Free Will - Reflections from Eden | A Sermon on Genesis 3

Introduction
Last Sunday, we learned God designed us to be good stewards of His creation and all that He entrusts to our care.  Everyone in church last Sunday received a $5 bill and was asked to pray about how they could use the $5 to bless someone.  How did you use your $5 “talent” to be a blessing?  Don’t forget to place your stewardship survey on the altar today.  I look forward to reading how everyone used their talent.

Today, we are going to read about free will in Genesis 3.  God wants us to be able to love Him and love cannot be coerced.  It must be freely given.  So, God created us with free will, the ability to make choices freely, without being forced, allowing people to decide between right and wrong.  Of course, the freedom to love and obey God also comes with the possibility people will choose to hate and disobey Him.  All this plays out with tragic consequences in Genesis 3.

Genesis 3:1-7
¹ The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?”

² “Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. ³ “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’”

⁴ “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. ⁵ “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”

⁶ The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. ⁷ At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.

The Temptation
Our reflection from Eden takes a pivotal turn in chapter 3. The serpent, described as the shrewdest of all the wild animals, slithers onto the scene with a deceptive question: "Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?" (Genesis 3:1). This was no innocent question. It was designed to introduce doubt into Eve’s mind—doubt about God’s words, intentions, and authority.

Notice the serpent’s strategy: he doesn't outright deny God's command. Instead, he twists it, planting the idea that God may be holding something back from Adam and Eve. The serpent tells her in verse 5, "God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil." The suggestion is subtle but powerful: What if God isn’t as good as He seems? What if He’s keeping something wonderful from you?

This is the same tactic the enemy uses on us today. How often are we tempted by the thought that God’s way is too restrictive, or we’re missing out if we follow His commands? Temptation often comes disguised as something good—a chance to get ahead, pleasure, or fulfillment—convincing us that what we want is better than what God offers.

Eve was faced with a choice. She could trust God’s command, believing He knew what was best, or she could trust her own desire. In verse 6, we see the tragic moment unfold: “The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it too.”

And I want to point out verse 6 says Adam was with her when all this happened.  Adam is just as guilty as Eve.  He stayed silent while Eve listened to the serpent and chose to disobey God.  And then Adam also actively disobeyed God by eating the forbidden fruit when Eve offered it to him.  Martin Luther King, Jr. once remarked, “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”  Sometimes, our sin is not in what we say or do, but in what we don’t say or do.  Adam was silent when Eve trusted Satan and disobeyed God.  Then Adam disobeyed God and ate the fruit too.

Adam and Eve had free will and they chose disobedience. That’s the challenge with free will—it requires us to trust God’s wisdom and love Him, even when we don’t fully understand His reasons.

Genesis 3:8-24
⁸ When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees. ⁹ Then the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?”

¹⁰ He replied, “I heard you walking in the garden, so I hid. I was afraid because I was naked.”

¹¹ “Who told you that you were naked?” the Lord God asked. “Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?”

¹² The man replied, “It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.”

¹³ Then the Lord God asked the woman, “What have you done?”

“The serpent deceived me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.”

¹⁴ Then the Lord God said to the serpent,

“Because you have done this, you are cursed
    more than all animals, domestic and wild.
You will crawl on your belly,
    groveling in the dust as long as you live.
¹⁵ And I will cause hostility between you and the woman,
    and between your offspring and her offspring.
He will strike your head,
    and you will strike his heel.”

¹⁶ Then he said to the woman,

“I will sharpen the pain of your pregnancy,
    and in pain you will give birth.
And you will desire to control your husband,
    but he will rule over you.”

¹⁷ And to the man he said,

“Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree
    whose fruit I commanded you not to eat,
the ground is cursed because of you.
    All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it.
¹⁸ It will grow thorns and thistles for you,
    though you will eat of its grains.
¹⁹ By the sweat of your brow
    will you have food to eat
until you return to the ground
    from which you were made.
For you were made from dust,
    and to dust you will return.”

²⁰ Then the man—Adam—named his wife Eve, because she would be the mother of all who live. ²¹ And the Lord God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife.

²² Then the Lord God said, “Look, the human beings have become like us, knowing both good and evil. What if they reach out, take fruit from the tree of life, and eat it? Then they will live forever!” ²³ So the Lord God banished them from the Garden of Eden, and he sent Adam out to cultivate the ground from which he had been made. ²⁴ After sending them out, the Lord God stationed mighty cherubim to the east of the Garden of Eden. And he placed a flaming sword that flashed back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.

The Consequences
After Adam and Eve eat the forbidden fruit, everything changed in an instant. Genesis 3:7 says, "At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves." What was once a state of innocence was replaced by guilt and shame. They become painfully aware of their vulnerability and tried to hide it.  But you can’t hide anything from God.

This is what sin does. It distorts our relationship with God, with others, and even with ourselves. Where there was once openness and trust, now there was shame, fear, and hiding. Adam and Eve’s choice broke their connection with God and corrupted everything else about the world.

And isn’t that how sin works in our own lives? When we make wrong choices, it creates distance—between us and God, between us and others, and even turmoil within our own hearts. We try to cover up our mistakes, hoping no one will notice, but deep down we know things aren’t right.

But even in the midst of this brokenness, God doesn't abandon Adam and Eve. Though they face consequences, God still cares for them.  He gives them clothing made from animal skins (Genesis 3:21). This act foreshadows the ultimate hope we have in Jesus, who would come to cover our sin and restore our broken relationship with God.  God’s grace is always at work, offering hope and restoration. The question for us is: Will we continue hiding, or will we come to God for healing?

A Touching Story
I want to end with a touching story in the Gospel Mark (5:25-34) about a woman who suffered for 12 years with constant bleeding.  Can you imagine?  I had a nose bleed once that wouldn’t stop bleeding for about 15 minutes.  Imaging bleeding for 12 years!  Not only would it be embarrassing, it would make you feel awful to constantly lose blood.  And in Jesus day, given the Jewish ceremonial laws, bleeding would make this woman an unclean outcast from society.  I’m sure she would do everything she could to hide her embarrassing problem.  But then she heard about Jesus—a man they said could heal any sickness.  A man full of love and compassion.  A man with the power and authority of God.  And the woman was faced with a choice:  keep hiding her shame or come to Jesus for healing.  She decided to seek healing from Jesus.

I’m sure this poor woman would have preferred to come see Jesus privately and ask for healing.  But Jesus was constantly surrounded by crowds so it had to be done in front of everyone.  One day, she thought If I could just touch the hem of His robe, it would heal me.  So she got on the hands and knees and crawled through the crowd and reached out and touched the hem of his robe.  And as she did, she was immediately healed. 

Jesus said to the whole crowd, “Who touched my robe?”

Mark 5:33-34 – ³³ Then the frightened woman, trembling at the realization of what had happened to her, came and fell to her knees in front of him and told him what she had done. ³⁴ And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over.”

We have a choice too.  We may not be bleeding like the woman in the story, but we all have sinned.  And our sin makes us feel ashamed.  We don’t want anyone to know.  We keep our dark deeds hidden away.  But we know in our hearts we are broken.  And when we hear about Jesus, a man who can heal our sin and makes us whole and restore our relationship with God, we have a choice.  Do we keep hiding in shame or do we come to Jesus and seek healing?

Today, you have a choice.  Are you going to be like Adam and Eve who sinned and realized they were naked and then tried to hide from God?  Or are you going to be like the women who set aside her pride and crawled through the crowd to touch the hem of Jesus’ robe?

We all have a choice.  God created us with free will.  How will you use your freedom today?

What's the Lord's Prayer?

Introduction
Last week, we studied Jesus simple instructions on how to pray.  He said don’t try to put a show to impress others when you pray and don’t babble on and on over and over again like heathens.  Instead, he said, “go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private.” (Matthew 6:6)

In today’s message, we’re going to study the example Jesus gave of an appropriate prayer.  The example Jesus gave is what we call “The Lord’s Prayer.”  We say this prayer together in worship almost every week.  Now, Jesus wasn’t saying this is the only prayer you can pray.  Rather, Jesus gave us this prayer as an example of both the attitude and tone we should have when we pray, as well as being an example of some of the things we should pray about.

Let’s first look at the traditional prayer my congregation says each week in worship during the Pastoral Prayer.

The Traditional Words of The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come.  Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
For Thine in the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever.  Amen.

Now let’s go through the prayer line by line from Jesus’ sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6:9-15.  You’ll notice the words of Scripture are different from what you’re used to.  That’s because I’m reading from the New Living Translation, which puts the Scripture in modern, easier to understand language.

Matthew 6:9
⁹ Pray like this:  Our Father in heaven, may your name be kept holy.

Remember, people who follow Christ Jesus are praying to our Father.  God is Jesus’ Father. 
He is your Father too (if you follow Christ).  A good father cares about his kids.  He loves them unconditionally.  He sacrifices for them.  He provides for them and gives them what they need.  Sometimes a good father withholds things from His children—not because He’s mean or doesn’t care, but precisely because He does care.  He knows what His children really need and also when what they want won’t be good for them   So when we pray, we simply talk to God like He is our Father, because He is.

But God is not just any father, God is our Heavenly Father.  That means God is better than our biological father.  God doesn’t have the character flaws and limitations of you dad.  If you had a issues with your dad, you can be thankful God is the Father you always wish you had.  And even if your earthly father was wonderful, you can marvel in the knowledge God is infinitely better than your earthly father when he was at his very best.

When we recite the traditional prayer, we say “Hallowed be Thy Name”.  Hallowed is a fancy old word we don’t use any more.  The closest we come is Halloween--which means All Hollows Eve.  Hallowed is the old English word for holy and sacred.  But we even take the words holy and sacred for granted in modern times.  We use them in church, but what do they really mean?  To be holy and sacred is to be different and special—set apart from all the other common things.  God is not like all the other common things around us.  He is special and unique.  He’s different.

And it’s not just God’s name that is different.  When we say, “Your name is Holy” or “Hallowed be Thy Name”, were talking about God’s reputation.  That’s what a name is—it’s verbal reputation of who you are.  If you tell someone you go to Pleasant Grove Methodist Church, it says something.  We have a reputation people know us by.  What do they know about us?  What is our reputation?  When I’m out in the community and people find out I pastor Pleasant Grove Methodist Church, they might say things like:

• "Oh! That’s the church that does trunk or treat every year!  My kids love that!  We can really tell y'all are full of love."
• "Oh! That’s the church that gave my friend $1,000 to help put a roof on her house!"
• "Oh!  That’s the church where my friend started going and it turned his life around!"
• "Oh!  That’s the church where I take all my Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes!"

You see, we have a reputation.  People know our church by our name and what we do.  And when we pray to God our Father, we know Him by what He has done.  When you pray, think of all God has done that is recorded in the Bible.  Remember all God has done for your friends and family or for you personally:  how He has cared for you and put people in your life to love you, how He has forgiven your sins and saved you.  Think of all the ways God has been there for you.

One year ago, my church was following the North Georgia Annual Conference of the UMC's rules for disaffiliation.  On December 28^th (while everyone was on vacation and 2 days before Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson was scheduled to leave our conference to be reappointed to Virginia), the bishop “paused” our disaffiliation.  Her “pause” was effectively an edict denying over 186 churches their legitimate right to withdraw from the UMC because of the deadlines involved.  We were at a loss as to what to do.  Thousands of United Methodists across out conference were at a loss.  It caught us all off guard and there seemed to be nothing we could do.

People from my church kept asking, "What can we do?"  I didn't know the answer, but I said, let's pray and be patient and wait on the Lord's direction.  So we prayed.  We prayed to our Father, who is in Heaven and has the power to do anything.  And against all odds, God made a way.  I won't list out all the details and steps that took us from despair in January to victory in November.  However, on November 18th, 2023, our church was granted disaffiliation along with 261 other church.  God used all the extra time to increase the number of churches committed to following His Word.

There were 4 churches who didn’t make it out.  They were not approved.  Was that because they didn't pray hard enough?  No. They are still not defeated.   Either God had other plans for them or God will take their defeat and turn it into a victory!  That is the mysterious way God works sometimes.  SOmetimes He doesn't answer our prayers the way we want, but we have faith He always answers our prayers in the right way.  We will just have to trust God and wait and see what He does.

If you ever depsair because God doesn't answer your prayers the way you want, think of Jesus.  Jesus did not want to die on the cross.  What did He pray?  He prayed, "Lord, if there's any way it's possible, let this cup of suffering pass from me."  You see, Jesus didn't want to endure the agony and shame of dying on the cross.  He prayed for the cup to pass from Him.  But He also prayed, "But not my will, but Yours be done."  And Jesus died on the cross.  But God also took Jesus death and turned it into the greatest victory that's ever been one.  Jesus died on the cross but rose on the third day.  And through His ressurection, the whole world can be saved!  So if you ever despair because God doesn't answer your prayers, you are in good company--the company of God's own Son.  And God will turn your unanswered prayer into a victory.  Have faith!

Matthew 6:10
May your Kingdom come soon.  May your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.

This should be a Christians number one hope and number one prayer.  It’s not about us.  Ultimately, we want God’s to come and His will to be done because our faith says that’s what we really need.  Yes, we have our own hopes and dreams about how we want our lives to turn out.  But our faith tells us loud and clear, God’s plans are always better than our hopes and dreams.  Therefore, we must be like the heroes of faith in the Bible who were always willing to turn their backs on everything they’d ever known and to go where God led them.

Are you ready and willing to surrender your hopes and dreams and truly ask God our Father, “May Your will (not mine) be done on earth, as it is in heaven”?  When you are ready to surrender completely to the will of God, then you are ready to pray about your basic needs.

Matthew 6:11
“Give us today the food we need,”

We have basic needs.  We ask God to take care of them.  The struggles of daily life and prayer are opportunities to practice trusting God.  We sinful humans are incredibly prone to think we can take care of ourselves.  Do we really need God?  Oh sure, we realize we need God at certain moments in our lives—like when we get diagnosed with cancer, or when the church we’ve grown up in and love is in jeopardy.  When we are scared or at our wits end, we go to God and beg for help.  And that’s fine.  God hears us.  But it is far better for our spiritual health if we recognize every day, every moment we desperately need God.  We cannot do life on our own.  We cannot even tie our shoelaces whithout God's help!  We need God even for something as basic as food.  So we ask, “Give us this day our daily bread.”

Just like the Israelites who wandered in the wilderness, who God gave manna from heaven.  God gave them enough for one day.  He said, “Don’t collect more than one day’s supply.  Trust me.  I’ll give you more tomorrow.”  So we ask God to give us the food and basic needs we need today.  And we trust Him.  God will take care of us.

Matthew 6:12
...and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us.

Isn’t it interesting that right next to Jesus instruction to pray for daily bread is His instruction about praying for forgiveness?  Don’t miss this.  Forgiveness is as important to your health and wellbeing as is the basic necessity of food.  Let me say that again:  Forgiveness is as important to your health and wellbeing as is the basic necessity of food.  

This is something our church needs to remember and practice very intentionally during this season.  We have been in a hard and bitter fight.  The Lord has brought us through.  We have won the right to disaffiliate from the UMC and pursue the future we believe God wants our church to work for.  But we also still feel the pain and anxiety from the long fight.  There may even be hard feelings between some in our community—Dalton/Whitfield County—or even in our own church.  And we need to forgive one another so we can move on and heal.  And we need to pray, “Father, forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who have trespassed against us.”

Matthew 6:13
And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.

Here is the reminder of who the enemy really is.  Who is the enemy?  It is the evil one, the Devil.  The enemy is not the Bishop or conference leaders who tried to sidetrack our church.  The enemy is not that person at work who told lies about you and hurt your reputation.  You see, you real enemy is not the people or things of this world.  We are engaged in a spiritual battle.  Ephesians 6:12 says, “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.”

So don’t give into the temptation to blame your problems on God, thinking He doesn’t care.  And don’t give into the temptation to blame people on earth who oppress you.  It is the Evil One and the forces of darkness in an unseen world who are twisting things up against you.  Therefore, turn away from temptation and not feed the Devil’s influence in your life.  Turn to God in prayer.

Matthew 6:14-15
¹⁴ “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. ¹⁵ But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.”

I don’t know how Jesus can make it any more plain than this.  We must forgive or we cannot be forgiven.  Forgiveness is hard.  It’s not some glib thing.  But it is essential.  We must forgive.  Forgiveness is what God has done for us.  And it cost Jesus His life.  Jesus died cruelly on the cross so we can be forgiven and so we can forgive others.  

We all need forgiveness and God is gracious to forgive.  But we in turn must forgive others.  So when you pray, pray like this.  

Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come.  Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.
For Thine in the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever.  Amen.