Sermon Notes - April 7, 2024
Back to Eden // From Duty to Delight
Pastor Chris Pletcher
Genesis 2:1-9
Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2 And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. 3 So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation. 4 These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens. 5 When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground, 6 and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground— 7 then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. 8 And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9 And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Eden = pleasure, delight
The root word is ʿāḏan (aw-dan'), which means "to delight yourself, to luxuriate, to live in a soft, comfortable and pleasant manner"
Nehemiah 9:24-25
So the descendants went in and possessed the land, and you subdued before them the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gave them into their hand, with their kings and the peoples of the land, that they might do with them as they would. 25 And they captured fortified cities and a rich land, and took possession of houses full of all good things, cisterns already hewn, vineyards, olive orchards and fruit trees in abundance. So they ate and were filled and became fat and delighted themselves in Your great goodness.
EDEN was God's design. But as we see in Genesis 3, life outside of God's presence gets hard fast.
JESUS WAS THE ULTIMATE FULFILLMENT OF GOD'S PLAN TO BRING US BACK TO EDEN.
1 Corinthians 15:17-22
And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. 20 But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.
A Theology of DELIGHT //
Psalm 1:1-4
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. 3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers. 4 The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
Psalm 16:11
You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence there is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Psalm 36:7-9
How precious is your steadfast love, O God!
The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
8 They feast on the abundance of your house,
and you give them drink from the river of your delights. (lit. RIVER OF EDEN!)
9 For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light do we see light.
Psalm 37:4
Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Psalm 45:6-7
Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.
The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness;
7 you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness.
Therefore God, your God, has anointed you
with the oil of gladness beyond your companions;
Proverbs 24:3-4
By wisdom a house is built,
and by understanding it is established;
4 by knowledge the rooms are filled
with all precious and pleasant riches.
Proverbs 10:23
Doing wrong is like a joke to a fool, but wisdom is pleasure to a man of understanding.
YOUR DESIRE FOR PLEASURE ISN'T WRONG... IT IS LIKELY JUST MISPLACED.
Jeremiah 2:12-13
Be appalled, O heavens, at this;
be shocked, be utterly desolate,
declares the Lord,
13 for my people have committed two evils:
they have forsaken me,
the fountain of living waters,
and hewed out cisterns for themselves,
broken cisterns that can hold no water.
WE MUST RECLAIM A BIBLICAL UNDERSTANDING OF PLEASURE.
Genesis 3:1-6
Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.
Psalm 18:16-19
He sent from on high, he took me;
he drew me out of many waters.
17 He rescued me from my strong enemy
and from those who hated me,
for they were too mighty for me.
18 They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
but the Lord was my support.
19 He brought me out into a broad place;
he rescued me, because he delighted in me.
Zephaniah 3:14-17
Sing aloud, O daughter of Zion;
shout, O Israel!
Rejoice and exult with all your heart,
O daughter of Jerusalem!
15 The Lord has taken away the judgments against you;
he has cleared away your enemies.
The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst;
you shall never again fear evil.
16 On that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:
“Fear not, O Zion;
let not your hands grow weak.
17 The Lord your God is in your midst,
a mighty one who will save;
he will rejoice over you with gladness;
he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing.
Isaiah 62:2-4
2 The nations shall see your righteousness,
and all the kings your glory,
and you shall be called by a new name
that the mouth of the Lord will give.
3 You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord,
and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.
4 You shall no more be termed Forsaken,
and your land shall no more be termed Desolate,
but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her,
and your land Married;
for the Lord delights in you,
and your land shall be married.
Do you actually believe that He delights in you?
Do you actually believe that He likes you?
Do you actually believe that He rejoices over you like a Father rejoices over a precious newborn child?
John 15:9-11
As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.
JESUS WAS THE MOST JOYFUL PERSON TO EVER LIVE. And HE IS AFTER OUR JOY.
Practical... 3 Steps to Enjoying God EVERY SINGLE DAY.
Discover the ways that you are uniquely wired to ENCOUNTER HIM.
Adoration, Creation, Fasting, Solitude, Expression, Conversation, Learning, Movement, Meditation, Compassion, Reformation, Remembrance
"Sacred Pathways" by Gary Thomas is a great resource
SOLITUDE is particularly important in our noisy and over-connected world right now. Jesus regularly slipped away from the noise and the demands of ministry.
"Enter His gates with thanks and praise; come into His presence with singing." Psalm 100
Worship is a primary pathway for every single child of God.
Take risks in your worship journey! Take baby steps into greater freedom.
Don't judge how others worship... that is the #1 way to kill your own encounter with God.
Honor the Sabbath.
Grace doesn't nullify God's commands... it EMPOWERS you to obey them from the heart! This is the beauty of the New Covenant - it's a NEW birth with a NEW heart so that you can OBEY GOD and walk in NEWNESS of life.
Sabbath might be an act of holy rebellion in a valley so driven by performance. Some of us need to eject from exhaustion by re-committing to a regular Sabbath
RE-ORDERING OUR LIVES SO THAT WE CAN ABIDE.