(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

I'm going to play a little bit of the song, and then I'm going to play a little bit of the song, and then I'm going to play a little bit of the song. Good morning, we're in Genesis chapter number two this morning. In Genesis chapter two, the Bible reads, And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul. And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there he put the man whom he had formed. Out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And the river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from thence it was part and became into four heads. The name of the first is Pison, that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah where there is gold. And the gold of that land is good, there is Delium and the onyx stone. And the name of the second river is Gihon, the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. And the name of the third river is Hiddikal, that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates. And the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it. For in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die. And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone. I will make him and help meet for him. 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. And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and every beast of the field, but for Adam there was not fowl and help meet for him. 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. And the rib which the Lord God had taken from man made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. 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. Therefore shall the man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. Let's pray, dear God. Thank you for this opportunity to assemble here, for the preaching of your word. Just ask that you would please meet with us here now. Please go pass from here with your Holy Spirit, and bless the preaching, and in Jesus' name we pray, amen. Amen. Okay, we're in Genesis chapter 2 this morning, and the title of my sermon this morning is Lessons from the Garden Before the Fall. Lessons from the Garden Before the Fall. In Genesis 1, last week we covered the creation story, going verse by verse regarding the sixth day creation period. And chapter 1 is more of an overview of the creation, giving us the chronology of when everything was made. Chapter 2, on the other hand, though it shares similarities, really what it is, it's a focus and an emphasis on the creation of man. And the reason for that is because of the fact that man is the most important creation that God made, right? Obviously everything is important, and we see that God places an emphasis on all created things in chapter 1. But then we get specific in chapter 2 regarding Adam, regarding the creation of Eve, and of course later on regarding the fall, and so on. And so this is what chapter 2 mainly focuses on. And sometimes people can be thrown off by chapter 2 a bit because of the fact that, aside from the fact that it's a reiteration of chapter 1, we also see that the chronology seems to be off. Only because of the fact that you see man being created, and then God created the beast and brings him unto the man. Whereas the chronology in chapter 1 is that the beasts are created first, and then the man. But really what this is, it's not a contradiction, it's not a discrepancy. Really what's taking place here is that God is obviously creating a new set of animals to place in the garden for Adam to name. And so it's not a discrepancy, there's not something wrong with the chronology. Animals had already existed, the beasts of the field were already created on day 6 in Genesis chapter 1. But obviously now we're focusing on man who's being placed in the garden. And then of course the beasts are being formed, Adam's naming them, so on and so forth. Look at verse number 4 if you would. It says, And the first thing I want to point out here is that when you read specifically the book of Genesis, you'll often see these transitional statements, right? You'll see this phrase, These are the generations. And often what that's there for is to kind of give the reader the indicator that there's some sort of transitional period, transitional statement, something different is going to be covered. You'll see this for example in chapter 10 of Genesis when dealing with the generations of Noah, his sons, going into after the flood, prior to the construction of Babel. And so here we see the summary of the creation. It goes on to say in verse number 5, So right off the bat we see that the emphasis, the focus of this chapter really for the remainder of the book is on man. Because he creates the plants, he creates the herbs of the field, and then he talks about later on the irrigation system that he placed in verse number 6. But then he focuses on the fact that there wasn't a man to till the ground. This is obviously giving us a prequel of the fact that he's going to create man at this point. Look at verse number 7, it says, It says the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground. Now that is very significantly different from how he created other things in the creation period. So how's that? Well everything else he's spoken to existence, right? He said let there be light, and he talked about the marine life, how he caused them to bring forth and exist. But he did it by the word of his mouth, whereas the formation of man was created by the hands of God from the dust of the ground. So there is some sort of physical thing that's taking place here where God is literally using the dust of the ground to form man and create him from the dust. And it says and breathe into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living soul. Now I want you to notice that man is uniquely different from other creations. And in fact we would even say he's superior to all other creations. He's far more important than the Amazon forest, he's more important than your dog or your cat, he's more important than all the animals. No matter what exists in this world, man is far superior to everything else. And God makes it a point to kind of emphasize that. And the reason we know that is because man is actually created in God's image. So he's uniquely created in the sense that he was formed from the ground by the hands of God, but also that he's created in the image of God. Look at chapter 1 and verse 26. It says here in chapter 1 verse 26, and God said, let us make man in our image. Who's the our there? Well this is what we would commonly refer to today as the Trinity. God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, all three are involved in the creation period. He says, after our likeness, and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So he says there that he wants man to have dominion, meaning that he wants mankind to be the lord of this earth, so to speak. Of course, lower case L, meaning that he's the boss, he's the one who's supposed to dominate the land, dominate the animals, dominate the world. He goes on to say in verse number, or towards the latter end, it says over the cattle, over all the earth, over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. But the emphasis there is the fact that he's made in the likeness of God, and we'll return to that in just a bit. Now let me read to you a couple of verses here elsewhere. It says in Isaiah 64 verse number 8, you go with me, if you would, to 1 Corinthians chapter 15, hold your place there in Genesis chapter 2. I'm going to read to you from Isaiah 64 verse 8, it says, But now, O Lord, Thou art our Father, we are the clay. Now the word for clay is dust, dirt. Thou art our potter, and we are all the work of Thy hand. Now there's a statement that's often made when someone dies, and they'll say ashes to ashes and dust to dust. You guys ever heard that? And people often say this to say, you know, there's no soul, it's just ashes to ashes, dust to dust. But that's only halfway true, right? It's not necessary ashes to ashes, but it is dust to dust because the body goes into the ground from whence it came. And in fact, Ecclesiastes 12 verse 7 says, Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was, because that's where Adam came from. But then it says, And the Spirit shall return unto God who gave it. Obviously the implication here is this person was a believer. The point being is that man is distinctly different, aside from the fact that he's made in the image of God. Aside from the fact that he was formed from the ground, he also has a spirit, okay? Now all living creatures, to a certain extent, you can say has a soul in the sense that it feels, it's a sentient being, so to speak. But man is the only thing that actually has a spirit where we have love, we can hate, there's envy, there is jealousy. There is all these human emotions that are given to us by God, okay? Characteristics, look at 1 Corinthians 15 and verse 42, talking about the resurrection. It says in verse 42, And so also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body and there is a spiritual body. So this is actually referring to how to bury someone when they die, okay? And when something is sown, it's referring to the fact that it's being buried into the ground like a seed would be, with the belief that it's going to come out something completely different, right? When you put a seed into the ground, you get something that's completely different than what came in. One like man or believers, because this is in context of those who are saved, when they are sown into the ground, when they're buried, they come out completely different. They're sown a natural body, the natural body that comes from Adam, but then it is raised in incorruption, a resurrected glorified body that is incapable of dying. It goes on to say in verse 45, And so it is written, The first Adam was made a living soul. Call back to Genesis 2. The last Adam, referring to Jesus Christ, was made a quickening spirit. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural, and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthly. The second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy, and as is the heavenly, such are they that also that are the heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. So in other words, what this is saying is that Adam can only get us so far. You know, we are here because physically of Adam, we're descendants of Adam physically speaking, but if it only stops there, then we shall return into the earth from whence we came. Dust to dust, right? Whereas, if we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, when we are buried, we shall take on incorruption, we shall take on that nature, that supernatural nature of being able to live forever. So Adam could only get us so far. The second Adam was necessary in order to help us to live forever. Go back to Genesis chapter 2 if you would. Now another thing that we notice here in the Genesis account, and I mentioned this already, aside from the fact that he's made in the image of God, you know, God made Adam and Eve with gender distinction, right? And in fact, look at verse 27 of chapter 1 again, it says, So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him, male and female created he them. Well, in 2024, there's all kind of genders missing there, right? Well, they're not missing, it's because you can't miss something that doesn't exist, okay? And so obviously, the Bible doesn't teach this depraved, reprobate type of, you know, terminology, cisgender, non-binary. These are all terms to describe people who hate the Lord Jesus Christ, who have a mental illness, they're reprobate. The Bible tells us that God created them male and female. And you say, well, I know someone who thinks that they're a woman or I know someone who thinks that they're a man. No, they're just called transvestites, okay? They're not called, you know, oh, he's a man, you know, born in a woman's body or vice versa. No, the Bible actually says that they're simply people who are cross-dressing because you can't change what you're born with, amen? And the Bible tells us that a woman shall not wear that which pertain to a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment for all that do so are an abomination unto the Lord. So there's no such thing as, well, I just thought that I was a woman and so therefore I'm going to put on a dress. No, according to the Bible, you're an abomination because you're participating in the abominable act of cross-dressing, we would say today transvestite. And we need to normalize that word transvestite, by the way, okay? And people find that offensive, but it's literally a proper term. It's not even supposed to be an insulting term. It's just a way to classify people who are participating in this. Trans means to cross. Vestite is just another way of saying clothing. Like in Spanish, the way you say clothing or a dress is what? Vestido. Okay? So they're cross-dressing. There's no such thing as all of these 50 types of genders. We need to make sure that as Christians, as believers, as those who adhere to the word of God, remind this wicked and perverted world that this is only male and female. Nothing else. The Bible tells us in 1 Corinthians 11, you don't have to turn to verse 7, for a man indeed ought not to cover his head for as much as he is the image and glory of God, but the woman is the glory of the man. And so right off the bat, in the creation period, in chapter 1 and chapter 2, even up to chapter 5, God is constantly emphasizing the fact that there's only male and female. And we'll get into that a little more later on in the chapter. Look at verse number 8. It says, the Lord God, in chapter 2, excuse me, the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden. And there he put the man whom he had formed. So at this point, the world has already been created. Plants, marine life, the firmament, beasts of the field. Man has already been created at this point. All six days have already been completed. But then aside from that, God continues to create a more unique geographical location known as Eden. Okay? And he planted a garden, excuse me, eastward of Eden, and he decides to put Adam in that garden. It says in verse 9, out of the ground, made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the site and good for food. The tree of life also is in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. We'll see this later on, but this is simply an indicator that God gave or made Adam with the freedom to choose. Right? He didn't create robots. He didn't create people to just do as he says. He created them to make a choice. Okay? And he placed these trees there. Later on, he explains to Adam that he does not want him to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. He gives them that command, thereby kind of giving him the liberty to choose if that's what he wants to do or not. Okay? And so, we see here that beasts were not created after man. This is a unique creation after the six days that have already passed, focusing on Eden, the Garden of Eden, and Adam being placed there. Verse 10 says, and a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from thence it was parted and became four heads. He says in verse 11, the name of the first is Pison, that is, it which compasses the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. So we see here that God provides precious metals for use in currency. Right? Because obviously gold is used in a great way for tools, it's a great substance to use, and then later on it will be used for currency, riches, and so forth. Verse 12 says, and the gold of that land is good. There is Delium and the onyx stone. The name of the second river is Gihon, the same it is that compasses the whole land of Ethiopia. And the name of the third river is Hadikal, that it is which goeth toward the east of Assyria, and the fourth river is Euphrates. Now I believe, I'm not going to develop this in this particular sermon, but I believe this is a picture of the four gospels. Okay? Because you have Eden, which is essentially the garden of Eden, pictures the Lord Jesus Christ, and those four rivers of life that flow out of him, picturing the Holy Spirit, goes into all the world, kind of picturing the four gospels, bringing life to this world. Okay? And I've covered that in other sermons, but I believe that is what it pictures. Verse 15, it says, and the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. Now if you remember in the beginning of the chapter, there was not a man to till the ground. So the major issue that was taking place here is that no one was working. Okay? So God provided work for Adam, which means no laziness or idleness. A lot of people today get this idea that Adam was just kind of like kicking back, you know, fingers crossed, and he's just eating mangoes all day, and strawberries, and Eve's just putting grapes in his mouth, and you know, the fan or whatever. And because all the animals are subject to him, they're like scratching his belly, you know, everything. He's just like living life. But really what he's doing, he's working. And work actually makes man happy. It's when you're lazy and idle that you end up getting into depression, you end up becoming self-critical, you end up becoming very unhealthy, and you don't have the right perspective. Why? Because God actually made man to work. And so if Adam was there, just not doing anything at all, not being productive, not dressing and keeping the garden, then he would end up getting involved in sin. And you say, well didn't he get involved in sin? Well actually, Eve got involved in the sin, and then she convinced Adam to eat of the apple. And that's not the sermon today, because this is lessons from the garden before the fall. But the point that I'm making here is that he didn't just put Adam in the garden and said, hey, paradise, have vacation, eat all the fruit, sleep in if you want, just do whatever you want. No, he had a job for him to do. He created this environment for him, and he said, I want you to dress and keep the garden. Which by the way, that means flowers were created for man, not for woman, amen? Go to 2 Thessalonians chapter 3, if you would, 2 Thessalonians chapter 3. Now today, you have this new generation, generation Z, that does not like to work. And even if they get a job, they complain about their job, they want to work less hours with more pay, they don't want to develop some sort of skill, and if they do too many hours, they get social anxiety, they have mental breakdowns or whatever, they can't handle pressure, they can't handle being yelled at, they can't handle boss, they can't handle structure and rules. But folks, that's not the way it was originally intended for in this world. God wants man to work, and obviously he wants woman to work as well, they just have different offices in which they do so. But this is a theme throughout the word of God, that God wants us to be productive, to labor. The Bible says in 2 Thessalonians chapter 3 verse 7, For yourselves know how you ought to follow us, for we behave not ourselves disorderly among you. Now what does it mean to be disorderly? It means without order, meaning you're out of God's order. So God has a specific order for mankind, when those roles are reversed, when you get out of that order, God says you're behaving disorderly, you need to get back on track. He says in verse 8, Neither did we eat any man's bread for naught, but wrought with labor and travail night and day, that we might not be chargeable to any of you. Now the context here is that the Apostle Paul is saying, You know, I came to you guys and I didn't just like ask you for a love offering or just take money from you, I worked for the food that I'm eating to be an example unto you. Now elsewhere he says there's actually nothing wrong with someone taking a salary from a church because muzzlenoth the ox is treaded out the corn. The reason he's not taking a salary is because he's trying to teach the people in that church how to work. Trying to be an example unto them because apparently there are disorderly people in the church that do not want to work, they don't want to get a job, they don't want to get a skill or trade, therefore he's kind of exemplifying what it is to work so that they would follow that in sample. He says in verse 9, Not because we have not power, meaning authority, but to make ourselves an in sample unto you to follow us. For even when we were with you, this we commanded you, that if any would not work, neither should he eat. And that is a good motivator to get a job, amen? Hunger! For we hear that there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies. And it's interesting that he calls people who are not working busybodies, they're not busy doing some work labor project, they're busy in other men's matters. And this is the result of a man who does not work, he ends up getting involved in other people's businesses. Just kind of doing idle things, getting into trouble, being a gossip or whatever, just kind of getting involved in things that he shouldn't be. He says in verse 12, Now then that are such we command and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, that with quietness they work and eat their own bread. You say, oh man, I'm just tired of working though. Well that's what it's supposed to do to you. Working is supposed to make you tired. And the reason it makes you tired is so you go home and instead of getting involved in sin or doing things that are unproductive and can destroy you, you sleep. It wearies down your body, it wearies your mind so you can go to sleep. But in general, to say well I just hate my job because it makes me tired, well that's what a job is supposed to do. Don't quit your job because it's too hard for you. In fact it says in verse 13, But ye brethren, be not weary in well doing. And elsewhere he says, be not weary in well doing, for in due season we shall weep if we faint not. And that was in context of just spiritual rewards. Well the answer to the temporal rewards is that hey, be not weary in well doing because payday is coming on Friday, amen. You know you get paid, not once a month, but maybe bi-weekly, weekly or whatever. It's coming and so don't be weary in well doing. Don't just quit your job because it's too hard. You know, this is God's will for your life. And sometimes people think well you know I just want to know what God's will is. What is God's specific will for my life? Well if you're a man, God's will for your life is to get a job. You don't have to worry about man, is God calling me to India? Is God calling me to Southeast Asia? Is he calling me to Alaska? Before any of that, God's calling you to go get a job. To go labor, to go work. Once you fulfill that purpose, more doors, spiritually speaking, will open up to you. More opportunities, God will begin to use you in a greater way because of it. And so we see there that Adam is not just on vacation. He's not just like chilling out, time off or whatever. There's nothing wrong with vacation, obviously. I'm just saying he's not living like that. Vacation is supposed to be something you do every once in a while. To kind of give you a break from the laborious, mundane of what you're doing throughout the year. But if you had vacation all the time, it would no longer be a vacation. Right? Like if you're just constantly having days off and vacation, it just would no longer be special. Those are there to kind of help you recreate. Kind of help you to rebuild and rest a little bit and then get back to work. Work actually makes vacation enjoyable. And in fact, the dopamine spikes the highest before you go on vacation. Thinking about vacation while you're working actually makes you happier. You understand what I'm saying? Like, you know, remember when you were a kid and maybe you were going to Disneyland the day after or something? You just couldn't sleep, just the anticipation of going there. Now, you obviously had fun wherever you went, but you know, that dopamine was just high right before. And so, you know, the week before you go on vacation, it's like, man, I can't wait. I got a couple more days of just working and then I'm going on vacation. You have that anticipation, that dopamine, that's what makes it enjoyable. But what if you just did that every week, though? It would no longer be there. The point that I'm making here is that God made Adam to dress and to keep the garden, to labor, to work. And in all labor, there is profit, the Bible tells us. The Bible also says, the labor of the righteous tendeth to life, the fruit of the wicked, to sin. And one of the greatest ways to avoid sin, one of the greatest ways to avoid bad habits is to work because it's idleness that positions you to be tempted of Satan and of your flesh, keep your mind busy, keep your body busy, achieve things in this lifetime. The Bible says, Proverbs 16 verse 26, he that laborerth, laborerth for himself, for his mouth craveth it of him. You know, whoever's working here, you're doing it for yourself. And there's nothing wrong with that because your mouth's saying, I want to eat. And you're like, well, I guess I got to work to earn money to eat. The Bible also says in Ephesians 4 28, let him that stole steal no more, but rather let him labor, working with his hands, that which is good, that he may have give to him that needeth. So don't buy into this picture of Eden that is just perfect paradise. It's good. It was probably very beautiful, but someone's got to maintain that thing, though. Someone's got to address it, keep it, keep it looking nice. And that requires work, requires labor, et cetera. Look at verse 16 of Genesis 2 goes on to say here, And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat. So as he's laboring, he's eating. Because if a man do not work, neither should he eat. So as he's dressing and keeping the garden, then he's telling them, you may freely eat of all the trees. Whatever tree you just kept, make sure you eat from there. But of the tree of knowledge of good and evil that shall not eat of it, for in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die. And as I mentioned, God provided liberty for Adam to choose. And we still have that choice today. Okay, mankind still has a choice. And even when you're saved, you know, you're a saved person, you believed on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation, you're a son of God, you still have a choice whether you want to serve God or not. You have a choice if you're going to read your Bible or not. God's not going to force you to serve him. He's not going to force you to devote your life to him. He's not going to force you to just live a godly life and preach the gospel. He wants you to choose that, okay. However, he does put parameters and says, you know, if you choose death, you're going to get death. Choose life, you'll get life, and so make the right choice. Verse 18, we see that God provides environment and challenges. The Lord God said, it is not good that man should be alone. I will make him unhelp me. Now, the first thing I want to mention here is that God also made man to be social beings. Because he said, it's not good for man to be alone, okay. And we'll get into marriage in just a bit, but just, it's not good for man to be alone, period. Okay, you know, just go to the mountains all by yourself with one Bible, one handbook, just you and God. That's not God's will. To just live there forever, isolated from all of, you know, society, not God's will. Why? Because it's not good for man to be alone. And here's the problem today in 2024 is that the world has kind of caused us to believe that we can be alone and be social at the same time, just use social media, right. Or you can, you know, from the comforts of your own phone, not physically socialize with anybody, but at the same time still socialize with people. But that's actually not the best way to socialize with people. Obviously, thank God for technology, we can keep in contact with people all around the world, different states, different countries, blah, blah, blah. However, God's original intent is that we see each other face to face. This is why even though we're live streaming this, the goal is to get you here though, okay. And let's just be honest, there's things that we would be willing or bold enough to do behind a screen that we would not do face to face. That's why there's so many people talking crap on social media, because no one can reach through that phone and grab them by the neck. Whereas being face to face, it's just a lot different, okay. You watch what you say, you're more careful with your words. And so it's important for us to realize that. Now go to 3 John, if you would, hold your place there, go to 3 John. The point that I'm making here is that God wants us to be social creatures. And you know, for some reason, after the pandemic, we just have an uptick of introverts, people with social anxiety. And you know, if that's you, I'm sorry. But you know what, that's not natural though. And it's okay to be shy, right? Like my wife is really shy. And she's the opposite of who I am, okay. I'm very just like in your face. I go up to everybody, you know, being around people is like a party for me. Her on the other hand is just like she has to muster up the courage just to go say hi to someone or something, you know. I don't understand that. But I get that, you know, that's how certain people are. And that's completely okay to be shy, to be introverted. However, we do not have the luxury to just live like that for the rest of our lives, where that would impede you from being social. So it's okay to be, you know, shy and introverted. Just don't let it handicap you from actually socializing. Because it's just not good for man to be alone, okay. Why? Well, when you're alone, you're just alone with your own thoughts. When you're alone, your imaginations just run wild. When you're alone, depression kicks in. When you're alone, you just don't, you know, your ideas are not challenged. You're not challenging other people's ideas. You know, you're not told that you're wrong. You're not learning new things. God made us to be around people, okay. And there's a time and a place for socialization, I get it. But we are meant to be social creatures, to be around people. And thank God that, you know, this is one of the reasons why He created the local New Testament church. A place where we do this. It's called fellowship. That's the biblical word for socializing. We have fellowship. We fellowship in the truth. We talk to people. We talk to people. We fellowship in the truth. We talk to one another. We hang out. We see each other face to face. This is a biblical thing to do. And, sorry, no, internet church is not church. That's a sermon on YouTube or, what's that other thing we're on? Rumble, okay. Sorry, you rumble lights out there. You know, that's just you watching a sermon. You're not like, hey, you know, there's so and so in there. And, you know, oh, look, I know that person. You know, that's, sorry, that's not. If that's all you have, God bless you. But at the end of the day, God wants you to be an actual, actual physical church. Where the pastor can see the white of your eyes. Where after service, you're getting up and talking one to another. That is very much a healthy thing for us to do. And should be practiced and should not be shunned. Because I'm telling you, after the pandemic, people, you know, were working at home. They're staying at home. And to the introvert, that was like paradise. It was like, oh, yes, please. You know, they're just like, I'm, man, if I could just be alone for the rest of my life. In a room, watching anime. And just, you know, getting hub grub or whatever. And, you know, just getting food ordered to me. And just stay in my room and close all the blinds. Yes, yeah, you're asking for an early death is what you're asking for. Because it's not good for a man to be alone. And you're going to be a weirdo too. Now, look, obviously, again, I'm not downplaying social media because it is important. I think it's great. It's great because we can't always be, we can't always see each other face to face or in person. So sometimes, you know, it's just great to be able to contact someone and just message them. Or even video call them. You know, we're in the future right now, folks, right? That's awesome. And the equivalent to social media and the Bible were letters. You know, they just write to each other. And some people were more bold in writing than they were in person. But look at 3 John verse 13. 3 John verse 13, the Apostle John speaking says, I had many things to write, but I will not with ink and pen write unto thee. But I trust I shall shortly see thee, and we shall speak face to face. Peace be to thee, our friends salute thee. Greet thy friends by name. Even John realized, hey, there's a lot of things I want to say, but you know what? I'm going to just hold off on that until I see you face to face. And you know what? Confrontation is great. Seeing a person face to face is great. I mean, letters are great. Social media is great. But it's better to just be in person. Okay? And don't settle for this internet type of church that people are putting out there. That, you know, Facebook where they have the VR. What's that called? The metaverse. We put on goggles and everyone's just there virtually. It's nonsense. God wants us to be social creatures. And you don't have to be social as in the way the extroverts of our church are. But you know what? God does require for you to go out of your way, express love to one another, exhort one another daily, the Bible says, encourage one another, fellowship with one another, share ideas with one another, express the commonalities and unity that we have in Christ with one another. That's necessary, okay, in order to remain normal. Because if you're just by yourself, you think you are normal, but you're not. And I've said this before, you know, church normalizes people. It puts you in an institution where you're surrounded by people that are from different walks of life, different social backgrounds, so to speak, financial backgrounds, you know, cultural backgrounds. And we need that. You say, well, isn't that like a recipe for chaos? No, because our commonality is Jesus Christ. So we operate under the canopy of the principles of the Bible, okay. And so that's important to have fellowship. The Bible says in Acts 2 42, and they continue steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and fellowship. And in breaking in bread and in prayers, 1 John 1 7 says, if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his son cleanses us from all sin. And you know, obviously, it's a fellowship. Socialization is fellowship when we're just talking to one another. But the Bible also indicates that we should fellowship in the gospel, meaning that we should have fellowship one with another socialized around a common goal of winning people to Christ. Some of the greatest fellowships that you ever experience is going door to door with people. Because you're laboring together. The Bible also says in 1 Corinthians 3 9, for we are laborers together with God. Ye are God's husband's dream, ye are God's building, the Bible says. And so one of the best ways to get to know someone, to just have your hearts knitted together, is to preach the gospel together. I mean, you share a lot of great memories doing that. The Bible also says in Psalm 133 verse 1, behold how good and pleasant it is for the brethren to dwell together in unity. And the reason I'm bringing this up is because it's just important in the day and age in which we live with the internet, social media, people can often use that to replace actual fellowship one with another. And you know, we don't want to be this church, listen to me, we don't want to be this church like other fundamental Baptist churches out there, that as soon as the service ends, it's like Coyote, or Wile E. Coyote, where he's just like, or not Wile E. Coyote, what's the one he's chasing? Roadrunner. Where he runs so fast, it's just like the cloud is like left behind. And that's the thing, like service one end, everyone's just like boom, they just leave. It's not like they got anywhere to go either. You know, it's a Sunday. It's Sunday, right? But most people do that. I remember at my old church, a lot of people would just do that because they don't want to socialize. They don't want to talk to anybody. But folks, church, the preaching is preeminent in the church, but second to that is fellowship. So hang around, talk to people. Why? Because it's not good for man to be alone. But even aside from that, you know, God has given us a local New Testament church. For some, he's given a spouse. And you say, well, I don't have a spouse, I don't have that yet, but you have a church though. And so no Christian could ever say I'm alone because we have so many factors and avenues, so many people that God has provided for us in our life that can offer us that fellowship so that we're not alone. Look what it goes on to say in verse 19. It says, 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. So this is actually uniquely different from the sixth day of creation. He's actually creating animals before him, in front of him, with the intent to see what he would call them. And I don't think he's like naming, you know, people think that he like named them, he's like really fancy, but he's like, it's a platiosaurus, you know. He's probably like long neck horse looking thing, you know, or something. He's probably just naming it the way it looks or something. But this is God fellowshipping with Adam, you know. He's like, he's giving them, it's like with your children, you give them blocks or something, you want to see what they do with it, and what are you making there? Oh, I'm making a house. Oh, I'm making a kitchen. Well, this is a car. Or, you know, they're drawing something, what are you drawing there? You know, and it's just like, it's a funky looking animal, and you don't want to offend them, so it's like, is that mom or is that dad? What is this, you know? And they're just like, this is our house, and this is you, this is mom, this is, you know, brother or sister. This is basically what God is doing with Adam. He's creating these animals, bringing them unto him, to see what he would name them, just to fellowship with them. This kind of shows you that God is interested in the basic conversations of our day, right? Just to kind of speak unto the Lord, pray unto him, share ideas with him. This is what we're created for, is to fellowship with the Lord. But we also see here, listen to me, is that animals are not adequate companions. Because it says in verse 20, Adam gave names to all the cattle, and to the fowl of the air, by the way, fowl means bird, or just anything that flies in the sky, just as great whales means any creature of the sea, and to every beast of the field, but for Adam there was not fowl, then help meet for him. So this shows us that animals, though important, don't kill, don't start throwing tomatoes at me right now, okay? I see the looks. Sorry, according to the Bible, they're not adequate companions. You can love your little poodle or whatever, or that thing you call a chihuahua, or the cat, or whatever, and it's okay, but here's the thing, that is not a proper substitute for people. And may I say this, and I know I'm probably going to offend a lot of people with this, your animals are not your kids either, okay? Don't be calling your animals, those aren't kids, those aren't people. Those aren't animals. And look, God brought an array of different animals to Adam. I mean, he had a lot to choose from. Serpents, and you got dinosaurs, giraffes, and you know, dogs, just everything. But even in the midst of being surrounded by a myriad of different animals, God said there was not fowl and help meet for him. Showing us that that's not adequate. And don't misunderstand me, I'm not preaching against pets, you having animals, because I know people get offended at that, people are really soft when it comes to that. I get it, you know, animals are important to people. And look, I do think having pets is biblical, by the way, because if you remember the animal lovers are like, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I don't know where you're going with this, but yeah, it's in there somewhere. But if you remember when the prophet confronted David, he shares that illustration of the ewe lamb, and he says that the ewe lamb was like a family to the owner, right? And of course, they end up killing the ewe lamb or whatever. And so, oh, you see, it's just like family. Yeah, but the guy didn't suffer the death penalty for killing the ewe lamb because it's just an animal. But obviously, pets can be biblical, so to speak, to have animals. The point that I'm making is that they're not adequate companions, though. You need people. You cannot substitute people and use animals instead and say, well, I don't really need people. I just identify with animals better. They understand me. They can't talk. They just use the restroom, so you use the restroom just on the ground like that or what? What do you mean you identify with them? Do you eat dog food? You use the kitty litter box or something? They're animals. They're inferior to you. And I'm not saying you can't express love to them and all that because of the fact that the Bible says that we should be just towards the beast and not be cruel against them. But at the end of the day, you have to understand that people are better. I'm not saying that people here think that animals are better than humans, and if you do, you're not right with God and you need to have your brain checked or something. The world out there has a tendency to propose that as though animals are better and they're smarter. Look at this dolphin. They show the size of a dolphin's brain. They show the size of a human brain. Look at the difference here. The size of a brain doesn't mean they're smarter. And the reality is this, no animal can talk. Yeah, you have a parrot that can cuss if you teach it a couple of cuss words or whatever. Oh, great. But they're not adequate companions. You say, then what's the answer? Well, look at verse 21. It says, 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. And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman and brought her unto the man. The next point that I want to make is that God created woman for the man, not the other way around. Now, when I say that man is uniquely created, I even mean even uniquely created apart from the woman, because man was created from the dust of the ground. The woman came from the rib of Adam. And in verse 18, it says, the Lord God said, it is not good that man should be alone. I will make a help me for him. He goes through the formation and creation of all the creatures, but then there's still not a help me. So the context of him, it's good that he's not alone, it's not good that he's alone, is in reference to the fact that he needs a female companion. And so God created the woman for the man. This is not popular today, which is why we got to talk about it. Go to 1 Corinthians chapter 11. And let me just say this, is that no, man and woman are not created in the image of God, only man is created in the image of God. Woman is actually created in the image of man. And you have a lot of churches teaching this wrong, and this is why feminism is such a big thing in churches, because of this major misunderstanding or perversion of scripture that has a tendency to kind of say that they're both on the same plane as far as creation is concerned. Now obviously they're both equally important, important to God, the Lord loves both, but there is order to both. And man is not created for the woman, the woman is indeed created for the man. Look at 1 Corinthians 11 verse 7, let's reinforce this. It says, for a man indeed ought not to cover his head, for as much as he is the image and glory of God, but the woman is the glory of the man. He says, for the man is not of the woman, but the woman of the man. Now let me just clarify something, when it talks about covering the head, he's not referring to beanies, hats, doilies or whatever, he's referring to the fact that if a man allows his hair to grow long as a woman, the way he classifies that is covering the head. So the only person who should have long hair according to the Bible is the woman, because she is the glory of the man. If a man grows out his hair like a woman, he is essentially covering or being a shame unto his God. Because it says for a man indeed ought not to cover his head, meaning keep your hair short. Masculine, looking like a man, because God is very much interested and commands that there be gender distinction. He says in verse 10, for this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels, Nevertheless, neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man in the Lord. For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman, but all things of God. Now what this is saying is that they're both important to God. So don't also misunderstand and misinterpret this to mean, oh well what you're saying is that man is just better than woman. No, that's not true. They both have responsibilities and offices. We're talking about their creation, how God views them, and views the man as being the boss of the house. He is the Lord of the house. And the woman obviously is the boss in his absence, but at the end of the day, she comes from Adam. Therefore, she is the glory of Adam. We are the glory of God. Look at verse 23, go back to Genesis chapter 2. And by the way, this is why it's important for women to have their hair long as well. Because just as he doesn't want men to cover their head, he does want women to cover theirs. Because essentially it's referring to the fact that we are the authority of the house. When a man has long hair, he's basically showing I don't want God's authority. That's what this translates as in 1 Corinthians chapter 11. So a man has long hair, he's got the man bun going on. He's got the really long hair where you don't really know from the back if it's a man or a woman. The Bible actually classifies that as being a man who is rejecting the authority of God. And when a woman cuts her hair short to look like a man, she's rejecting the authority of her husband. Thereby defaming or usurping the authority of God. Now look at verse 23, and this is where I'm going to spend the rest of the sermon on. And this is the principle of leaving and cleaving. It says in verse 23, Adam said, this is now a bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called a woman because she was taken out of man. Adam getting real poetic here, amen. It says in verse 24, therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother and shall cleave into his wife and they shall be one flesh. Now before I expound on what this is referring to, let me just reiterate what I said last week regarding the creation period. That when God created all things, man included, he made them already mature. God didn't create Adam a baby. He created him a full grown man. And yes, Adam had an umbilical cord, or a belly button. Should I say not an umbilical cord? That's weird. He had a belly button. People say, did Adam have a belly button? Yes, he did. Because he created him as though he had already lived a life. You know, let's just estimate he's like 25, 30 years old here or whatever. We don't know exactly what age he was. But he's created as though a life has already been lived. And you say, well, I don't know about that. I think, you know, he just, you know, he just looked different or maybe he was like really young. Well, here's the issue though, because he's talking about father and mother and no father and mother existed at this time. Therefore shall the man leave father and mother and was like, what do you mean? Bro, he made you from the ground. You're a tube baby. You're created in the lab, Adam. But obviously he has the knowledge and the brain to understand the order of things. So, you know, if someone were to ask him, so why do you have that thing in your stomach, that hole or whatever, you know, where the umbilical cord goes? And he would say, because that's where an umbilical cord goes for his disattached right. That's what he would say. OK, so he would have the knowledge of these things. And so that's why he's saying, therefore shall a man leave father and mother in Cleveland to his wife and they shall be one flesh. Verse 25 says, and they were both naked and the man and his wife and were not ashamed. Now, let me clarify some things, because, you know, there's a lot of false teaching about this. And I want to specifically clarify this in our church. And I want to talk about the principle of leaving and cleaving, the principle that we see here. And it's reiterated in the New Testament, Matthew chapter 19 and elsewhere. But people have often said, well, leaving and cleaving is only mandated for the man. Because what is Adam saying here? He's saying, you know, when you have your woman, when you're married, you should leave father and mother and cleave unto your wife. And they shall be one flesh. But that's not the same stipulation that he puts on the woman. And the implication there is that a woman can still cleave unto her mother and father and still, like, cleave unto her husband. Because it only says, therefore a man shall leave father and mother in Cleveland to his wife. You guys don't understand what I'm saying here? Now, I do not believe that at all. Okay? I think that is 100% false. And I think it is a compromise in a difficult situation where men are just kind of forced to kind of, like, maybe follow their wives. Or maybe his in-laws are just heavily involved in their life. And so he, you know, they have to just kind of come up with this kind of concept here. But, you know, that is not a biblical thing. Okay? And let me explain to you why. Cleaving to his wife is synonymous with being one flesh. So in order for the man to be one flesh with his wife and his wife to be one flesh with him, it requires both of them leaving their father and mother. Because one flesh requires the leaving of the parents and cleaving unto their husband. I know that's, like, really super basic, but it's important to note that. He said, then why doesn't it say that a woman should also leave and cleave? Because it would be redundant to restate that. Okay? And I don't know if you know this, but a lot of times in the Bible, God just commands something to the man, and he doesn't mention the woman. Does that mean that the woman, that the command doesn't pertain to the woman as well? You know, when he commands man not to sin, and he's always addressing the man. So basically the vast majority of commandments just don't apply to the woman, I guess. No, obviously when we read the Bible, we understand that it would be redundant to just kind of name man and woman, man and woman, man and woman. He just addresses the man, which, by the way, let me just say this, is that in chapter 5 of Genesis, that's what God calls man. He says he calls them Adam, which means man. He calls both Adam and Eve, Adam. Did you guys know that? You know, he's not saying, like, hey, Adam, hey, Eve. Because they're one flesh, he actually calls them Adam. Adam calls Eve, Eve. Adam calls Eve the woman, he calls her Eve, he names her. But when God is addressing that family unit, he refers to them as Adam. Why? Because they're one flesh. So therefore, any time God is addressing the man, it's automatically, ladies, you can apply it to yourselves as well. Where restrictions apply, though. You know, it's just like, if it's obviously something that's only for man, that deals with a man in general, then obviously it wouldn't apply to you. But when he's addressing mankind, man, he's addressing all of humanity, women included. Okay? And so it would be redundant to restate that. And, you know, I'm going to get into, like, in-laws right now. I know this is part of the creation period because we're never talking about in-laws, right? But I believe, according to this account, that when two people get married, they are leaving father and mother on both ends. So, number one is that both parties need to leave father and mother, okay? In order to be that one flesh. Because one flesh includes two people, not three, four, five, or six. You understand what I'm saying? I know it's real basic, but it's important to kind of, like, address this. Okay? And you say, well, you got a Bible verse for that? Well, the one we just read. But how about Isaac? You know, Isaac with Rebekah. Isaac sends his servant, his father actually sends his servant to go find a wife for Isaac. Goes into a foreign land, finds Rebekah, and she had to leave her family. I mean, he paid a pretty hefty dowry. You know, he's giving them all precious stones and all these things. And then they're just like, well, it's up to her if she wants to go, and she's like, I want to go. And then she just kissed her family goodbye, and that was it. It's like, and they're like, be the mother of many nations. They blessed her. She left father and mother and everything that she ever saw or known to be with Isaac. Now, you may not have to make that sacrifice because we live in a different world. I'm just showing you a biblical example of leaving in Cleveland. You say, well, what about Jacob, though? Jacob went into the land, and he stayed with Laban, and he got his way. Yeah, do you remember the story, though? Do you remember how that went? By the way, there's no story in the book of Genesis that infuriates me more than the story of Laban. And I genuinely mean that. Every time I read through the Bible, and I'm going through the book of Genesis, and I read that particular story, it infuriates me every time I read Laban's statements. Because Jacob ends up taking his two wives after he's served like 14 years for them. He has all kinds of children. He made Laban successful. He's been a blessing to them. And then he does what God basically told him to do, allowed him to do, which is leave. He has his own family now. He's not only sustaining his two wives, which obviously polygamy is wrong. His two wives, all his children. He's also essentially sustaining his father-in-law by just blessing him with more substance because God's hand was on him. And then he decides to leave. And Laban gets really upset at that. He chases him down. He ends up chasing him down. And then he confronts him. And this is what really infuriates me about Laban. It's the part where he's like, He's like, these are my daughters. These are my children. I mean, that pisses me off. I'm sorry, you mispronounced my wife and my children. But you see kind of the attitude that Laban has, whereas the contrasting of that, a good example, is Jethro. Jethro is actually a pretty good father-in-law. Moses is having issues with his wife. He sends her home. Right? You know, because she's just being his wife or whatever. So he sends her home. And you know what? Jethro receives her. But then he comes to Moses with a great attitude. And he says, I brought your wife and your children. Very much different from what Laban says, my daughters and my children. What kind of nonsense is that? They're one flesh. Okay? And so, are you saying that I should just not talk to my parents or anything? No, this is not what I'm saying. Okay? Do not misinterpret, misunderstand what I'm saying here. What I'm saying is that when a woman marries a man, which is actually my second point here, when a woman marries a man, she's actually the one integrating into her husband's family. Now, he's supposed to leave and cleave. So he shouldn't be a mama's boy anymore. Right? No mama's boy is in God's order. Leave your mama. Be a man. You got yourself a woman now. Now you have to, you know, you have a family unit that you're in charge of. And you're supposed to be the leader of that home. But aside from leaving and cleaving, at the end of the day, the woman is leaving her family and integrating into her husband's family, as noted by the fact that she takes on his last name. Thy people shall be my people, so on and so forth. Okay? Let me read to you from Ephesians 5, 28. This is from the previous point, but I want to read this. It says, So all men that love their wives as their own bodies, he that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh, but nourishedth and cherishedth it, even as the Lord the Church. For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they too shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the Church. So God is using the example of a family unit to exemplify the Church and Christ. Right? Christ being represented by the man and the woman being represented by the Church. Now, as far as I know, God expects for churches to be sanctified unto him only, right? Not to leave everything else and cleave unto the Lord their God. Not just kind of go back and forth from the world and to church and all these things. He expects complete 100% sanctification unto him. That's the picture that's being given there. Okay? Now, go to Genesis chapter 5, if you will, Genesis chapter 5. And let me say this about in-laws, okay? In-laws are great. They're wonderful. And obviously, everyone has different in-laws, so you may not agree with that. You'll be like, well, you don't know my in-laws, you know. Everyone has different experiences with in-laws. We'll pretend we didn't hear that. Everyone has different experiences with in-laws. Obviously, the ideal situation would be that in-laws on both sides get along and are still part of, you know, their children's lives. Okay? But let me say this, is that that cannot be enforced into that marriage, though. Parents do not have a right to just impose their authority, preferences, or they just invite themselves into the lives of their children. Now, ideally, the ideal situation would be that the children invite them into their lives. Okay? I don't want to get ahead of myself. Look at verse number 1. It says, this is the book of generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God, made he him. Male and female created he them, and blessed them, and called their name Adam. In the day when they were created. So he called their name Adam. He didn't say Adam and Eve. He said their name is Adam. So it's like this. You know, when you address my wife, most people address her as what? Mrs. Mejia. Because you're calling her by my name, because we're that unit, right? And I'm not saying you have to call her Mrs. Mejia. If you call her Sarah, I'm not offended. I'm just saying, like, in general, right, the people address people by their last name, and that last name is the man's last name. And, you know, you have Hollywood where these people get married and they just retain their last name. You understand what I'm saying? You know what I'm talking about? But that's not a biblical thing. You're integrating into his family, okay? You're choosing to be a part of his family. And so leaving and cleaving is very much a biblical principle where both parties should be forsaking, per se, their families, leaving their families to be joined unto their spouse, but even under that, women have to understand that they're actually integrating into their husband's family. If you don't like that, then you probably shouldn't have gotten married. If you wanted to remain in your family unit, okay? This is good stuff, man. Now, again, you know, ideally, the ideal situation would be that, you know, they're invited into your lives, but this is why, listen to me, in-laws, treat your future son-in-law or your future daughter-in-law well. Don't be a grief to your future in-laws. Why? Because, obviously, prior to marriage, you can make all kinds of rules, restrictions. You can rule with a rod of iron if you want. And you know what? You have every single right to do so. Dad, you have every right to be as strict as you want to be with your daughter, and you have every single right to do so, but how about exercising some wisdom, though? Because if it ends up working out and they get married, at that point, you lose all those rights. And at that point, God actually favors the marriage over the relationship between the spouses and their parents, because that is now legitimately a family unit that God sees as one flesh. He is now the ruler of that home. God has sanctioned that man to oversee that home and create restrictions of his own, of who the family can socialize with and who they won't. And God is just like, sounds good. So, you know, before you make some crazy standard or whatever, make sure you take that into account. Because the goal would be, you know what, you're such a pleasant in-law that when you get married, the in-laws are just like, let's ask your parents about this. Let's ask mom and dad about this. Let's invite them into our lives to continue to have influence in our lives. Before that, it's like, you know, you're kind of just imposing restrictions and rules, and you're completely sanctioned to do that. But after that, you have to have influence, because you can no longer impose those things. And they have to want your influence, okay, parents? This is a lesson for parents. It's okay to be strict, okay? Oh, I forgot one point. Let me just say this. Let me back up to point number one. Go to Genesis, no, I'm just kidding. The first point regarding leaving and cleaving. Let me say this, is that, you know, obviously, you know, let me just address the young men in our church, okay? You know, you should be the one aggressively going after a spouse, right? And don't take that aggression statement too far, okay? I mean, like, you should be the one, you know, like, you know, actually making the move, putting in the effort. You understand what I'm saying? And so if you're trying to marry someone outside of our church, different churches, yeah, you should make the effort to go to them, right? But here's the thing, and this might be just my preference, but I'm basing off of these biblical principles. Once you're married, you should come back here to where you're at. Bring that person to where you're at. And I believe that's biblical. And in fact, I remember years ago, before I was married, I was interested in a woman, and, you know, someone had talked to me about her, and she was a fundamental Baptist and all this stuff. And, you know, I kind of asked around, and she was from a different part of California, blah, blah, blah. But she was actually doing, like, missions work in Mexico, okay? This is not her home church. This is, like, a different church. And so I got in contact with the pastor, and the pastor told me, he was like, Well, if you're going to be dating her, you need to move over here. Which, when he said that, he just lost me. I'm not moving to Mexico. It's just not going to happen, bro, okay? You know, I know, but, you know, hey, it's just not happening. You know, he's like, you have to move here, because I need to see how you work. That's what he told me. I need to observe you. I need to see how you work, or whatever. And first of all, I was thinking to myself, like, you're not even the dad, first of all. You're like the pastor. This is kind of weird that you're so heavily involved in this girl's personal life like this. But secondly, I'm already serving God in my church. Serving God in my church. I'm being productive at my church. I have a good report of my leaders at my church. I have responsibilities here. If you really want to know how I work, why don't you just ask my pastor? And I basically said, like, I'm not going anywhere. I'll visit. I'll do what I can to go over there and, you know, visit and stuff, but, you know, at the end of the day, if something ever happens, transpires from that, she's leaving the mission field. She's retiring from the mission field, and she's joining me in the ministry because I'm doing great things for God over here. I'm not looking to join her to do great things for God with her over there and fulfill her vision. Say, well, that's kind of sexist. Well, doesn't it say that the woman was made for the man? And wasn't God seeking to find a help meet for Adam, not the other way around? I'm not going to Mexico to be a help meet for her. So what you got going on here? You know, how can I help? How can I be a blessing? What is that? I need to help me. I'm soul winning, preaching the Word of God, trying to achieve great things. And, you know, I'm limited, so I need someone to kind of join me in doing so, right? And so I said, well, you know, thanks, but no thanks. And you know what? The same philosophy should be for you young men as well. OK. And I don't. By the way, if there's another church out there that you like more than our church, you're like, you know, I think I would move over there because I like that pastors preaching a little more. And that ministry is just cool. Then kudos to you. Then go for it. You know, perfectly fine with me. I'm saying, though, if you are already if you're established. And here's the thing. I think it's important. I think that point is important because of the fact that having your spouse move to where you're at after you get married kind of sets the tone for who's the leader in the home. OK. And look, nothing wrong with a strong willed woman. Strong willed women are great. Strong willed. You just got to be stronger willed. There's actually nothing wrong with strong willed women. A woman who's just like emotionally, spiritually strong. She's kind of aggressive, so to speak. If that's how God made her. All right. Sounds good. However, boy, you better like, you know, you better beat her in the armrest. You better be like you better just be a little more than that, though. OK, because a woman like that needs to be led. OK, and if not, if you're spiritually, emotionally, your leadership is weak, then she's going to run you. And she's going to set the course for spiritual things. And you're going to be disorderly. It's not God's order. You're going to be dishonoring to the Lord because now you become her help me. You understand what I'm saying? And so, you know, I'm all for you finding women outside of our church or trying to find a spouse outside of our church or whatever and doing that. I'm all for it. And in fact, I'm all for sacrificing as much as you possibly can to make, you know, to achieve that. With the understanding, though, that once you're married, it's like, welcome to First Works Baptist Church. Welcome to my life. You know, and now you're part of what we got going on or what I got going on in my life. You understand? So I just want to make that disclaimer very clear. And you know what? If you as a father in our church, you know, you're like, well, my standard is, is that I'm not going to I don't want my daughter to move out and go to some other church. Then you actually have every right to have that standard. You have every right to believe that way and do that. That's perfectly fine. If you're like, you know, my will for my kids is to marry someone in our church. You actually have every single right to have that. And you know what? Other fathers and other churches have every right to be that way as well. I'm just saying, let's keep things orderly here, though. And my last point regarding the in-laws is that supporting your daughter isn't a right after marriage. It's a privilege that's earned and given by invitation. Let me say that again. Supporting your daughter isn't a right after marriage. It's a privilege that's earned and given by invitation. Stay out of your kid's business unless you're invited. They got to figure things out on their own. Now, hopefully you made such a good impression before marriage that they want to know what you think about the situation. They're inviting you into their lives. They want you to be a part of it. And that's why you got to make sure you make the right decisions before marriage. Because once marriage has taken place, the dude could be like, see ya. Kiss your daughter goodbye because I'm taking Rebecca and you're never going to see her again. And you know what? They would be completely justified in doing so. Now, obviously, man, you don't want to just be like some dictator. Let her see her family at least once every couple of years. I'm just kidding. I'm joking. I'm joking. I'm joking. Ten years. But this is true, folks. And women, you shouldn't be nagging your husband about your parents or whatever. Follow his lead about it. You are one unit. You are one flesh. And don't get out from under the canopy of that authority because that's the institution that God has set forth. If that's what he deems best, then follow that and God will bless you for it. But really, this point is for the parents. Parents, leave a good impression. Love your future in-laws. And by the way, let me say this. If you have kids, make sure your kids treat the in-laws good too, amen? Make sure the brothers and sisters are not ostracizing future brother-in-law or whatever. The woman is marrying into your family. So treat them like family. The point that I'm making here is that I don't believe that the leave and cleave mandate is only for the man. This involves both parties. And you're like, well, what do you think about her being around her family just to have that support? I'm all for it. But you know what? If the husband is just like, no, we're not moving to another state. We're not moving to another city. We've got something going on here. Let's fly them out. Let's have them come and visit. That's how it should be. Don't change your entire spiritual course because of your wife. And let me just say this. I don't buy into this whole happy wife, happy life philosophy. Which means if mommy ain't happy, ain't no one happy. What kind of nonsense is that? And I know some people might get offended at that in here. But you know, this is a fundamental Baptist church where we teach the Bible. And you know what? Sorry, I don't find that verse here. Now, that being said, dwell with her according to knowledge and help her to be happy. Cheer her up from marrying you or whatever. That's what the Bible says. Cheer her up. I get that. But you know what? Sorry, the happiness of the home should not be contingent upon if mom is happy. You know, the last time I checked, it wasn't like, if believers aren't happy, ain't nobody happy. Jesus Christ is in trouble or something like that. He has to just capitulate to what we say or something. He's our Lord. And you know what? If Jesus ain't happy, ain't nobody happy. If the Lord Jesus Christ is not satisfied, then you know what? Ain't no one gonna be happy. We're here to serve the Lord Jesus Christ. And guess who the savior of the body is in the home? The Bible says in Ephesians 5, the man is. So if the man ain't happy, ain't no one happy. And you know what? I know that's not a verse in the Bible, but we got far more principles in the Bible to support that statement than anything else. Okay, so keep the man happy. And I'm not saying just like you should fulfill every whim and desire or whatever, but the reality, I'm just trying to communicate what the order of God is here. Do not walk away from the sermon saying, well, I guess pastor's right, so kiss your family goodbye or something. Just never gonna see them. No, because if you have a good relationship with them, if you get along with your in-laws, if they're already invited into your home, and you already got a good system going, praise God. Not everyone has that situation. And don't let that be the determining factor of the course of your home. Men, you need to make sure you look at all the pieces and say, what is best for my family? Meaning myself, the children, my wife, what is the best thing for my family? And wives, you gotta trust his decision because you married him, right? Right? You married him, so therefore you're marrying him with the foreknowledge and the belief that he's gonna make the right decisions. He's not always gonna make the right decisions, but in general he will. Especially if he's walking with God. So lessons from the garden, I really just wanted to spend time on that particular point, but we got to learn some other good stuff, and that's pretty much it. Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for your word, and thank you for the clarity that the Bible gives, especially in regards to marriage. Lord, we're all thankful for our in-laws for raising such a godly spouse and for the investment that they made in our spouses, Lord, and our spouses are the sum total of what they learned growing up, Lord, and of course with the element of Christianity, therefore we're grateful for them. I pray that you would help us as parents as well to think upon our future in-laws, Lord, and that we would make wise decisions raising them and be involved in their relationships, but not to the point that we end up shooting ourselves in the foot in the long run. And I just pray that you bless us, Lord, as we go on our way. Help us to remember that you made us to be social creatures, and that you made us to not be alone, to fellowship, to have companions and friends, brothers and sisters in Christ, and in some cases, even spouses. And Lord, may you bless us as we go on our way, and help us not soon forget that which we learned. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.