27 and I think that you will be thrilled as you hear the message 01:32 "Jesus the Last Adam and the new Israel." 01:35 Let's begin with prayer. 01:37 Our father, we thank you for this great day of life. 01:41 We thank you for the great privilege of studying Your word. 01:46 Please, now as we look at your word, 01:48 speak to our hearts and give us a revelation of Your truth 01:52 Iin Jesus name, amen. 01:56 The Bible begins very simply. 01:58 It begins with a perfect God and a perfect man 02:02 in a perfect environment on a perfect world. 02:05 It's a very simple picture. 02:06 God creates that world in six literal days 02:09 and the Bible as you read through the Book of Genesis, 02:12 in fact it begins with in the beginning God 02:15 and God creates the first day and the Bible says, it was Good. 02:19 God creates and God says it was good. 02:21 God creates, the Bible says it was good. 02:24 Over and over and over again 02:25 the message we get in the Book of Genesis 02:28 in the first chapter is a very simple message. 02:31 You begin with a perfect God, a perfect world, 02:34 a perfect environment, and a perfect man. 02:37 The Bible as I have said begins very simply. 02:41 And in Genesis Chapter 2, God gives this perfect man 02:45 and a perfect world, a perfect food. 02:47 He gives them all of the trees in the garden except for one, 02:52 in Genesis 2:17, the Lord says to Adam, 02:58 "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil 03:03 you shall not eat, for in the day 03:06 that you eat of it you shall surely die." 03:10 God in the beginning creates this--I have said, 03:13 a perfect world, a perfect environment, 03:16 there's a perfect God, and there's a perfect man, 03:19 and God in this perfect world and with this perfect man, 03:24 gives him permission to eat 03:26 from any tree in the garden except for one 03:30 and that's the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 03:33 And I've asked myself and I know many of you have asked yourself, 03:37 why is it that God would create 03:40 this tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 03:44 Why would God give this perfect man in this perfect environment, 03:49 this opportunity to eat from a tree 03:53 that would not be for his benefit? 03:55 Well, my friends, 03:57 the Bible declares very plainly that God is love. 04:00 And love must give us the right to not only say yes, 04:04 but the right to say no. 04:06 And so God provides this one opportunity, 04:09 this tree of the knowledge of good and evil, 04:12 as an opportunity for Adam and Eve 04:15 to cast their vote on the side of God 04:18 or on the side of the Satan and themselves. 04:23 And in Genesis Chapter 3, we know the tragic story. 04:26 Eve is there at the tree 04:28 and she takes of the fruit of the tree 04:30 and she eats the fruit of the tree 04:33 and then she gives some to her husband. 04:35 And we know the tragic story, 04:38 the eyes of the both of them are opened, 04:40 they understand good and evil. 04:43 They fall and they begin 04:47 that downwards spiral of sin and death. 04:53 Things were rolling along quiet nicely 04:55 as I--as we look at scripture, 04:57 you've a perfect God, perfect world, 04:59 perfect man, perfect environment, 05:01 but then as a result of the tragic fall, 05:05 the world is entered into a downward spiral. 05:09 If you wanted to just sum up the crises, 05:12 the characteristics of the crises that Adam and Eve 05:15 and this world faced, it could be summed up 05:18 in two very simple words, two very simple words. 05:23 They are death and disobedience, death and disobedience. 05:30 We see it in Genesis 2:17, as we've already read, 05:34 that God says, "If you eat from the tree 05:36 of the knowledge of good and evil, you will die". 05:41 And so in the midst of the sin we have the crises of death 05:44 entering our world for the very first time. 05:47 Adam and Eve, in their pre-sin world, 05:52 death was not in existence. 05:54 There was no such thing as death. 05:55 There was no such thing as pain. 05:58 There was no such thing as sorrow. 06:00 But as a result of the sin of Adam and Eve, 06:04 the Bible makes it clear that death is the new reality, 06:08 death is the new reality. 06:09 And of course disobedience was the cause of that death. 06:14 God said you shall not eat of the tree. 06:17 Yet they chose to eat of the tree as well. 06:20 So when we look at the Genesis story 06:22 and we look at the Bible, the Bible begins very simply, 06:26 perfect God, perfect world, 06:28 perfect environment, perfect man, 06:30 and in the midst of all of that perfection, 06:33 there's a wrong decision. 06:35 There is a choice that is made against God, 06:38 a disobedient choice. 06:40 And the result of that disobedient choice is death. 06:44 And so the two key problems that plague humanity 06:48 in the Bible are death and disobedience. 06:53 This is the crises that humanity faced 06:56 and that God has to deal with, 06:59 or God chose to deal with. 07:02 So how is this crises managed? I mean, what does God do? 07:07 Here is man. 07:09 Man has willfully chosen 07:12 to place himself on the side of Satan. 07:16 What is God to do in the midst of this crises? 07:20 I mean, God gave man a free will. 07:22 God gave man free choice. 07:24 And man exercised that freedom inappropriately. 07:28 Man exercised that freedom in rebellion against God. 07:33 And so know they are in crises, what is God to do? 07:40 Well, since it was man that placed himself on Satan side, 07:45 it was only man that could choose 07:48 to remove himself from Satan's side. 07:52 Since it was man that sinned, it was man that must obey. 07:58 Because it was man that sinned, it was man that must die. 08:04 God in some sins-- 08:06 and it's a little difficult to even say this, 08:09 but God was in some sins limited in this crises 08:15 by His own justice and His own integrity. 08:19 God as God couldn't just step in and fix it. 08:23 It was man's problem. 08:24 Man had chose Satan and God must honor his choice. 08:30 I want you to understand that. It's really important. 08:33 You see, man made the choice to become a servant of Satan. 08:39 Man made the choice to take of the fruit 08:43 and eat the fruit of the tree. 08:45 It was man's decision. 08:48 God did not force Adam to eat from the tree. 08:51 God did not compelled Adam to eat from the tree. 08:55 Satan didn't compel Adam to eat from the tree. 09:00 It was Adam's choice to eat from the tree. 09:03 So Adam, of his own free will, 09:07 chose to align himself with Satan. 09:13 Now this is important because God is a gentleman. 09:17 God is gentleman. 09:19 God will honor the choice of man. 09:23 Man has said, "We will align ourselves with Satan." 09:25 And so God will say, "I will honor your choice. 09:28 I won't step in and stop you. I will honor your choice." 09:34 And so in the midst of this crises, God was limited, 09:39 because it was man that made the choice, 09:41 it was only by man that this could be undone. 09:45 Now I want to stop you, just for a moment here, 09:48 and make it very clear. 09:50 You're gonna have to stick with me here for a little while 09:53 because when I say it was man that has to solve this problem, 09:58 it isn't really in our power to solve it 10:02 because we're going to die. 10:04 We are going to die. And we have sinned. 10:07 And so when we're saying that man is the one 10:10 that has to fix this problem, 10:13 we're going to see exactly 10:15 what that really means in a little moment. 10:17 But I'll give you a hint. 10:18 It involves the God Man, Jesus Christ. 10:22 Now let's get back to the scriptures. 10:27 Since it was man that got himself into this predicament, 10:30 what is God going to do? What is God going to do? 10:36 Well-- and this is important. 10:38 Throughout the Old Testament 10:39 we see God looking for a new man or a new Adam 10:45 or a new people that would be faithful to Him. 10:50 Now I want you to follow that. 10:52 As we look-- and I'll show you this 10:54 from scripture in just a moment. 10:55 As we look, we begin with Adam. And Adam makes a wrong choice. 11:00 He falls. 11:03 And after that fall, 11:04 since it was man that got them into the situation, 11:07 it is man that must get himself out. 11:09 And so what do we see? 11:10 We see God--we see God looking for a new man 11:16 that will not do the same kinds of things that Adam does. 11:21 So we see God looking for a new man, 11:25 a new Adam or a new people that will be faithful to Him. 11:30 And unfortunately every time they come up short. 11:37 Let's take for example, Noah. 11:39 In the days of Noah the earth become so sinful 11:43 that the Bible says, in Genesis 6:5, 6, 11:48 "That the Lord saw the wickedness of man 11:50 was great on the earth, 11:52 and that every intention of his thoughts 11:54 of his heart was only evil continually. 11:58 And the Lord was sorry that He made man on the earth 12:02 and it grieved Him in His heart. 12:04 So the Lord said 'I would blot out man 12:07 whom I have created from the face of the land, 12:10 men and animals and creeping things 12:13 and birds of the heavens for I am sorry 12:16 that I have made them.' 12:18 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord." 12:22 Now notice the picture. 12:24 In Genesis Chapter 6, humanity as a result of the fall 12:28 and of their own decisions, 12:30 has become so corrupt 12:33 that ultimately God's heart is grieved 12:36 that He made humanity. 12:38 Yeah, people have hard time understanding that. 12:40 But I supposed it's a little bit like Einstein 12:44 who really was one of the pioneers 12:47 in the study of atomic energy. 12:53 And he recognized in the realities of atomic energy 12:58 that it could be used for extremely wonderful 13:00 and positive purposes 13:02 and it could be used for extremely horrible purposes. 13:05 And here, God created man to be used 13:09 and to exist for a glorious purpose 13:13 and yet what does God see, 13:15 that, that wonderful thing that He created 13:17 that could used for a glorious purpose has now destroyed itself 13:22 and has ruined itself and become full of violence. 13:27 So what does God do? 13:29 Well, the Bible says, as we read there in Genesis 6:8, 13:33 that Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. 13:39 Now it's fascinating, what we see. 13:42 We see that you have-- 13:44 now God is going to destroy the earth at by the flood. 13:46 And he's going to preserve through that flood one man 13:50 and that man and his family is Noah. 13:54 And what we're gonna see is that when God sends the flood, 13:58 it is the reversal of creation. 14:01 Let me say that again. 14:03 When God sends the flood it is the reversal of creation. 14:08 Genesis 7:11, 12. Genesis 7:11,12. 14:16 "In the six hundredth year of Noah's life, 14:20 in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, 14:24 on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, 14:30 and the windows of the heaven were opened." 14:34 Now notice that fascinating language. 14:36 Well, we will read verse 12 as well. 14:38 "The rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights." 14:41 Now notice what it's saying here. 14:43 It's saying, at such in such a time, 14:45 particular time of Noah's life, 14:47 the waters of the great deep burst forth and came up. 14:53 And it says, that the waters 14:54 that were above the earth came down. 14:58 Now notice this amazing picture. 15:01 You have water shooting up and water falling down. 15:07 Come with me to Genesis 1:7, Genesis 1:7. 15:15 It is speaking of the days of creation and the Bible says, 15:21 "And God made the expanse, and separated the waters 15:25 that were under the expanse from the waters 15:28 that were above the expanse, and it was so" verse 8, 15:31 "God called the expanse heaven and there was evening 15:34 and there was morning, the second day." 15:37 Now notice what we are seeing here in Genesis Chapter 1. 15:41 In Genesis 1:1, when God is creating 15:44 the heavens and the earth, the Bible says 15:46 that the earth is formless and void 15:48 and then it's covered in water. 15:51 And then when God begins to create, 15:54 He separates the water's that are on the earth 15:58 and He makes an expanse, or we're in atmosphere 16:01 and then there's water above the earth. 16:03 And so in the creation story here-- 16:07 which by the way is more than a story it's a historical fact. 16:11 But in this creation narrative, 16:13 we see that God is taking this earth 16:16 that's just one formless void piece of water essentially 16:21 and he separates the water. 16:24 He make's a division in the water 16:26 so that some of the water goes up 16:28 and it forms a sort of an atmosphere 16:31 and then some of the water is still remaining on the earth. 16:37 Now it's fascinating then, if in the creation story Gods 16:41 separates the water's from the water's 16:44 and He makes an atmosphere of water 16:48 between the earth and the sky, 16:50 when in the creation God creates the water, 16:54 He moves the water up and keep some down, 16:57 we see in the flood the reversal of creation. 17:02 Again we see in the flood the reversal of the creation. 17:07 Remember in Genesis Chapter 7 when the flood begins, 17:11 the water's fall down from the sky 17:14 and they shoot up from the ground. 17:17 They fall down from the sky 17:19 and they shoot up from the ground. 17:21 Now notice the powerful image that God is communicating here. 17:26 What is God saying in the flood? 17:29 God is saying that the earth has become so corrupt, 17:33 the earth has become so vile, that God is saying, 17:37 He' gonna start over. 17:38 Just like He began with the perfect world 17:41 and a perfect creation, 17:42 He begins with this perfect creation. 17:45 So God says, "I'm going to reverse creation. 17:48 Just like I moved the waters apart in creation, 17:52 now I'm going to move them back together." 17:54 And that's what we're seeing in Genesis Chapter 7. 17:58 Now it's fascinating because if you look in Genesis 1:1, 2, 18:04 it says very simply "In the beginning God created 18:07 the heavens and the earth. 18:08 The earth was without form and void. 18:12 Darkness was over the face of the deep. 18:14 And the Spirit of God 18:16 was hovering over the face of the waters." 18:20 So you have here in the beginning, 18:22 God is creating-- and the Bible says, 18:25 that the earth is formless and void 18:26 and the spirit of God is there hovering 18:29 over the face of the water. 18:32 Come with me to Genesis 7:20. Genesis 7:20. 18:41 The Bible says, "The waters prevailed above the mountains, 18:49 covering them fifteen cubits deep." 18:51 Notice, my friends, in Genesis Chapter 7, 18:54 when the flood comes, 18:55 it is the full reversal of creation. 18:57 The water's that were separated are now reunited 19:01 and they cover the entire globe, 19:04 just like we read in Genesis Chapter 1. 19:07 We see the reversal of creation. 19:10 Now it's fascinating because if we skip down to Genesis 8:1, 19:15 the Bible says, "But God remembered Noah 19:18 and all the beasts and all the livestock 19:22 that were with him in the ark. 19:24 And God made a wind blow over the earth, 19:28 and the waters subsided." 19:31 It's fascinating picture. 19:33 The flood is going and it goes over the tops of the mountains 19:38 and then when the time comes for the flood to seize, 19:41 the Bible says that God causes a wind to blow over the waters. 19:47 Fascinating thing we miss in the English. 19:50 But it's right there in Hebrew, 19:52 unmistakably there in the Hebrew. 19:55 And that is simply this. 19:57 The word for wind in Hebrew and in Greek is the same word 20:03 for spirit and breath and wind, spirit, breath, and wind. 20:10 All the same in Hebrew and all the same in Greek. 20:14 In Greek "psuche" and in Hebrew "ruach." 20:18 Now it's fascinating what's being said. 20:21 Now remember Genesis Chapter 1, the earth is formless and void. 20:24 It's covered with water and the spirit of God 20:27 is there hovering over the waters. 20:29 The spirit of God is hovering over the waters. 20:32 So you have the water covered earth and the spirit. 20:35 In Genesis Chapter 8, 20:36 you have the water covered earth and the wind. 20:40 The wind, it's the same Hebrew word. 20:44 So what do we see then in the creation story? 20:48 We see the creation story, Genesis Chapter 1, 20:52 then the earth gets so corrupt because of sin that God says 20:56 in Genesis 6 and 7, "I'm going to start over. 21:00 I'm going to reverse creation. 21:02 Just like as I separated the water's in Genesis 1, 21:05 I'm going to reunite the waters in Genesis 7. 21:08 Just like I reunited the waters, 21:11 it's going to cover the whole earth." 21:13 And just like when the earth was covered 21:16 with water in Genesis 1:2, 21:18 the Bible says, that the spirit was there. 21:21 So in Genesis 8:1, when God says, 21:24 the earth is covered with water, 21:26 His wind is there, His ruach is there. 21:31 My friends, what are we seeing? 21:33 We're seeing that the flood is the reversal of creation. 21:38 Now it's fascinating in Genesis 2:7, 21:44 notice what the Bible says about Adam. 21:48 The Bible says, "Then the Lord God 21:51 formed the man of the dust from the ground 21:54 and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, 21:57 and man became a living creature." 22:02 Man became a living creature. 22:04 Now Adam--the word Adam in Hebrew its Adam. 22:08 And that name Adam just means something very simple. 22:14 Adam just means dust or dirt. 22:18 Okay. Just mean dirt. 22:22 And so really, in essence, when God named Adam, Adam, 22:26 God named Adam dust or dirt. 22:30 God named him after what he was made out of. 22:34 That's Genesis 2:7. 22:37 It's fascinating though when you get to Genesis 9: 20, 22:42 the flood is over, okay. 22:45 The flood is over, it's interesting too 22:48 because God gives instructions to Adam 22:50 after His creation of how to eat. 22:52 As soon as the flood is over, God gives instructions to Noah 22:56 about how to eat there in Genesis 9. 22:59 But notice Genesis 9:20. Genesis 9:20. 23:05 The flood is over and the Bible says, 23:08 "Noah began to be a man of the soil." 23:14 Noah became a man of the soil. 23:18 Now, I wonder what the word soil is? 23:22 It's fascinating, It's fascinating. 23:24 The word soil there is Adam. It's Adam. 23:30 So what does that mean? What does that mean? 23:33 Really, essentially the point of the text is that after the flood 23:38 and the earth is essentially now the new creation, 23:42 God is beginning again with a new Adam, the new Adam. 23:48 And that new Adam is Noah. That new Adam is Noah. 23:54 Just like God creates the world in Genesis Chapter 1, 23:57 He reverses creation in the flood 24:00 and then He starts off with a new head of humanity 24:05 and that new head of humanity is Noah. 24:08 And the Bible refers to Noah as a man of the soil. 24:13 Remember the word soil or dirt? It means Adam. 24:17 Adam is the Hebrew word that means man of the soil. 24:21 So here we see that Noah is the new Adam. 24:25 He's the new father of humanity. 24:29 But what happens to Noah as soon as the Bible declares 24:34 Ithat he is the new Adam? 24:36 Genesis Chapter 9, we just read verse 20. 24:38 "Noah began to be a man of the soil, 24:42 and he planted a vineyard" verse 2, 24:44 "He drank of the wine and became drunk 24:48 and lay uncovered in his tents." 24:51 And then we know the rest of the tragic story. 24:54 Ham his son comes in and see's his father 24:58 and we have this whole embarrassing episode 25:01 and this whole terrible experience. 25:04 Now I want you to follow 25:06 what is the word of God really telling us here. 25:09 It's telling us that Noah, the man of the soil, Noah, 25:13 the new Adam, has the same exact experience as the first Adam. 25:19 The first Adam had his new creation 25:22 and every thing was going fine 25:24 and then he fails and sins by eating 25:28 from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 25:31 And then comes Noah. 25:32 And Noah is the new Adam, after the new creation, 25:36 after the reversal of the creation. 25:40 And then the recreation, the new Adam, Noah, 25:45 immediately drinks of the fruit of the wine 25:49 and you see the whole sad story of his nakedness 25:54 and his problem there with his son, 25:59 and of course most commentators understand 26:02 that it wasn't just that his son saw him naked. 26:07 But there is some kind of Hebrew idiom 26:10 there that's implying some violation took place. 26:16 And so, my friends, 26:17 we see the story of Adam replayed in the story of Noah. 26:24 Adam is the head of a new creation and Adam-- 26:28 or Noah is the head of a new creation, 26:30 the new Adam and he goes through the same sad experience, 26:37 the same sad experience as the first Adam. 26:43 Now God as we have said remember, God, began with Adam. 26:47 And Adam was a perfect man in a perfect world, 26:49 with the perfect God and a perfect environment 26:52 and Adam chose to align himself with Satan. 26:55 Adam chose to align himself with Satan. 26:59 And so God needs to rescue humanity, 27:02 but God can't violate man's choice. 27:05 So God starts--and so man has chosen to serve the devil. 27:09 God is not gonna violate that. So what does God do? 27:12 God says, "All right we're gonna reverse creation, 27:15 we're gonna start over with a new Adam." 27:18 And that new Adam is Noah, a man of the soil. 27:21 Noah became the new Adam. 27:23 And that new Adam, that new Adam immediately stumbles 27:27 and sins just like the first Adam. 27:30 So God makes another attempt. 27:32 God makes another attempt with Israel. 27:36 Go to Exodus Chapter 4. 27:39 Exodus 4: 22. Exodus 4: 22. 27:47 Here the Bible refers to Israel as God's first born son, 27:54 by the way which is a link to Adam, 27:58 or Adam being God's first born. 28:01 "Then you shall say to Pharaoh, Thus says the LORD, 28:04 'Israel is my firstborn son.'" 28:07 Notice the language. 28:09 God understands that Israel is His firstborn son. 28:13 And so Israel is now the new Adam, God's first born. 28:18 And what is God trying to do with His new firstborn? 28:24 He's trying to use them as an example of faithfulness, 28:30 the head of the new humanity as it were. 28:33 Come with me to Exodus 16:4. 28:39 Just like God gave Adam a test in the new creation, 28:44 so God gave Noah the test in the new creation 28:48 and Noah failed it by drinking alcohol. 28:51 In Exodus 16:4, notice what God says, 28:58 "Then the Lord said to Moses, 29:00 'Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, 29:04 and the people shall go out 29:07 and gather a day's portion every day, 29:09 that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not. 29:15 On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, 29:19 it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.'" 29:23 So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, 29:26 and then Moses and Aaron began to instruct the people. 29:28 Now notice, what's happening here. 29:30 You have Israel, the new Adam, God's firstborn. 29:35 And God says, "Just like I gave Adam a test, 29:39 and just like I gave Noah a test. 29:42 So now I am giving you a test. 29:45 I am going to send manna to you. 29:47 And that manna will be available six days 29:50 and I am going to see whether you will obey my law or not 29:54 by sending you this test." 29:57 Just like God sent Adam the test and Noah the test, 30:02 so God now has Israel, His firstborn son, 30:06 the new Adam and God sends them a similar test. 30:10 In this case, a dietary test to test them 30:15 in their faithfulness to the law of God. 30:19 Now, what is the ultimate testimony about Israel? 30:25 What ultimately is the testimony? 30:28 Hosea 6:7 says, of the nation of Israel, 30:35 "But like Adam they transgressed the covenant, 30:43 there they dealt faithlessly with me." 30:48 Notice what the scripture says. 30:50 It's a fascinating testimony. 30:52 Ultimately, what God says is, 30:55 is that Israel is just like Adam. 30:59 "They were faithless to Me. 31:01 They broke covenant with Me just like Adam did." 31:06 You know what this is telling me 31:07 that again man got himself into this mess 31:12 by making a decision for Satan. 31:14 Man got himself into the mess by making a decision for Satan 31:17 and God says, "All right, we're gonna start over, 31:20 we're gonna recreate this earth. 31:22 We're gonna start off with a new Adam, that is Noah." 31:25 And Noah gets himself right in the same place. 31:28 And God says, "All right, we're gonna start, 31:29 we're gonna redeem Israel from Egypt 31:31 and we're gonna start over with Israel." 31:34 And Israel, what happens to them? 31:36 God gives them the test and what happens in their test? 31:40 They too fall short. 31:42 And in fact when get to the Book of Hosea, 31:44 as we just read, Hosea says, Israel is just like Adam. 31:49 They broke covenant with God. 31:51 They were faithless to God. 31:53 And so that gives us the remarkable picture, 31:56 my friends, and listen very carefully, 31:58 the story of Adam is the story of Nathan. 32:06 The story of Noah is the story of Nathan. 32:09 The story of Israel is the story of Nathan. 32:11 In other words, what we see here is essentially 32:14 that whether it's Noah, it's Adam or it is Israel, 32:18 that is the story of humanity. 32:22 That is the experience of everyone. 32:25 So, what is this all about? 32:27 The story of Noah is the story of Adam. 32:29 The story of Israel is the story of Adam. 32:31 The story Nathan Renner is the story of Adam. 32:34 The story of every human being is the story of Adam. 32:38 God gives us the opportunity to serve Him or not serve Him 32:42 and all of humanity has chosen to go the wrong way. 32:47 The Bible says, in Romans 3:23, 32:50 "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." 32:55 My friends, so what is God to do? 32:57 What is God to do? 32:59 Man has chosen to align himself with Satan. 33:03 It is man that chose Satan, so it is got to be man 33:07 that chooses to not serve Satan and chooses to serve God. 33:13 Yet when God tries to do it with Adam it doesn't work. 33:16 When God tries to do with Noah it doesn't work. 33:18 When God tries to do with Israel it doesn't work. 33:21 So what is God to do? 33:24 God needs to send the last Adam 33:30 and the new Israel, Jesus Christ. 33:34 What is God to do? 33:36 God must become a man. 33:40 God must become a man. 33:42 You see, man enslaved himself to Satan. 33:48 Man enslaved himself to Satan. 33:50 So even when God starts over with a new creation 33:53 and a new Adam and Noah, 33:55 man is still enslaved to Satan, man still falls. 34:00 When He starts over with a new Israel, 34:03 the new Adam again, what happens with Israel? 34:06 They still are enslaved to Satan and they still fall. 34:09 So what does God do? 34:12 God becomes a man, so that as a man 34:16 He can be victorious where others have fallen. 34:20 That as a man, He can be victorious 34:22 where others have sinned 34:24 and so that as a man He can conquer disobedience and death, 34:28 the two great problems that we see in the garden. 34:32 God sends Jesus, the last Adam and the new Israel. 34:37 And as a man He fights with Satan on His own ground and wins 34:44 and He overcomes the problem of disobedience and death. 34:49 Come with me to Matthew Chapter 2, Matthew Chapter 2. 34:53 We're gonna begin in verse 13. 34:57 Matthew 2, beginning in verse 13. 35:01 Its fascinating picture here, 35:02 we're gonna look at the life of Jesus. 35:04 And what we're going to see is that the life of Jesus 35:08 is modeled after the experience of ancient Israel. 35:12 We're gonna see that the life of Jesus parallels 35:14 the experience of ancient Israel. 35:18 Matthew 2:13, "When they had departed--" 35:22 I'm talking--we're talking about Jesus here, He's a baby. 35:25 "Now when they had departed, 35:27 behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. 35:30 Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, 35:34 remain there until I tell you, 35:36 for Herod is about to search for the child to destroy him.' 35:40 And he rose and took the child and his mother by night 35:42 and departed to Egypt 35:44 and remained there until the death of Herod. 35:46 This was to fulfill 35:48 what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, 35:51 'Out of Egypt I've called my son.'" 35:53 Now I want you to know the story of Jesus here, 35:55 Jesus is born, Herod wants to hurt Jesus. 35:58 So God tells Joseph, "Take Jesus to Egypt, 36:03 stay there until I tell you to leave 36:06 and then when you leave 36:07 it's gonna fulfill the prophecy of the Old Testament 36:10 that says, out of Egypt has God's son been called." 36:14 Now, come with me to the Book of Hosea. 36:18 Hosea 11:1, that's where we get this prophecy 36:22 that the son will leave Egypt. 36:25 Hosea 11:1, "When Israel was a child--" 36:31 I'm reading Hosea 11:1, 36:34 "When Israel was a child, I loved him 36:37 and out of Egypt I called my son." 36:43 According to Hosea 11:1, the son that God loved, 36:50 the son that God called out of Egypt, was Israel. 36:56 Now, Matthew applies that to Jesus. 37:02 Matthew applies that to Jesus. 37:06 In other words, what Matthew is telling us 37:08 is that Jesus is reliving the experience of ancient Israel 37:12 and of course that makes sense. 37:14 If you remember in the Bookv of Genesis, 37:16 there was a man named Joseph 37:19 who had dreams that went to Egypt. 37:23 And then God called His people out of Egypt, 37:27 He called Israel out of Egypt. 37:29 And so we see in Matthew 2, a guy named Joseph has a dream. 37:32 He goes to Egypt and then Jesus leaves Egypt 37:37 paralleling the experience of ancient Israel. 37:41 Well, notice what happens next, verse 19, 37:45 "Jesus now leaves Egypt when Harold died, 37:48 behold an angel of the Lord appeared to him in--to-- 37:51 appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, 37:53 'Rise, take the child and his mother 37:55 and go to the land of Israel, 37:57 for those who sought the child's life are dead.'" 38:00 And so he gets up 38:01 and they go to Israel, just like ancient Israel. 38:06 Now, let's fasten you to Matthew 3:13. 38:10 The Bible says, "Then Jesus came from Galilee 38:13 to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. 38:18 John would have prevented him, saying, 38:20 'I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?' 38:23 But Jesus answered him, 'Let it be so now, 38:26 for thus it is fitting to fulfill all righteousness.' 38:30 Then he consented and Jesus was baptized." 38:32 Now, I want you to notice something, 38:34 again I want you to follow here. 38:36 Jesus goes to Egypt 38:37 because a guy named Joseph has a dream just like Genesis. 38:41 Jesus leaves Egypt right on time 38:45 and then Jesus is baptized, Jesus is baptized. 38:50 And then after Jesus' baptism, 38:53 the Bible says, in chapter 4 verse 1, 38:55 "Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit 38:59 into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil." 39:02 After Jesus is baptized He goes to the wilderness of temptation. 39:07 Now I want you to notice something. 39:09 Israel was baptized. 39:12 Now you say, "Israel was baptized?" 39:16 Absolutely. 39:17 The Bible says that Israel was baptized 39:21 when they went through the red sea. 39:23 Come with me to 1 Corinthians Chapter 10, 39:25 1 Corinthians Chapter 10. 39:30 1 Corinthians 10:1, 39:34 "I want you to know, brothers 39:35 that all our fathers were all under the cloud 39:39 and all passed through the sea, 39:42 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 39:47 all ate the same spiritual food, all drank the spiritual drink. 39:50 For they drank from the spiritual Rock 39:51 that followed them and the Rock was Christ." 39:55 Notice, 1 Corinthians 10:2 makes it very clear 40:00 that when ancient Israel past through the red sea 40:03 that was their baptism into Moses. 40:07 Does that make sense? Yes or no? 40:09 I'm sure it does. 40:11 So their baptism-- Israel was baptized 40:14 when they went through the red sea. 40:16 Now immediately after Israel went through the red sea, 40:20 where did they go? 40:21 They spent 40 years in the wilderness. 40:25 They spent 40 years in the wilderness. 40:28 So, now I want you to see, Israel-- 40:31 a guy named Joseph has a dream, 40:34 he goes to Egypt, all Israel call-- 40:36 comes with him, he eventually ends up there. 40:39 Israel leaves Egypt. 40:41 When they leave Egypt they are baptized in the red sea. 40:45 And then as soon as they are baptized, 40:46 they go into the wilderness of temptation. 40:50 And Jesus, Jesus, His father Joseph has a dream, 40:54 they go to Egypt. 40:55 Eventually they leave Egypt. 40:57 And after they leave Egypt, 41:00 Jesus is baptized and after His baptism 41:04 Jesus then goes into the wilderness of temptation. 41:09 Now here's the most remarkable thing 41:12 and this is where things get so exciting. 41:15 Jesus comes on the scene 41:17 as the last Adam and the new Israel. 41:21 He is not like the first Adam 41:23 who takes from the tree and sins. 41:26 He's not like the second Adam, Noah 41:29 who drinks from the wine and sins. 41:32 He's not like ancient Israel 41:33 who went into the wilderness of temptation and sinned. 41:37 Jesus is the new Israel and He is the last Adam. 41:42 And He succeeds where every other person had failed. 41:49 In the wilderness of temptation, 41:51 when Satan comes to Him and says, 41:55 "You've been without food for 40 days, 41:57 if you're really God's son turn these stones into bread." 42:01 Jesus does not sin there. 42:03 Jesus does not fall into temptation there. 42:06 Jesus quotes the word of God and says, 42:09 "It is written, man shall not live by bread alone 42:11 but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." 42:16 Jesus says, I just think about this, Adam, 42:20 Adam when he was in the garden he had a full belly. 42:27 He didn't eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil 42:29 because he was hungry. 42:32 He ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil 42:34 because he rebelled against God. 42:39 And here's Jesus. He hasn't eaten for 40 days. 42:47 I don't know about you but if I haven't eaten 42:50 for 4 hours, I'm starving. 42:54 And here's Jesus. 42:55 He hasn't eaten for 40 days, 40 days. 43:02 And Satan comes to Him and says, 43:04 "Turn these stones, turn these stones into bread." 43:08 And Jesus says, "No, I'm not gonna do it. 43:12 It is written that man does not live by bread alone 43:14 but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." 43:18 For Jesus serving God and living for God 43:22 was more important than anything else. 43:24 He was the last Adam 43:27 because He is different from all other human beings before him. 43:31 When faced with temptation 43:33 all others have crumpled and given in. 43:38 But Jesus was faithful. 43:39 Three times the temptations come there in Matthew Chapter 4. 43:43 And three times Satan's temptations are rebuffed. 43:47 And Jesus Christ the last Adam, the new Israel is the victor. 43:52 Jesus models the experience of the first Adam, 43:56 of the second Adam, Noah and the new Israel. 43:59 And Jesus goes through their experiences 44:02 but rather than falling He succeeds, 44:07 the new Israel, the last Adam. 44:11 Now, by His obedient life, 44:16 Jesus solved the problem of man's disobedience 44:20 and on the cross He solved the problem of death 44:23 and that leads us to our next important point. 44:26 My friends, Jesus Christ by His life of obedience, 44:30 by being victorious 44:31 where all the other human beings have always failed, 44:35 Jesus Christ took care of the disobedience problem. 44:40 Jesus Christ came off as a victor overcoming 44:44 where every other human being had failed. 44:48 He was a victor where others failed. 44:50 My friend, that's such good news. 44:53 That's such good news because reality for us is this. 44:58 If we're honest, if we're honest 45:02 our own story looks a lot more like the story of Adam 45:09 than the story of Jesus Christ. 45:14 Yeah, I mean isn't that true? 45:17 If I'm looking for a narrative in the Bible 45:20 that reminds me more of my life, 45:23 do I see my life played out more in the life of Jesus, 45:26 or my life played out more in the life of Adam, Noah, Israel? 45:37 You see, my friends, Jesus comes. 45:41 Jesus comes and He passes over the ground 45:44 that Adam passed and He succeeds. 45:48 He passes over the ground that Noah passed and He succeeds. 45:51 He passes over the ground 45:53 that Israel passed and Jesus succeeds. 45:58 Jesus by his life of perfect obedience, 46:01 he took care of the disobedience problem 46:05 and by believing in Him, 46:07 His obedience is credited to your accounts. 46:15 In fact, let's go to Romans Chapter 5. 46:18 This is really, if you wanted one chapter 46:20 that talks about the first Adam and the last Adam 46:24 and it's described in its fullest detail. 46:26 It's probably right there in Romans 5. 46:27 But let's look just in 2 verses Romans 5:18, 19. 46:32 "Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men." 46:37 Notice what it says, 46:38 Adam's one trespass led to condemnation for all of us. 46:43 Adam's one trespass led to condemnation for all of us. 46:48 "So one act of righteousness 46:51 leads to justification and life for all men." 46:55 That's Jesus' act of righteousness 46:57 leads to justification and life. 47:00 In fact, notice the next verse. 47:01 "For by one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, 47:05 so by one man's obedience the many will be made righteous." 47:09 Notice the text says, 47:10 because of Adam's disobedience I was made a sinner, 47:13 you were made a sinner, we were all made sinners. 47:16 So, because of Christ's obedience, the text says, 47:20 we will be made righteous. 47:23 Jesus comes, the second Adam, the last Adam. 47:28 And Jesus by His obedience redeems all of our failures. 47:32 You see, remember, 47:33 who was it that got ourselves 47:35 into this death and disobedience problem? 47:38 It was man. It was man. 47:43 And it was only man that could fix the problem. 47:47 So God comes down to the earth as man 47:50 'cause Adam couldn't fix it, 47:51 Noah couldn't fix it, Israel couldn't fix it. 47:54 There is nobody that could fix it 47:56 and so God comes down and God says-- 47:59 you have seen very clearly that no man can fix this, no man yet. 48:04 So God comes down in the person of Jesus Christ 48:07 and He fixes it by passing over the ground that Adam passed, 48:12 that Noah passed, that all of us have passed 48:14 and instead of sinning and falling He was victorious. 48:18 We were made sinners by one man's disobedience. 48:22 We were condemned by one man's sin. 48:25 But by Christ's obedience we are made righteous 48:28 and by Christ one act of righteousness, 48:31 we are given the gift of life. 48:34 Jesus comes and by His obedience He redeems our disobedience. 48:39 By His death He redeems our death. 48:42 I love what one great Bible scholar said, 48:47 wonderful Christian book called "Desire of Ages." 48:51 This author wrote, "Christ was treated as we deserve, 48:55 that we might be treated as He deserved. 49:00 He was condemned for our sins in which He had no share 49:05 that we might be justified by His righteousness 49:08 in which we have no share. 49:10 He suffered the death which was ours 49:13 that we might receive the life which was His 49:17 with His stripes we are healed, with His stripes we are healed." 49:24 We follow the point, my friends. 49:27 God began this perfect world to the perfect man, 49:31 perfect God, perfect environment 49:34 and that perfect man voted against God. 49:38 He voted in favor of Satan. 49:43 And man had enslaved himself there. 49:45 And we see that all through history, 49:47 man was making the same mistake, 49:50 making the same mistake, making the same mistake. 49:54 Failing to live the life that God had called him to, 49:57 failing to live the life that God had called him to. 50:00 Always falling, always replaying the story of Adam 50:05 until the last Adam comes, the last Adam, Jesus Christ. 50:09 And Jesus Christ, He walks over the ground that Adam walks. 50:14 Jesus walks by the temptation. 50:18 He walked over that ground that Adam walked. 50:20 And Jesus when He was faced with temptation said 50:22 "No, I'm gonna live on God's word not man's word, 50:25 I'm gonna live on God's word not Satan's word." 50:28 Jesus walks over the ground that Israel walked 50:30 and what does Jesus say, Jesus says no to Satan, 50:34 "I'm not gonna follow your ways, I'm gonna walk on God's word, 50:37 I'm gonna be faithful to God's word." 50:40 And then He passes over the ground 50:42 that all of us have passed. 50:46 Instead of falling 50:49 He perfectly obeyed to redeem our disobedience. 50:55 And then Jesus goes to the cross. 51:00 He goes to the cross 51:04 to die the death that each one of us deserves. 51:16 And on the cross, He redeemed our failure. 51:20 You know, it's fascinating, 51:21 whenever I begin this message it makes me a little nervous 51:25 because I say that man got himself into this situation 51:27 and therefore man's got to get himself out. 51:30 I'm little afraid that people 51:32 are gonna tuned out of that point 51:33 and say, "Ah, man can't get himself out." 51:38 And so they'll stop listening. 51:41 But the reality is it's that man got himself in 51:43 and it was man that had to get him out. 51:46 And God showed that nobody had done it, 51:49 that nobody had done it, 51:50 that everybody had played the same story 51:52 as the first Adam until the last Adam, 51:54 the God man Jesus Christ comes. 51:57 And there He redeems our disobedience. 52:01 He redeems our disobedience 52:04 through His perfect life of obedience. 52:07 And He redeems our death through His own death, 52:11 through His own death on the cross, 52:14 through His own death on the cross. 52:19 That's why the Bible says that in Christ, 52:21 if you go to 2 Corinthians 1:20. 52:25 The Bible makes a remarkable statement, 52:29 2 Corinthians 1:20, it says, 52:32 "All the promises of God-- 52:35 All the promises of God find their yes in Him." 52:40 That is their yes in Christ. 52:43 "That is why it is through Him 52:45 that we utter our Amen to the glory of God." 52:47 Now, notice what the text says. 52:49 Every promise that God has every made gets a yes in Jesus. 52:55 It's awesome. 52:57 You read all the promises of the Old Testament, 52:59 God makes all kinds of promises in the Old Testament, 53:01 some good, some bad. 53:03 God promises blessing for disobedience 53:06 and God promises cursing for disobedience. 53:09 So all the promises that God has ever made, 53:12 a blessing for obedience, a curse for disobedience. 53:15 They have all met their fulfillment 53:17 in one person, Jesus Christ. 53:21 One person, Jesus Christ. Why? 53:24 Because Jesus perfectly obeyed, 53:26 so God poured out all of His promises of blessing on Jesus. 53:31 And then on the cross Jesus died for all of our disobedience 53:35 and so on the cross God poured out 53:37 all of His promises of cursing on Jesus Christ. 53:43 And so when that one man, the last Adam, 53:47 God solved the problem of disobedience 53:50 and He solved the problem of death. 53:53 Jesus perfectly obeyed when you hadn't. 53:56 Jesus perfectly obeyed when you didn't. 54:00 Jesus covered the ground of the first Adam, 54:04 of Noah, of Israel. 54:06 Jesus covered the ground of every human being 54:09 and perfectly obeyed. 54:10 Jesus is the last Adam and the new Israel. 54:15 He covered the grounds successfully. 54:21 And then He goes to the cross for our failures. 54:27 And then every promise that God has ever made 54:32 because of Jesus is yes for us. 54:38 Yes for us. 54:40 And of course there is that great condition 54:43 all throughout the Bible, 54:45 that great condition is the condition of faith. 54:49 "For God so loved the world, 54:51 that he gave His only begotten Son 54:54 that who so ever believeth in Him, 54:56 should not perish but have everlasting life." 54:58 It is faith that accesses 55:01 all of the glories of what Christ is done for Humanity. 55:06 It is faith that is the great necessity for us. 55:12 My friends, we need to understand 55:13 yes, we followed like Adam, we're like Adam. 55:15 We disobeyed the covenant. 55:17 We have fallen. 55:18 We have failed. 55:20 We have sinned. 55:21 We've got the problem of death. 55:23 We've got the problem of disobedience. 55:25 It's ours. 55:29 Yet Jesus was victorious. 55:31 He passed over the ground that Adam crossed. 55:34 He passed over the ground Israel crossed 55:36 and He did not fail and He was victorious. 55:40 And so that in Him every promise God ever made is yes. 55:45 But the condition for us today 55:49 is the same as it's always been, will you trust in Jesus? 55:55 Will you trust in Him? 55:56 Will you allow Jesus to take your place, 56:02 to take your place, so that when you are on trail, 56:07 when you face the great judgment, 56:10 when God looks down at you, Jesus has taken your place? 56:14 He sees you. He sees Jesus not you. 56:17 He sees Christ's perfect life, not yours. 56:20 Won't you let Jesus take your place? 56:23 Will you let Jesus be you in the judgment? 56:27 Won't you let Jesus take your place today? 56:30 Put your faith and trust in Him, my friend. 56:34 Put your faith and trust in Him right now. 56:37 Let us pray. 56:38 Our father, we thank You for the cross. 56:42 We thank You for Jesus' perfect life of obedience. 56:46 And, Lord, today we put our trust and our faith in Him. 56:50 Lord Jesus, You obeyed perfectly. 56:53 You were successful where others failed. 56:56 And You died for our lack of success. 56:58 Lord, please give us all your promises in Christ. 57:02 We pray in Jesus name, amen. 57:07 My friend, today, if you've put your trust in Christ, 57:10 He stands in your place. 57:13 Praise God, for the good news. |
Revised 2014-12-17