This morning, I want to spend some time looking at the subject of failure.
At some point in our lives, we have experienced failure.
Winston Churchill said that;
“Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.”
And many times, we can feel like if this is the case, we must really be successful.
But, this morning, I want to talk about the story of Adam and Eve and their sin.
We will be looking at Genesis 2 and 3.
If you have your Bibles, I encourage you to turn to that chapter.
In Chapter two, we see that Adam and Eve were created.
Genesis 2:7 says;
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. (Gen. 2:7, ESV)
Later, in verse Genesis 2:18-42, we see that God also formed his wife, Eve.
God placed this lovely couple in a garden called Eden.
Look with me in Genesis 2:9, where we read how God made the garden.
Verse 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. (Gen 2:9, ESV)
Every tree in this garden was not only pleasant to see, but also bore good fruit.
Adam and Eve had it all.
They had a perfect garden. They had a perfect relationship with one another. They had a personal walk with God.
But, even then, they failed.
Do you remember a time when you had it all and then you failed?
You were having a time of success. Everything was going your way and then all of a sudden it was taken away because of your failure.
It could have been a good relationship with your husband, your wife or kids.—but you failed somehow and broke their hearts and you had to climb you way back to them and for some, you’ve never been able to fully repair the break.
It could have been a good situation a work—where everything was working well—but you failed and now the leadership no longer trusted you
It could have been a time of great health—you were maxing the PT test, coming up positive on all of the Doctor’s exams—but then one day you failed and picked up an infection, or virus, or injury.
2. Adam and Eve failed and the failure brought consequences. But God was there with them and they were able to find peace.
In the midst of consequence, God was there for them.
He brought them peace. He brought them a new start.
And if you are experiencing the consequences of your failure—God is with you today.
And you can trust him today.
3. Adam and Eve had it all.
But God had issued rules for keeping it all. Look at Genesis 2:15-16
The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:15-16, ESV)
When we are living our lives, there are rules.
I saw a picture of Drew Carey this week that was going around Facebook that said:
“Welcome to the Army. Where the Rules are made up and the points don’t matter.”
We are used to living with rules—no matter how illogical they may seem at the time. And if you want to be successful, we must follow them.
God gave Adam and Eve one rule to follow. Do not eat from “the tree of the knowledge of good and evil”
The problem came when Adam and Eve became dissatisfied with the rules.
Are you dissatisfied with the rules?
Sometimes the rules feel like roadblocks to greater success—but when we are working according to God’s plan, the rules keep us on the right track. They keep us inside the garden where we have everything we come ever wish for or need.
4. The Garden of Eden reminds us that there will come a day where there will be no dissatisfaction.
In Revelation 21:27, the Bible tells us about heaven—a place of perfection. A place of peace. A place without failure. A place without sin and the effects of sin.
Revelation 21:27 says;
But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life. (REV 21:27, ESV)
The Bible is very clear right here—you can experience this heaven only if your name is written in the lamb’s book of life—only if you trust Jesus.
I was reading through an old book this week by Jack Hyles who, in speaking about telling others about Jesus. He encourages us to ask others the question;
“If you died now, Do you know that you would go to heaven?
(Jack Hyles, Let’s Build an Evangelistic Church. P.63-4)
He writes:
“The only person who will tell you he knows that if he dies he will go to heaven is the fellow who has trusted Jesus completely to save him.”
So I ask you this morning: If you were to die—do you know that you would go to heaven?
Revelation 21:27 states that heaven is only for those whose name is written in the lambs book of life.
Will you trust in him today?
5. The story of Adam and Eve remind us also of our failures in temptation.
Look a Genesis 3:1-7
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’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 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.’” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 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. Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. (Gen 3:1-7, ESV)
We all become dissatisfied with our life and with the rules. We will listen to Satan’s voice in an instant and fall flat and fail.
We are tempted and we fail.
The Bible says in Romans 3:23
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, (Rom 3:23, ESV)
Sin is anything that we think say or do that disrespects God—it happens when we depart from God’s rules and we fail.
Look back at your failures. Do you see the sin that brought you down? It could have been arrogance. It could have been lust. It could have been a habit that developed. It could have been selfishness.
And this sin is a failure which leads to consequences.
Briefly skimming through Genesis chapter 3; we see the consequences of their failure;
–pain in child birth
–cursed is the ground
–expulsion from the garden
The consequences were immediate and severe.
What were the consequences to your failures?
Some of you are feeling the effects of your failures even today. You drug yourself in here to maybe find the energy to fight another day. The consequences of your failure are severe. You are experiencing the separation of family members, you are feeling defeated and alone, or you maybe paying the penalty of your failure through UCMJ actions.
6. But, this is not the end of the story. We are only three chapters into the beginning of the Bible—the story doesn’t stop there.
In the Midst of our Failure, God is with us.
Look at Genesis 3:8-15.
In the midst of their failure God is there.
v8
And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. (Genesis 3:8, ESV)
God was walking around as the sin was taking place—he was close by waiting. And he is not very far from you today. He is ready to confront and to comfort you in your failure.
In the midst of their failure God is still in charge.
v9
But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” (Genesis 3:9, ESV)
It was God who had the right to ask—Where are you? It was God that they ran from and hid. It was God who was in control of the situation from the beginning. He was not surprised. I believe that he was disappointed, but not surprised. He maintained the control.
And the blessing of this is that;
In the midst of their failure God has a plan
v15
God speaks to the serpent and says;
I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring;
he shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel.” (Genesis 3:15, ESV)
What is that plan? What is God talking about here?
7. In our failure, God has a plan for the salvation for all.
Isaiah 7:14 says;
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14, ESV)
This sign is Eve’s offspring who will crush the head of Satan. Jesus will ultimately defeat Satan and will win our Salvation.
But, Jesus must be bruised in the process.
Luke 24:25-26 says;
And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” (Luke 24:25-26, ESV)
Jesus death was foretold with the very first sin—with the very first failure. God had a plan to bring redemption all along.
And he has a plan for you, will you accept this plan and trust in him today?
In Revelation 3:20, Jesus says;
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. (Rev 3:20, ESV)
In the midst of all of our failures, in the midst of all of our struggles, Jesus knocks at the door of our hearts waiting for the invitation to come in.
All of us have failed—sinned against God and destroyed that relationship between Him and us. We are sinners be nature and by choice.
The punishment of this sin is death.
The Bible is very clear that if we do not experience heaven, we experience hell—which is punishment for our sin.
And make no mistake, we deserve death and hell.
But God loves us—even in our failures even in our sin.
The Bible says
but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Rom 5:8, ESV)
And we can experience this love and peace and acceptance, when we trust in him.
You can do that today. Right were you are-right were you sit. This morning, I challenge you to commit your trust in Jesus.
Let us pray.
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This sermon was preached at Crossroad@Sage Hall, Fort Bliss, TX on 30 July2013. All scripture marked ESV: The Holy Bible : English standard version. 2001. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.