Lesson 18
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Bible Study 1 - Genesis 2
Series: GOD IN THE GARDEN
Genesis 2:18-25 THE FIRST WEDDING IN THE GARDEN
Genesis 2:18-25 “And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. 19 And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. 20 And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him. 21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; 22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. 23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. 24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. 25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed."
INTRODUCTION:
Theirs was a very wonderful home and in some ways they may have had some advantages over us. Not only did they have a beautiful garden to live in but there were several things they did not have to contend with that face us today. For example: Adam never had to listen to Eve say, "You are not the only man I could have married." Eve never had to listen to Adam say, "Now when I was a boy…!" Adam never had to complain and ask, "What is this younger generation coming too?" Eve never had to be concerned about Adam saying, "Why don't you cook like my mother cooks?"
The husband of one young couple was complaining and he said to his wife, "Why don't you make biscuits like my mother used to make biscuits?" She said, "Why don't you bring home the dough like my daddy used to bring home the dough?"
It must have been wonderful there in that Garden of Eden for that first family as they were enjoying all of the wonderful things that God had put there. I want us to look at these passages of Scripture and think about them under 3 basic headings: A MARRIAGE MADE BY HEAVEN - A MARRIAGE MARRED BY HELL – and - A MARRIAGE MARKED BY HOPE.
INTERPRETATION:
THINK ABOUT A MARRIAGE MADE BY HEAVEN.
Up until this time we have been studying about the creation. God has been making all the wonderful things that He has made. Then after God made all these things He stood back and said, "It is good, It was good, It is very good.” But now we read something very strange here in verse 18, "And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone"
NOTICE THAT GOD PLANNED A BRIDE FOR ADAM.
"And the LORD God said ... I will make him an help meet for him.” There are several reasons why God planned this bride for Adam.
1. GOD PLANNED A BRIDE FOR ADAM FOR COMPANIONSHIP. "And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone" Adam needed a companion, he needed someone like him, he needed someone with whom he could share. He needed someone with whom he could enjoy all the blessings of God. I want to say as a testimony, there is no greater fellowship, no greater companionship than that of a husband and wife, loving one another and loving God and enjoying all the blessings of God together. I believe a Christian home that honors God, is a open testimony to God’s statutes, ethics, and values is the nearest thing to heaven there is.
"And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him." Actually, that word "help" is a noun, "I will make a (helper) for him.” Now, what kind of a helper was this companion to be? What kind of a helper did Adam need? God didn't make someone for Adam just to help him pick fruit. God wanted someone who would help Adam to maximize his strengths, help him to be all he could be, and help him to reach his full potential. In my early ministry someone told me, "You ought to thank God for your wife, because a wife is to a husband and to a preacher, what a wind is to a fire. She can fan it up or blow it out." Our wives can give us strength and help or they can drag us down and burn us out. The wife is to be a helper and not a hinderer.
2. GOD ALSO PLANNED A BRIDE FOR ADAM FOR COMPLETION. "I will make him an help meet for him." That word "meet" means "I will make him a help that is (fitting) for him.” That means I will make him someone who will meet a specific need. God says that Eve was taken out of the side of Adam. That is, there was a part of Adam that was missing that he wanted to get back. Have you ever heard a man say about his wife, "She just completes me?” or "I'm not myself without her?” or "She is my other half " or "She is my better half?” Well, that's the way it ought to be, because that's the way God intended for it to be. A husband without his wife would be like a violin without its bow, but together they can make beautiful music. So ladies, you are to be your husband's completer, and not his competer. You are to complete him but you are not to finish him off.
3. GOD ALSO PLANNED A BRIDE FOR ADAM FOR COMMUNICATION. I'm not talking about so that they might just talk at one another, but that they might communicate with all of creation a principle. I believe this first home in the Garden of Eden is meant to picture Christ and the church. The Bible tells us about this in Ephesians 5 and we'll see that at the end of the Study. I don't believe there is anything that can express a better study and example of the love of Jesus Christ to this world than a Christian home that communicates those values as they are lived out in the marriage and in the home. That tells us that marriages are God's marriages and not yours and the home is God's home and not your home. Sometimes if our marriage is not running smoothly we need a little heavenly STP to put in the crank case to make that marriage run smoother. Listen, it is His marriage, it is His home, they are is His children and it all belongs to Him. All of this is to communicate to the world what God is like, and all of this is to reflect to the world what is God's plan for the world. Some people have had bad experiences for one reason or another and they have made up their mind that they are going to go against God’s plan for marriage but when they do it dishonors God, ruins the testimony, and ultimately there will always be a sense of shame – not pride that comes from a Godly decision.
NOTICE THAT GOD PROVIDED A BRIDE FOR ADAM IN VERSES 19-20.
19 "And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. 20 And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him. Now do you wonder why we have the naming of the animals right in the middle of the thought on God's heart for Adam to have a bride? Well, God said "Adam, I've got a job for you. I want you to name all of these creatures I've created.” So Adam starts to name all the creatures, one by one as they came by. However, in all of that Adam never found one creature suitable for him and all of these animals had a mate but Adam didn't have a mate. In all of this God was working on Adam, and now Adam has this desire in his heart and God is ready and God performed the first surgical operation. The Bible tells us in verses 21-22, "And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; 22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man."
I know what I am about to say is not politically correct but it is Biblically correct and that is what I am most concerned about. If you want to disagree with me that is okay, you have the right to be wrong if you want. I love you all and if you will write me and apologize I will forgive you and if you will repent God will forgive you as well because He loves you more than I. God provided this bride for Adam. Now, let me make it very clear that God made a man to be a man, and God made a woman to be a woman. In Chapter 1 the Bible says, "He made them in the beginning male and female." God made them "Adam and Eve," He never made them "Adam and Steve." We've got a lot of people today who are trying to erase the line between male and female. They want to have "she-men" and "he-women" but that's not God's plan.
I stopped by a store not long ago, one evening to pick up a 3 ring binder and then I was going to be on my way home for the evening. After finding my purchase I went to the check-out and found myself behind, what at first I thought was a tall, black, young lady, dressed very nicely. As I stood there I noticed something odd. She was wearing a pant suit that was very thin and I could see what looked like boxer under ware shinning through her garments. I began to look closer and saw she was wearing a wig. Then as we approached the check-out counter she turned and her voice gave her away. Even with all the bling and the false eye lashes and make-up there was no doubt that this was a “she-male” out on the town for the evening. I thought I would croak as I stood there in total shock. That was my first experience with that kind of thing. I looked at the cashier in disbelief and turned away briefly to get my composure and then turned back to the “she-male” to make a Christian comment but she was gone like a light. I truly was going to try to witness to him or her or whatever, but I missed my chance.
But folks, after well over 60 years of living, this old country boy has learned without a doubt that there is a tremendous difference between a man and a woman, even though some will try to tell you there is no difference. For a person not to understand or believe that tells me that “they are one burger short of a happy meal.” Let me explain myself very clearly just in case there may be someone liberal enough and dumb enough and wrong enough to disagree. Please understand, I am not a sexist. I am for women, not against them. I want to protect them, not harm them. I want them to do what God has designed and equipped them to do, not hinder them or stand in their way. I will never believe they are second class, to me they are first class, and I hole them up high. The two greatest people I have ever known in this world was my Mother and is my wife. In those two, God created two amazing people capable of extraordinarily amazing things. They are like denim wrapped in velvet and satin sown together with silk lace, encapsulating a heart of gold. I am not against men I am for them – I am one!
THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BIOLOGICALLY.
I will admit and state up front that I am from the old school – the same school that God is from and we look at things a little differently that this progressive, liberal thinking, free thinking society approaches looks at it today. There will be many who will want to take issue with me on this but please just keep it to yourself or preach it on your own protesting stump. The woman's body was fashioned by God for having babies, and giving attention to the more tender things of life, not fighting wars on the fields of combat. The woman's body is physically adapted for more delicate things and they need certain care that a man’s body does not require. The woman’s body is not physically adapted for other certain stressful things and should never be subjected to the rigors and hardships this world can demand to be put on a man.
THERE IS A DIFFERENCE PSYCHOLOGICALLY.
There are some very intelligent people who tell us today that the only reason boys are different from girls is because when they are younger, the boys are given little tractors and girls are given little baby dolls. They say that if you just give the little dolls to the boys and give the little tractors to the girls everything will be different and all right. But some of those intelligent people were shocked not long ago when the psychologist found out that there is an inborn difference in the mind of a male and a female. I'm not saying one is superior and one is inferior, but I'm just saying they are different. The male and female are equal but the male and female are not the same. When I was a child I played with paper dolls when my girl cousins came to visit and I played with the trucks and army toys when my boy cousins came to visit. When I was alone I played with dolls and I played with trucks. I was the only boy with two sisters in the home along with my Dad and when I got married and started a family I had one son and two daughters. My son and I have never had any problems trying to figure out if we were supposed to be a male or a female. Personally, I'm glad there is a difference, because if my wife were just like me I wouldn't be interested in her at all. If I had to rub my hairy cheek up against her hairy cheek I say forget it! There is a difference psychologically, they think differently. Someone has said "A man will pay 2 dollars for a 1 dollar item that he needs. A woman will pay 1 dollar for a 2 dollar item she doesn't need."
Someone else has said concerning a woman, "Oh, the shrewdness of their shrewdness when they are shrewd. And Oh, the rudeness or their rudeness when they are rude. But the shrewdness of their shrewdness when they are shrew, and the rudeness of their rudeness when they are rude is as nothing to the goodness of their goodness when they are good. Oh, the gladness of their gladness when they are glad. Oh, the sadness of their sadness when they are sad. But the gladness of their gladness when they are glad and the sadness of their sadness when they are sad is as nothing to the badness of their badness when they are bad."
Women have a way of always keeping men guessing. The very moment you think you think you have things figured out, they drop a bomb shell, and you are back to square one. Even after being married over 40 years it doesn’t change. That is what keeps marriage exciting and interesting so men don’t get angry, be glad you have a mate who loves you - that is different in a good wholesome way and she is not like you. That's the way a woman is! But what about a man?
I don’t know who said it but they said, "As a rule, a man is a fool. When it is hot he wants it cool. When it is cool he wants it hot, always wanting what is not. As a rule man is a fool."
I don’t know whether I entirely agree with that statement or not. I am continuing to ponder that in my mind. As a man I guess some men are that way, but I personally feel I am way past that stage. Here is my thing, I like to put things in a particular place. It may not be neat or organized or pretty to the eyes, but I know about where most things are when I need them. My wife likes to organize and reorganize often. Sometimes she gets into my STUFF. Most men have what they call STUFF. It doesn’t really mean anything to anyone but them but it is their STUFF! When my dear, dear wife begins to do me a favor by organizing my STUFF and discarding things that appear to be of no use and I go to find something that is important to me I can’t find it because it has been moved or discarded by my loving and thoughtful organizing wife there are problems. However, that is the difference between men and women and though it can be trying at times it is a good thing. God just took man and made a woman and God made them different because God wanted to make them one. It is the difference between them that makes the difference and God brought them together there in the Garden of Eden. God continues to work the same way today. So instead of complaining about the difference and trying to change your mate to be something she is not, thank God for the difference and learn to live with it and make the necessary adjustments and you will both be much happier knowing you are together because God put you together the way you are! But always remember the Husband is the Priest and Spiritual leader and example in the home and his example and Biblical teachings must be honored as unto God. If He loves his wife as Christ loves the Church, then he should have the same results Christ had with the Church. Think about that!
EXPLANATION:
NOTICE THAT GOD PRESENTED A BRIDE TO ADAM IN V. 22
"And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.” The Lord made this woman and when He was finished He said "Adam, I've got a surprise for you" and then God brought Eve to Adam. Thus we have THE FIRST WEDDING IN THE GARDEN OF EDEN.
THINK ABOUT A MARRIAGE MADE BY HEAVEN.
Now I don't know exactly what all that took place there, but I can just imagine the cathedral of stars in the skies and the canopy of the trees were there overhead, and all of the flowers covering the hillsides that decorated that wedding chapel of eternity. Then the Father with that bride on His arm presented Eve to Adam. Adam sees Eve coming forward for the very first time. I don't know what must have been going through Adam's mind but I do know he liked what he saw. Gen 2:23 "And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh:" That doesn't sound very romantic to us does it? That doesn't sound very exciting in the language in which it is written does it? But if you translate these words from the Hebrew, you'll find that it is an expression of excitement and joy. What these words really mean, is this "Wow, this is it!" "This is what I have been looking for! “ She is for me!" "She is so much like me!” "She is flesh of my flesh" "She is bone of my bones!”
God gave Eve to Adam that he might nourish her and cherish her according to Ephesians 5. To nourish means to build up and give strength to. To cherish means to watch over and to love. All of this tells us that: MARRIAGE IS A DIVINE INSTITUTION. Gen 2:24 says, "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh." This is telling us that marriage is divinely ordained and marriage is a divinely planned institution. Mat. 19:6 says, "Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.” Folks, I'm not here to condemn and point a finger at those who have failed in marriage. But I am here to tell you that God has a plan and God's plan is one man for one woman until death do them part and what God hath joined together let not man put asunder. Surely God forgives divorce, for God is a merciful God and God will forgive you, no matter what has happened in your home. I know that there are some who can't put things back together any more than you can unscramble eggs. I know that because of abuse and all kinds of things that go on today there are reasons to leave a marriage. I also know that there are some who had no choice in the matter for one reason or the other. But having said that, I also know “it is an awful thin pancake that doesn’t have 2 sides.” But you can just take your life as it is right now and you can give it to God and say "Lord I want to put the past beneath your blood and I want to go forward from here.” I know I am speaking to some of you who are not yet married and some of you are wanting to find a mate real bad. You had better pray and seek the will of God and find the will of God for your life concerning marriage. Just as God prepared a bride for Adam, He will also prepared a mate for you if He wants you to be married. Therefore, you had better take the one God has prepared and the one that God presents to you. You can learn what God's will is for you concerning marriage through prayer. I believe that if people would begin with prayer and continue in prayer concerning a mate for life there would be a lot fewer marriages and fewer divorces. It is not God's will for everyone to be married. There are some who are concerned about being single and you need to understand that there is one thing worse than being single and that is to be married to the wrong person being married to the person you chose instead of the person God had chosen for you. SEEK A MARRIAGE MADE BY GOD IN HEAVEN.
THINK ABOUT A MARRIAGE MARRED BY HELL.
The Devil does all he can to wreck your homes. The Devil knows that if he can wreck our homes, then he can wreck our churches. The Devil knows that if he can wreck our homes, then wreck our churches then he can wreck our nation. The Devil knows that the basic unit that holds society together is the home, so he has already leveled all the artillery of hell against the home. When you are hurt at home you are hurt like you can be hurt in no other way. So the Devil started to mar this home that God had made in Eden. Look at what he did in Genesis 3:1-6 "Now the serpent (or literally the Devil) was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? 2 And the woman said unto the serpent, we may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. 6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat."
I want you to see what happened to this home.
THE FIRST STEP OF A MARRED MARRIAGE IS SELFISHNESS.
Eve sees something that fascinates her, she sees something that was pleasant to look upon, she sees something that was good to taste, she sees something that satisfied her sensual senses, and she sees something that tickles her intellect. She said, "I would like that, I want that" and not thinking of God and not thinking of Adam, only thinking about herself, she took it. In 90% of the cases where I have counseled with people whose marriages were on the rocks, the root cause was selfishness. I wonder how many homes in this County have been ruined by selfishness as people have partaken of the forbidden fruit of immorality, drugs or alcohol, pride or something... else?
THE SECOND STEP OF A MARRED MARRIAGE IS SHAME.
Gen 3:7 “And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.” Up until this time they weren't ashamed because Gen 2:25 says, "And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.” The reason they were not ashamed was because they were clothed with glory and holiness and light. Psa. 104:2 speaks of God “Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment:" God wears a robe of light like a garment and Adam and Eve wore a robe of light like a garment. When the Lord Jesus was transfigured, Jesus was clothed and bathed with light. It was not the physical clothes that Peter, James and John saw on that Mount of Transfiguration, but it was the Glory of God that enshrined the Lord Jesus Christ. And there in that garden of Eden, in the companionship and innocencey that Adam and Eve had, they walked in robes of glory and light. But then because of their sin, they lost that glory and that light and now they had a shame because shame follows sin like night follows day.
THE THIRD STEP OF A MARRED MARRIAGE IS SEPARATION.
There is separation from God then separation from each other. Gen 3:12 says, "And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat.” I can just see Adam as he points the finger of blame and accusation at Eve, almost as if to say, "I wish I had never met her, she caused me all this trouble.” But she was the one he was supposed to cherish, she was the one he was supposed to nourish and love, and now because of selfishness and shame, sin has come into their life separate him and his wife.
THE FOURTH STEP OF A MARRED MARRIAGE IS SORROW.
It always follows this pattern. Look at Genesis 3:16-17 “Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over there. 17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;" All the gladness of Eden has now turned to sorrow. Before long with salty, bitter tears, Adam and Eve are going to look down upon the grave of their son Able who would be slain by Cain all because sin had come into the marriage. Yes, their eyes are opened now and they have the knowledge of good and evil, but they know it in a strange and painful way. They know good by its absence and they know evil by its presence. They now know things they wish they had never learned. The Devil did his best to wreck that first home and you know he is doing the same thing today in your homes. Jesus is the greatest home builder and the Devil is the greatest home wrecker.
APPLICATION:
THINK ABOUT A MARRIAGE MARKED BY HOPE.
I'm glad I can tell you that our God is a God of hope and a God of grace and forgiveness. I want you to look back at Genesis 2:21-22 and see how God made the woman, "And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; 22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man." Very often there is more in the Bible than what we see on the surface.
This is literal history, but it is also a type or a figure of something even more wonderful than literal history. Whether you can see it or not, this is a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ and the church. The Bible tells us that Adam was an Old Testament type of the Lord Jesus Christ in Rom 5:14 "Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him [Jesus] that was to come." There in the Garden of Eden was the first Adam. The Lord Jesus Christ is the last Adam. The first Adam was a picture, or an Old Testament revelation of what the last Adam in the New Testament was going to be like in some ways. The Bible teaches us that Eve is a picture or a symbol of the New Testament Church which is the bride of Christ. Just as Eve was a bride to Adam, the church is a bride to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Adam was put into a deep sleep in order to receive his bride, and from his wounded side with bloodshed, a bride was brought forth. The Lord Jesus Christ died upon the cross, they put a spear into His side, and out came water and blood, and from His wounded side a church came forth. The Bible says that "God made the woman," which when translated means, "God built the woman." The Bible says that God is now building His church.
Even as I am sharing these truths, from the wounded side of the Lord Jesus Christ, God is building a bride for the Savior. That is what I am all about in my commitment to Christ. That is what I do and am doing is all about today. That is why I do my best week after week sharing the kingdom of God as faithfully as I know how. The Father is in me, using me in the Name of Jesus to build the bride by trying to bring people to Jesus. There is an urgency about what you and I do as believes do because one of these days, that last man or woman, boy or girl is going to say that everlasting yes to the Lord Jesus and be saved.
ONE OF THESE DAYS GOD WILL SAY “THAT'S IT! THE BRIDE IS COMPLETE! I HAVE BUILT THE BRIDE FOR MY SON!” Then, just as Adam had the bride presented to Him in the Garden of Eden, Jesus is going to have the Bride-THE CHURCH-presented to Him in the Rapture! When God says "That last soul has been saved and it is done" then God the Father is going to present to God the Son, THE BRIDE! Every Bible Study I prepare and present, every message I preach, every person to whom I witness that gives their heart and soul to the Lord Jesus, I always wonder is that the last soul going that is going to be saved in this time. I always wonder if that the last person who is going to come to Jesus before God will say, "THAT'S IT! GABRIEL, SOUND YOUR TRUMPET! I'M GOING TO PRESENT TO MY SON, A BRIDE TAKEN FROM HIS WOUNDED SIDE!
I'm not making all of that up and to prove it look at Ephesians 5:25-32 "Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, [You see, the church is the bride of Christ] and gave himself for it; [that is, Jesus slept that deeper sleep of death than Adam. Jesus literally died and gave Himself for the Bride - the Church] 26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, 27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, [That's when the church is going to presented to the Lord Jesus] not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. 28 So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. 29 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:[The Lord is nourishing and cherishing you - NOW NOTICE VERSE 30] For we are members of his body, [We, Christians are members of His body] of his flesh, and of his bones. 31 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. 32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.” The same thing that happened to Adam and Eve there in the Garden of Eden is a picture of Christ and His church.
The bottom line of what all of this means is this: Friends, there is a Redeemer, there is a Savior, and that Savior died in agony and blood for each of you. Whatever condition you find yourself in, I want you to know that Jesus loves you, and Jesus died for your sins so you wouldn't have to die in them. You may have failed in your home, or you may not have failed in your home, but maybe you failed somewhere else, our God is a God of unconditional love. Your marriage and your life can be marked by hope. The hope that I'm referring to is that Jesus died for you and that He forgives our sins, and though our sins be as scarlet, they may be white as snow. The first miracle that Jesus ever performed was at a wedding when He turned water into wine. Jesus can perform a miracle in your home, Jesus can turn disunity into harmony Jesus give you the wine of joy through His presence.
Wherever you are right now I want you to bow your head and answer the questions I’m going to ask. Do you know Jesus Christ personally? Does God's Spirit bear witness with your spirit that you are a child of God? Have your sins been forgiven? Have you been born again? You can have your sins forgiven right now and you can know Jesus personally by receiving Jesus Christ into your heart and home. If you want that to happen you can pray a prayer like this right now while your head is bowed. You may put it in your own words, but pray something like this: Dear God, I am lost and I am a sinner and I want to be saved. Jesus I believe you died to save me. You promised you would save me if I would only trust you. I do trust you Lord Jesus with all of my heart. So I now turn from my sins and by faith I trust you as my very own personal Savior and Lord. Lord help me to live for you and grow as a Christian. Give me the courage to make a public stand for you. In your name I pray, Amen
DO YOU NEED SOME HELP?
To find more help in receiving Jesus Christ as your personal Savior please go to the Bible Study Title Page “ETERNAL LIFE.” Please send me an email and let me know about any decision for Christ you make so that I may pray for you. Feel free to send me any questions, comments, or responses you may have as well. For those who are already Christians I invite you to also please let me know of any decisions you make in your Christian life for Jesus. Please send me your questions, comments, or responses and let me know if the Bible Studies are helping you. <rfdenning1951@gmail.com>
ALWAYS REMEMBER!
The support of your local Church ministry and the ministry of your Pastor should be the first priority of your Christian life and your service to the Lord. Be faithful to prayerfully prepare and attend Sunday School and Worship Service this Sunday and participate in worship as your Pastor preaches the Word. Do not forget to give the Lord at least your TITHE through your local church from your gross income – that is your first fruits. Any other other giving is an offering to a ministry unto the Lord. Honor the Lord in all you do and with all that you have. Always remember that everything you have and all you are belongs to the Lord. It is on loan to you – so manage it well! There will be an audit one day! Make sure the Books Balance!
All Bible Studies Are Prepared by Pastor Frank Denning And May Be Be Used By Permission.