The Garden of Eden

But I'm going to go back to the Garden of Eden. In Isaiah 51, verse 3, you don't need to turn there. I'm going to read one verse, and I'll go back to it later. It says, The Lord will comfort Zion, comfort all her waste places. He will make her wilderness like Eden, and her deserts like the Garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.

It had to be fabulous to be in that garden. But what is it about Eden? God refers to it. It's kind of a theme through the Bible in different places. Gardens and Eden, bringing the land and people back. Turn to Genesis 2. Let's go to the garden for a minute, when God first created it, and read about it. See if we can't see some things here that you've probably not seen before, and where it goes.

God made a fabulous garden. Nothing can compare it today. You read about Nebuchadnezzar's hanging Babylon's garden. I've seen a lot of gardens in the world, a lot of palaces, some beautiful things, but nothing, I'm sure, compares to this. Genesis 2, verse 1, it says, The heavens and the earth were finished, and all the hosts of them. The seventh day God ended his work, which he had made, rested on the seventh day from all his work. And he blessed the seventh day, sanctified it, because in it he rested from all his work, which God had created and made. Again, the Sabbath was created in creation. It wasn't part of the covenant. It was never done away. That's an interesting point. People try to say, Jesus changed it at his death, which he didn't.

When you see these things, you have to understand that, frankly, I think all the feasts and things were known by Adam and Eve, by God in the garden. It says, These are the generations of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth in the heavens. Notice the generation of all things. We think mankind in generations usually, but what about the land?

What about the gardens? What about the plants and the animals? And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew. For the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. But there went up a mist from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground. Again, no torrential rains, no floods, no fires. I think Canada would like to have a mist right now with that fire that's going on up there. Pray for those people. That's an incredible furnace. But those things were not what God really intended. The Lord God formed man in the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. And man became a living soul, or a naflesh. His body became living. It's the same word for animal bodies there, nafesh, which I always show people that our soul is not immortal. Our bodies, we die, and that's the end of the body. But God can resurrect us.

The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground the Lord made God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. And the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. We heard a number of sermons about that decades ago, those two trees, which are important to understand.

Then it says in verse 10, a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from thence it parted and became foreheads, and it describes those things. And in verse 15, God took man and put him in the garden to dress it and keep it. So the Lord commanded the man, saying, of every tree of the garden you may freely eat, again, so many choices, so many delicacies, so many varieties. But of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it. And the day you eat of it, you shall surely die.

And indeed, Adam and Eve are both dead. God's Word is truth. Now, there is no reason for Adam not to believe God. Like a child that believes his parents when they're young. You can tell a child almost anything. They tend to believe you. I told my class I could speak every language but Greek once, and then they said a few words to me in simple languages, and I actually answered them all. But it's a joke where they say something and you say, that's Greek to me. But I couldn't believe the kids because I traveled. I thought I could speak every language in the world. That's pretty gullible for people in college. That's really... But they had no reason not to believe God. They had no reason. Verse 18, God said, it's not good that man should be alone. I'll make a help meet for him. And so then God made woman. Someone would probably say he didn't get it right the first time, so he did it again. But God made everything perfect. And woman is a perfect complement to a man. Why did God do all this? Why his first children were placed in this perfect place, this perfect garden? They were there. They didn't make clothes. But it was pure. Humidity was perfect. Ground was perfect. Grass, the garden, everything was beautiful. They could have things to eat. It was not cold. Not too hot. And he walked with them and he talked with them. He created a place where he could have a relationship with his creation. And that's what he wanted. That's what he always has wanted. A relationship with you, with me, with all mankind, and even with nature. It's a place where God would relate to his entire creation. All of it. But what happened to this relationship, this gift from God, to Adam and to Eve? That was lost by sin. It's like many relationships in marriage are broken. Because infidelity, alcohol, drugs, various things. Sin has a price. Satan tries to say the price isn't there, but it is. It's always there. And so we read in Genesis 3, containing the story. The serpent was more subtle than any beast in the field. And he said to the woman, As God said, you shall not eat of every tree of the garden. He challenged her. Has God said that? He's spinning. Just so many people spin the truth today. I'm trying to make it sound better to get them to do things. The woman said to the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, but the fruit of the tree in the midst of the garden, God has said you shall not eat of it. Neither shall you touch it, lest you die.

So you're repeated what God has said. The truth. The serpent said to her, You shall not surely die. First lie to mankind. Right there. Father of all liars, Satan. For God does know in the day you eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened. You shall be as God, knowing good and evil. This is going to make you wonderful. First spinning of the truth. Spinning something. Because their eyes would be open. But it wouldn't be wonderful. When the woman saw the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, a tree to be desired to make one wise, well, you raise the level of desire.

Now what happens to us? She took of the fruit. First theft. Wasn't hers. Did eat, and gave also to her husband with her, and he ate. And their eyes were open. But without the true knowledge of God, now they wouldn't know how to use. Knowledge they had in the same way. When does a parent ever withheld something really good from a child? We withhold things from our children, so they won't get hurt, and keep them from going out in the street, keep them from burning themselves. There are things that seem good to the child.

You keep them from it, but not because it's not good for them. God hadn't kept anything that wasn't good away from Adam and Eve. Verse 7, The eyes of them were opened. They knew that they were naked. They sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons. And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day. And Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord among the trees in the garden. You know, they used to be happy to see God. They could talk with Him, walk with Him, learn everything.

Adam had all the animals marched by so he could name them all. Wonderful thing. And now all of a sudden they're afraid. They used to be happy. He had showed them the garden. He showed them the falls, and the rivers, and the animals, the food. I'm sure He said, I'm not with them. Happy. And God called to Adam and said to him, Where are you? Of course He knew. And He said, I heard your voice in the garden.

I was afraid because I was naked and I hid myself. You ever notice how a little child, when you catch them doing something, they either hide or they're embarrassed? I like that. These were new children of God's. And He said, Have you eaten the trees that I commanded you? You should not eat. The man said, The woman. And all men know it's the one's fault. She gave it to me.

She gave me the tree and I ate it. So He asked the woman, What have you done? The woman said, The serpent beguiled me. Of course, some of us men, women think are serpents too. We beguiled them too. It's kind of mutual there. We all make mistakes. And God said to the serpent, Because you have done this, you are cursed above all cattle. Every beast in the field, on your belly shall you go and dutch shall ye eat all the days of your life.

He lied to them. He brought them that way. And the first prophecy, I will put enmity between you and the woman, between your seed and her seed. She'll bruise your head, you shall bruise its heel. Yeah. There would be some. Savior to come. Who would suffer and die? He'd be bruised temporarily. But Satan will be put away forever. The woman, he says, verse 16, I'll multiply your sorrow and your conception, and sorrow shall you bring forth children. Your desire to be to your husband, and he shall rule over you. It just means it's going to be a harder life than it was in the garden.

Than what God intended to teach them about relationships. Then to Adam, he said, Because you have hearkened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten the tree, which I commanded you, saying, you shall not eat of it.

The curse is the ground for your sake. So the lamb, the creation there. In sorrow shall you eat of it all the days of your life. Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth. And you shall eat the herbs of the field. So we see a curse on the lamb, as well as on Adam and Eve.

A relationship with an entire creation. In the sweat of your face shall you eat bread. In other words, hard work. A mankind's been doing hard work and labor, trying to make the ground work. It's more difficult than it was intended to be. Till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taking, dust you are, and to dust you shall return. And Adam called his wife named Eve, because she's the mother of all living. And unto Adam also, and to his wife, did the Lord God make coats of skin and clothe them. You see, God, even in correcting them, didn't abandon them.

Figlies are not the best thing to make clothes out of. So he made skins, animal skins, first leather coats. He did it for him. Even in correcting them he did. And then God kept them out of the garden. The man has become one of us, and no good in evil, lest he put forth his hand, and take of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever. Therefore the Lord sent him forth from the garden, to till the ground from where he was taken.

And he drove him out, and placed him at the east of the garden of Eden, to bring caribims, and a flaming sword, which turns every way to keep the tree of life. And up until the flood, mankind could walk up to the gates, and then see those caribims, and know what had happened at that point.

You see, Adam and Eve were no longer in the same relationship that they were with God before, when they walked with them in the garden, and they could talk with them. They got new senses, no question. They were naked. They knew it now. They were different. They now had shame and guilt. Why the change? Because they had a new God in their world, the God of this world, which we read about in 2 Corinthians 4.4, one of the memory scriptures, where it says, in whom the God of this world is blinded those.

And he has. He's blinded so many, which believe not. The few people that understand who he is. This was the beginning of the separation of man from his Creator, who has been hiding ever since and lying to himself. Except for those few called to his garden now. Except for you and me, and a handful of others meeting on the Sabbath around this world. But our understanding, because God revealed things to them, to be in a relationship with him.

At a tougher time, we're not in the Garden of Eden. It's harder for us, no question. We have to be flowers in this wilderness. Flowers that stand out to our neighbors. Flowers that stand out to people that see us. They may not like what we do. It's our religion. But it's people that should find no better. People that want to help and serve and give. But now that they were out of the Garden, life became tough.

And God's plan is to bring mankind back to him and walk with God in his way of life. A walk in the Garden, so to speak. It's interesting. I've bought several homes, several that are new and several that are old. If you have an old house, there's all sorts of things you find out about it after you get it. You have to fix. But Adam and Eve had a brand new house.

A brand new garden. It's interesting, in a few years, when the millennium starts, we're going to have an old house to fix up. God always takes old things and makes them better. Satan always takes good things and makes them bad. We'll get a chance, this world after the disaster, to help rebuild the desert to make it, like the Garden of Eden. Which is what God says is going to return in that garden.

A world after disasters. And we'll teach more than just the spiritual. We'll probably help them with the physical as well. But we'll teach the godly character they need to do things the way God wanted. Without the Spirit of God, the world quickly goes to weeds and to thorns. If you've ever had a garden, you've seen that. It goes back to the way God made it. There's a curse there. There's no lie. Man has died with each passing generation.

Man has had to work harder on the farms. They've come up with new fertilizers and new things to try to build the food supply. But the earth can only do so much, especially when it's forced and the land is cursed. Because it hasn't done the things the way God wanted them. It's interesting, if we look at the garden, though, where do we take our children? When I was a child growing up, a lot of times on the Sabbath after church, or when we went the morning or after church, we'd go to the parks.

Places that mankind has carved out made it a little nicer than everywhere else. You go there, it's clean and neat and taken care of. And that's what we talk about. Go back to Isaiah 51, verse 3. God wants the whole world to be like a park. A whole world that you can go in and learn about Him and what He made, the creation.

Isaiah 51, verse 3. God shall comfort Zion. He'll comfort all her waste places. He will make her wilderness like Eden, her desert like the garden of the Lord. Joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving and the voice of melody. Very few places on earth have that today.

Later, down to verse 6, He says, Lift up your eyes to the heavens, look upon the earth beneath, for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke. The earth shall wax old like a garment, they that dwell there in shall die in like manner. But my salvation shall be forever, my righteousness shall not be abolished. Harken to me, you, that know righteousness, the people in His heart is my law. That's you. You understand that. Fear you not, the reproach of men, neither be afraid of their reviolings. And yeah, people make fun of you. All the young people go to college. Most of the refreshers don't believe in God, some do. But they make fun of you. Even the ones that believe in God aren't allowed to teach creation. They aren't allowed to teach what happens. Verse 8, For the moss shall eat them up like a garment, the worm shall eat like the wool. And my righteousness, though, shall be forever, my salvation from generation to generation.

Salvation forever. Things will be restored, the waste places. Christ became the curse for us to die for our sins, but also for the land. The original will be restored, that joy and that gladness and that thanksgiving.

Ezekiel 36. We read about that new heart that God is going to give us. Ezekiel 36. Let's go back to verse 22. It says, Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God, I do not do this for your sakes, O Israel, but for my holy name's sake, which you have profaned among the heathen, wherever you went.

Israel was placed in the center of the old world, so people would see God in his way of life, and instead they were corrupted by the lives around them. But I'll sanctify my great name, he continues, verse 23, which is profaned among the heathen, and you have profaned it in the midst of them. And the heathen shall know that I am the Lord. The creation was supposed to point to God. Verse 26. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put in you. Take away that stoning heart out of your flesh. God wants a soft heart, unlike his. I'll put my spirit in you, and cause you to walk in my statutes. You shall keep my judgments and do them. And we teach that now. We try to do those things, because that's the way that brings peace and harmony and gladness. And you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.

Our land is yet to be. The same land that's talked about in Hebrews 11. They seek another country. We seek another world. It's changed at Christ's return. Look at verse 29, though. I will also save you from your uncleanness. I will call for the corn, and will increase it, and lay no famine on you. I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field, that you will receive no more reproach or famine. The earth is going to be healed. You will remember your own evil ways, your doings that were not good, and loathe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and your abominations. Verse 33, and the Lord God says, In that day I shall have cleansed you from all your iniquities, and will cause you to dwell in the cities and the waste places shall be rebuilt, and the desolate land shall be tilled, or as it lay desolate in the sight of all that pass by. And they shall say, this land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden. And the waste and desolate ruined cities have become fenced and inhabited. Then the heathen that are left round about shall know that I, the Lord your God, built the ruined places, and plant that which was desolate. I, the Lord, have spoken it, and I will do it. What's going to happen? Isaiah 35, verse 1. Let me read this. I heard this in the feast recently. The wilderness and the solitary places shall be glad. For the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose, and blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with the joy in singing. The glory of Lebanon, the cedar, shall give to it. The excellency of Carmel and Sharon, and they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God. Going down to verse 6. Then shall the lame men leap as the heart and the tongue of the dumb sing. For in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert, and the parched grounds shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water, and the habitation of dragons, for each lay shall be grass with reeds and rushes. That's the land that's going to be healed. That's what's happening. Turn to Zechariah chapter 3. Another prophecy. Zechariah 3 and verse 7.

God says to His people, verse 7, thus says the Lord of Hosts, If you will walk in my ways, if you will keep my charge, then you shall also judge my house, and shall keep my courts, and I will give you places to walk among these that stand by. Verse 9, For behold, the stone that I have laid before Joshua, the one stone shall be seven eyes. Behold, I will engrave the graving thereof, says the Lord of Hosts. I will remove the iniquity of the land in one day. And that day, says the Lord of Hosts, shall you call every man his neighbor under the vine and under the fig tree. Christ's death, when we celebrated a couple weeks ago, was the first step in restoring the Garden of Eden, in putting mankind back on track and restoring you and me, in preparation for the healing of us as people and for the land as well. And that one day that Christ died and was resurrected, indeed, he overcame the sins of the world, the beginning of restoration. And he's coming back soon to finish that job that he started there. It was pictured in God's Holy Days. You see, sin always brings curses. Sin brings curses to man, brings curses to the earth as well. Turn to Haggai 1, if you would.

In Haggai, they were coming back to Jerusalem and they were doing their own work. And God had to remind them that he's their God. He's on the tase carob. Verse 4, he says, Is it time for you to dwell in your sealed houses, and this my house? Lie waste? Do we put God first? Or do we put ourselves first? Do you really believe in God, if you put yourself first? Therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, Consider your ways. Verse 6, you have sown much, but you bring in very little. You eat, but you don't have enough. You drink, but you're not filled with drink. You clothe you, but there is no one warm. He that earns wages, earns wages to put in a bag of holes. Money is just going away. I don't know how much you have, it just goes away. Consider your ways, he says. Verse 8, go to the mountain, bring wood, build the house. I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, says the Lord. You look for much, and lo, it came to little. When you brought it home, I did blow up on it. Why? says the Lord of hosts. Because my house is waste, and you run every man to his own house. Do we do that? Therefore the heaven over you has stayed from dew, and the earth has stayed from her fruit. And I called for a drought on the land, upon the mountain, and upon the corn, upon the new wine, upon the oil, and upon that which the ground brings forth, upon men, upon cattle, and upon all the labor of the hands. We don't worship God, we don't understand it. That's what happens. But God and Christ don't want a wasteland. As we read, they want a garden of Eden, a place for man to build a relationship with him. It's interesting when you think about it. Turn to John 18, if you would. It's interesting when you go to creation, when you go look at the falls, when you look at spectacular scenery, how much closer to God you feel, when things are neat and clean. Just before Christ's final suffering, in John 18, where did he go? John 18, verse 1. When Jesus had spoken these words, he went forth with the disciples over the brook of Creden, where there was a garden. And he entered therein his disciples. So he went to a garden with his disciples. And Judas also, which betrayed him, knew the place. Why? For Jesus often went there with his disciples. To a garden to build that relationship with the twelve disciples that he had. And Judas knew where to go.

Judas, having received a band of men and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, came thither with lanterns and torches and weapons. And Jesus, therefore, knowing all these things that should come upon him, went forth and said to them, whom do you seek? I think it's interesting. He's in a garden. What did he do in the garden back in Genesis 2? Genesis 3. Where are you? It's kind of the reverse of that. Whom are you seeking? And they answered, Jesus of Natherth. And Jesus said to him, I am he. And Judas, which betrayed him, stood with them. And as soon as he said that to them, I am he, they went backwards and fell to the ground. Now, that should have told him something. He told me something. If I asked for somebody and they said their name and I fell over, I would think that there's probably something going on here. And he asked again, who are you seeking? And they said, Jesus of Natherth. And Jesus said, I have told you I am he. Therefore, if you seek me, let these go their way. Even in betrayal, Christ was helping the disciples. Let them go away. When the garden, he made clothes for them. He asked, where are you? And here he's telling him, I'm the one you want. And the saying, it might be fulfilled what you spoke of them that you gave me, I lost none. He's protecting them. Is this a surprise that he liked gardens, that he wanted to be there to build a relationship with his disciples? Does it really surprise you? It shouldn't. What's interesting is Satan was still in the garden trying to destroy, just as he was before. He was having Jesus Christ, God of the Old Testament, taken once again in a garden to try to change God's plan. Let's look at another thing, John 19, verse 1.

Pilate therefore took Jesus and scourged him. And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns and put it on his head. Remember, thistles and thorns will it bear for you. And Christ has given a crown of thorns. Put on his head, and they put a purple robe, and said, Hail, King of the Jews, and they smote him with their hands. Pilate went forth again and said to him, Behold, I bring forth to you, and you may know I find no fault in him.

Pilate saw he did nothing wrong. Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns and the robe. And Pilate said, Behold the man. You see, that soldier made that crown of thorns, put it on his head. Pilate made that sarcastic comment, belittling him. Thorns were a curse.

That crown he wore was a curse, and thorns came from the garden. Cursed shall be the land. And Jesus bore that crown of thorns. And he bore it well, just as he will bear the royal crown that he wears when he comes back to rule the earth.

Go down to verse 31. The Jews therefore, because it was a preparation that the body should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath day. The Sabbath day was a high day. It was a holy day and a living bread. They besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, that they might be taken away. He became the soldiers and broke the legs of the thieves on each side, but they pierced his side instead because he was already dead.

Verse 35, He that sought bear record, and this record is true. And he knows what he says is true, that you might believe. For these were done, that the Scripture should be fulfilled. A bone of him shall not be broken. And again, other Scriptures say, they shall look on him whom they pierced. Again, reminding us of the fulfilled prophecy. To know this was the Messiah. And to know the other prophecies will also be fulfilled, as this one was.

Verse 38, And after this, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews, thought Pilate that he might take the body of Jesus. And Pilate gave it to him. And he took the body. Verse 39, There came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, around a mixture of myrrh and allos, about a hundred-pound weight. They took the body and wandered in linen clothes with spices, as the man of the Jews is to bury. Now in the place where he was crucified, there was a garden. And in the garden, a new sepulcher, wherean was never a man yet laid. Again, a garden. And they laid Jesus there, because of the Jews' preparation day.

The sepulcher was nigh at hand. Again, Christ back in the garden. Remember Genesis 3, Sweat and toil will be on you. Forms and thistles, painful. Christ was willing to accept that pain and that death. Adam did die because of sin. Jesus Christ died because of all of our sins, to restore that garden, to restore that relationship. We have faith that we will join Christ in that victory. That's why we're here. If it wasn't for the fulfillment of those promises, His resurrection, we'd have no hope. That's exactly what it was. The curse that we're under is death because of our sins. But it's interesting. Galatians 3, verse 13.

Paul talks about the curse. It's not the law, it's the curse of death. Galatians 3, verse 13. Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us. For it is written, cursed is everyone that hangs on a trade. He was crucified. Because when you're banished to death, that's what happens.

The biggest curse is death. And it took those curses to redeem us and all mankind. And again, not just to the Jews, verse 14. The blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Christ. That we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. We bear witness of those things. His Spirit will renew all mankind. Renew the land and the tree of life. Turn to Revelation 2. Let's look at it the same way here.

Revelation 2, verse 7. Notice, he that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him that overcomes will I give to eat the tree of life. We're back in the garden. Which is in the midst of the paradise of God. The Ephesus message, to eat from the tree of life in the midst of the paradise of God. The thorns have been removed. It's a place you want to be back in the garden.

I had a quote from Vincent's World Studies. It's interesting. The tree of life. He says, the figure of the tree of life appears in all mythologies from India to Scandinavia. The rabbins and Muhammadans call the vine the probation tree. The zendivesta has it, the tree of life called the death destroyer. It grows by the water of life, and the drinking of its sap confers immortality. The Hindu tree of life is pictured as growing out of a great seed in the midst of an expanse of water, as three branches, each crown.

And crowned with a sun, denoting the three powers of creation, preservation and renovation. In another representation, Buddha sits in a meditation under a tree with three branches, each branch having three stems. It says, one of the Babylon cylinders discovered by Layard represented three priestesses gathering fruit of what seems to be a palm tree with three branches on each side. A thaw of the Venus of the Egyptians appears half concealed in the branches of the sacred peach tree, giving to the departed souls the fruit and the drink from heaven, or a vial which stems from the tree of life and descends down with the spirit.

It's all through mythology, probably coming from the flood, twisted stories, but these are all not true. But our tree of life is not a myth. Our tree of life is real. Our tree of life offers us something. Turn to Revelation 22, if you will. The tree of life is part of the Word of God. In Revelation 22, verse 1, He showed me a pure river, a water of life, the clearest crystal proceeding out of the throne of God and the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, where there were twelve matters of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month.

The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curses, but the throne of God and the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. They shall see His face, and His name shall be in their foreheads. A relationship with God. There shall be no night there, and no need for candle, neither light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light, and they shall reign forever. A permanent relationship. And who has this relationship? Verse 14, Revelation 22, Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have a right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates of the city, back in the garden.

And then it shows what's without, dogs and sorcerers, harm-ongers, murderers, idolaters, and healers makes a lie, which is why we have to be careful how we live our lives. We understand, and do the right, and throw away the wrong. I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright and the morning star, and the spirit, and the bride say, Come.

Let him that hears say, Come. Let him that is a thirst, come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. Those who keep his commandments, blessed to have a right to the tree of life. The world is practicing a lie, and God is letting all those who repent and come to him drink out of his garden. He said, I am that river of living water. Drink of me. We get the crown of life, true eternal life.

Because of that special calling, God reached down and picked you, like me, those he gives his spirit to, our hope and our glory. To accept that crown of thorns, the same as Christ did in some ways, because we face a lot of thorns as well. In our lives, we can't die to save anybody in the way that Christ did. But we get to help Christ restore that garden and restore all things. What amazing blessing that we have! In the garden, God intended that relationship between him and the creation. He wanted that. We are now to be helpers.

In a few years, when he returns, we'll have a thousand years to help remake this earth, so that all of it is like the Garden of Eden. Consider your spiritual garden. What does it look like? Is your spiritual garden full of flowers and beauty? Are there still weeds and thorns that you haven't yet overcome? Have those weeds invaded your mind? The feast we just celebrated was to get the weeds out of our minds, out of our garden, take sin out. That's what our garden should be like, like the Garden of Eden.

To fervently desire to have that relationship with God. To fervently desire to pull up the weeds, roots and all. Weeds have a tendency. We tend to mow them off when they grow up stronger. We've got to pull them off from the roots to replace them. And the words in this book, we need to fill our hearts and minds with that. We know in this world that we'll face those thorns.

I always like to read Hebrews 11. I like the first half because it's usually people that he delivered. The second part of it are the people that didn't. When we read about them, let's read a few verses. Hebrews 11. We know all the early ones with Abraham and Israel. Let's start in verse 33. Because we face our crown of thorns. People in Hebrews 11 face crowns of thorns. Verse 33, Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lion.

Those were the ones that were saved. Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness, were made strong, wax valiant in might, and turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead, raised to life again. That part I like. But then, the next part of that verse, others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection.

Whether we're saved, or whether we die, it's a better resurrection. Verse 36, Others had trials with cruel markings, escorgings, moreover of bonds and imprisonment. We get mocked, sometimes, for what we believe. But it's not important. Being saved physically isn't that important. What's being important is being in the first resurrection, that better resurrection. Turn to Romans 8, if you would. If we face wrong, is it not to glorify God, be a part of His garden? Romans 8, verse 18, For I reckon the sufferings of the present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

When we're in that garden. Verse 19, For the earnest expectation of the creation waits for the manifestation of the sons of God. The creation is waiting for that. For the creation was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of Him who has subjected the same in hope.

Because the creation itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know the whole creation groans and travails in pain together. Until now, the creation wants to return to Eden. The creation wants to remove the curse from the land. We also want that curse of sin to be removed from us and our physical bodies changed to spiritual bodies. That's what we wait for. And not only they, verse 23, But ourselves also which had the first fruits of the Spirit, Even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, the sonship, the redemption of our bodies. Creation was about a relationship with God. And the garden was put there so God could walk with His children. That garden of Eden. Christ's sacrifice was the beginning that allows the restitution of all things. We should be working on our gardens now, today. The gardens of our wine. The gardens in which we take our heart and make it that soft heart that God wants all people to have. Plant spiritual values in your garden now. Let them grow and flourish. Fertilize them. Because now is the time for our relationship with God the Father and Jesus Christ His Son. This is our time. Christ was crucified and resurrected so that we would know we have a chance to be in His garden. To be resurrected with Him. Remove the thorns. Water your garden with the fruits of God's Spirit. And let's all fellowship in the garden of God.