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🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 🎵Somber Music🎵 We're going to keep in place there in Exodus chapter 33. We're going to look at a few of these verses in the context of our Fall of Man series. We're going to end this series this evening. We're going to look at something interesting that happened to Adam and Eve after they rebelled against God. But, first of all, Exodus chapter 33. What's the context? What just happened here? So, Exodus chapter 33. Normally, you'd read Exodus chapter 32 to give you some context of why God is so upset here. He's upset with the children of Israel, of course, because this is right after they have made the golden calf and, you know, worshiped idols and things like that. And this is after Moses came down and saw what they had done. And God is kind of...Moses is interceding for the people here. God kind of wanted to just destroy them all. And Moses was a great advocate for the children of Israel there. But, anyway, something interesting happens here where God actually speaks to Moses. If you look at verse number 20 of Exodus chapter 33, look at what the Bible says here. I want to point out, like, an interesting thing about God. An interesting thing that God says that we can't do, that we wouldn't be able to do with Him, where God says to Moses in verse number 20, He says, And He said, Thou canst not see My face, for there shall no man see Me and live. So, of course, this is talking about God the Father, talking to Moses, saying, No man can look at Me and live. Now look at verse number 11, where the Bible says, And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face. Well, now we see the answer of why God came down in a cloudy pillar when He was making Himself present to talk to Moses. He was in a cloud. He was covered. So, you know, Moses wasn't seeing God's face. As a matter of fact, that's proven at the end of the chapter when God literally says, you know, I will show you Myself, but He's only going to allow Moses to see his back. As he walks by Moses, he covers Moses' face with his hand, and then Moses is able to see God walking away from him, because you can't see God's face and live. So this is just something that the Bible says. Now go to Genesis chapter 33. Now that we know that about God the Father, that we will not be able to see God the Father and live on this earth. Look at verse number 8 of Genesis chapter 3. This is right after, you know, they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and they were ashamed and they were hiding from God, because God regularly, the Bible tells us, you know, God walked through the Garden of Eden. You know, this was something that God did. Look at verse number 8. It says, from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden. So we can infer from Genesis chapter 3 verses 8 and 9 here that God walked through the garden on a regular basis, and they didn't hide themselves before, okay? So they walked in the presence of God in the garden, alright? Now look, as far as, you know, as far as the cloud in Exodus chapter 33, and, you know, verse number 9 here, verse number 8 and 9 where God walks through the garden and He talks to them. Of course, it said they heard Him. It never said that they looked at God, that they saw God. I actually, if it wasn't for John 1.18, why don't you just go ahead and turn there. Actually, I'll just read it to you. It says, Alright, so if it wasn't for that verse, I might actually say that, well, maybe this was something that God changed after, you know, they rebelled against man, that after they rebelled, at that point, no man was able to look upon, you know, God the Father. However, you know, it does say no man has seen God at any time. Anyway, that's not the point. It does say in verse number 8 and verse number 9 that they heard God, so it could have been that God came to the garden in a cloud, in a cloud, in a pillar as well, and He talked with them face to face, but they never looked on Him as well. But the point is this. The point I'm trying to get at is this. Adam used to walk amongst God in the Garden of Eden. That's the point that I'm trying to get at tonight, alright. That is a change because God, after, actually, look at verse number 22 of Genesis chapter 3. In verse number 22, so we're looking at things that God changed after the fall of man, after God's rebellion. So we know that, you know, God can't look on, or man can't look on God and live. Maybe God was in a cloud, in a pillar, whatever. It's one of those things that we can ask God when we get to heaven. But the point is the Bible says that God walked amongst them in the garden and they were with Him and they talked with Him as we see. But look at verse 22 of Genesis chapter 3. It said, and the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us to no good and evil, and now lest he put forth his hand and take also the tree of life and eat and live forever, therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the Garden of Eden to till the ground from whence he was taken. So first of all, when he says the man has become one of us, you know, like, this isn't Mormon, you know, we're not going to become gods, okay. It's just saying that he now knows evil is what he's talking about. To know good and evil. Because last sermon, what did I talk about? What's the difference? What were they really trying to get at when they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? They already knew good. All they knew was good. All they knew was good. So their eyes were open to evil is the difference that happened, okay. So that's what God is saying in verse 22. Now they know good and evil just like God knew that. And he says, therefore God sent him forth from the Garden of Eden. So the change here and the change that we're going to talk about tonight is that they were kicked out of the Garden of Eden. They were kicked out. And look, this is not something that could ever have been undone. Where they could have done something, where they could have gotten back into the Garden of Eden. You say, why were they kicked out? Turn to Habakkuk chapter 1. Habakkuk chapter 1 in the Old Testament. Towards the end of the Old Testament go to Habakkuk chapter 1. Adam used to, remember this, Adam used to walk amongst God in the garden before he sinned against God and now he cannot. What's the difference? The difference is sin. That is the difference. And that God cannot be in the presence of sin. Look at Habakkuk chapter 1 and look at verse 13. Habakkuk chapter 1, verse number 13. Habakkuk of course, a prophet during the same time as Ezekiel, same time as Jeremiah as we talked about this morning towards the end of the lower kingdom of Judah's empire. And in Habakkuk chapter 1 in verse number 13, look what the Bible says about God. It says, thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil and canst not look on iniquity. That's interesting. He can't look on iniquity. So it's not so much about us seeing him as him being able to be around us really. God can't be in the presence or won't be in the presence of sin. That's why he kicked man out of the Garden of Eden because there was now sin there. There was now sin in the world. Turn to Philippians chapter 3. This is why, by the way, we can't take these bodies into heaven. You say, I really like my body and you're not taking your body to heaven. You can't. The Bible says that we are not taking these bodies with us to heaven because the Bible says they're vile, these bodies. Look at Philippians chapter 3 in verse number 20. This is why we need glorified bodies to go to heaven. We will need those glorified bodies because we can't have vile things. There's nothing vile. There's nothing sinful. There's nothing except goodness. As it says, God is just nothing but goodness, it says in Exodus chapter 33. Look at verse 20 of Philippians chapter 3. The Bible says, Our conversation is in heaven. From whence we shall look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself. So he's gonna change this vile body into a glorified body. That's why in Matthew chapter 10 and verse 28 when the Bible says, Fear not them which kill the body, we don't have to worry about people killing this vile body. We don't have to worry about that at all. We don't have to worry about those that would kill our soul. Of course, nobody can kill our soul. It says, Fear them that are able to kill the soul. In Matthew 10, 28, it says, Rather fear him that is able to destroy both body and soul in hell. So look, this body means nothing. We don't have to fear anybody killing our body because we're gonna get glorified bodies when we go to heaven. So the point is this. The point is this. The point tonight is very simple and the point tonight is that Adam, Adam and just in general, Adam, there's no indication, there's no indication that Adam and Eve did not serve the Lord for the rest of their lives. Now I don't think any of us believe that that was the only sin that they committed going forward, especially with the children that they raised. Just one chapter over, one of their sons kills, Cain kills Abel. But the point is, is that we need to understand that sin will have, rebellion against God will have lasting consequences. That's the main thing. So the point, or the title of the sermon tonight is The Fall of Man, you know, Demoted. Adam and Eve were demoted. You know, they were demoted out of the Garden of Eden. That didn't mean they couldn't serve the Lord with their life. That didn't mean that they couldn't, you know, have a relationship with God. We'll look at that in a few minutes. But the point is, they could never get back to the garden. And that's what we need to understand in our lives as well. So here's the first thing. The first thing you say, well, that's kind of depressing. You know, that's kind of depressing that, you know, I could do things wrong in my life and, you know, there could just be consequences for, you know, for a long time or for the rest of my life or whatever. But there's a couple things that we need to understand about God as we go forward in our lives. And I'm sure Adam and Eve also understood this. I mean, they clearly understood it as God didn't kill them. God kicked them out of the garden and they moved on with their lives from there. But the point is this. God forgives is the first point. Okay, God forgives. Turn to 1 John chapter 1 and verse number 9. There's always a way, no matter what rebellion or how bad the sin, there's always a way to get right for those who love God. So if you're saved tonight, there's always a way to get right. There's always a way to get right with God. You say how? Look at 1 John chapter 1 and verse number 9. 1 John chapter 1 and verse number 9. A very simple verse in the Bible showing us how easy it is to get right with God. 1 John chapter 1 and verse number 9 has nothing to do with salvation. It is just about getting right with God. It is about having a good relationship with your heavenly Father. Now, a lot of people twist this. A lot of Protestants and Catholics twist this to have to do with salvation. This is where you get the idea of going and confessing your sins to a priest. This is where you get the idea of a confessional Lutheran who thinks they have to go and chant a saying every week in order to be forgiven, in order to get that. This is the Etch A Sketch theology right here. When you take 1 John chapter 1, verse number 9, and apply it to salvation. Then it just makes none of the Bible make any sense at all. So, if you're reading a verse in the Bible and it contradicts other simple verses in the Bible, you're misinterpreting that verse. This is clearly talking about just how to get right, how to have a good relationship with God. So, look. The first thing you need to understand when we look at the consequences of sin is that God forgives. That's the first thing that we need to understand. Verse number 9, it says, if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Meaning, look, God will forgive you. It's not talking about how to be saved. There's nothing about being saved here. It's just saying, getting right with God is easy. Okay, because God's not like men. God's not like men where you can confess your sins and come to them and they can just be like, no, they can just withhold forgiveness. God is saying, hey, get your heart right. Confess your sins to me. He's like, and I'll forgive your sins and I'll cleanse you from all unrighteousness and we'll be good, you know, going forward. Alright, and point number two tonight is that there's always a plan B going forward. No matter what the consequences of your sin in your life. As a matter of fact, that's a promise I will show you is that no matter what you've done in your life, as a saved Christian, there's always a plan B going forward in your life. God always provides that. This is a huge promise for us. Jesus emphasized this over and over and over in his ministry. He's just like, hey, things that are behind you, he's like, you're forgiven, you know, get on with the plan B if you need a plan B in your life. But you know what? Look, looking behind us, that's our hang up, not God's. That's not God's. God says, hey, confess your sins and I'll cleanse you. God says, I'll forgive you. Turn to Luke chapter nine. Jesus talked about this all the time. Look at Luke chapter nine in your Bible. Look at Luke chapter nine. So we're looking at tonight how God forgives, first of all. You know, yes, we can get demoted in our lives on this earth, but God forgives. That's the first thing that you need to understand. Look at Luke chapter nine. Look at Luke chapter nine, verse number 57. Luke chapter nine, verse number 57. We're gonna look at three failures here. In Luke chapter nine and verse number 57 and a few verses forward from there. The Bible says in verse 57, it says, and it came to pass that as they went in the way, a certain man said unto him, Lord, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest. And Jesus said unto him, foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the son of man have not where to lay his head. Jesus is basically, he's gonna show three failures here. The first one is some guy that wants to, you know, come with him, and Jesus is saying, hey, this is a camping trip. Jesus is saying, hey, this is not a comfortable journey. We kinda have to assume that, you know, Jesus knew what the guy's hangup was. This is kinda how Jesus talked to people. He's kinda like, you know, with the rich young ruler, the same thing. Jesus kinda knew what these people, you know, their hangups were, like, hey, we'll come with you, Jesus, as long as everything's right in this area. So the first guy, he tells them, it's not gonna be comfortable. And I assume, with the way the next conversation's going and the lesson that's being taught here, is that this guy was like, yeah, okay, I'm out, since it's not comfortable. Alright, look at the second guy. And he said to another, follow me. But he said, Lord. So he says to another guy, follow me. But he said, now the guy he's talking to, he says, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. Notice those three words there. And you'll see those words again in verse number 61. But notice those three words. He says, suffer me first to go bury my father. Saying, hey, I will, but there's something in front of you. This is the point Jesus is trying to get across here is that he's pointing out the weaknesses of these people. He's like, hey, there's something in front of you, Jesus, but if you'll get second in line, then I will. Alright? Jesus said unto him, let the dead bury their dead. Jesus gave him the answer. He says, there should be nothing in front. But go thou, but go thou and preach the kingdom of God. He's like, there should be nothing to get in front of you to go out and preach the gospel. I mean, it doesn't get more clear than this. Look at verse 61. We see another one. And another also said, Lord, I will follow thee. Now look at these four words. He says, but let me first. Go bid them farewell which are at home at my house. He just wants to go say goodbye. But again, he's showing that Jesus is number two. He's like, you're number two. I just gotta go say, you know, goodbye to these people. This is the point that Jesus is trying to make here. Turn to Hebrews chapter eight. Turn to Hebrews chapter eight. He's saying, look, you know, you should be moving forward. No matter what, that should be the only thing on, you know, that should be the first priority. Keep your place in Luke nine. We're gonna go back there in just a few minutes. But go to Hebrews chapter eight. So look, God forgives. God forgives. We know this. God forgives. That's point number one. Point number two is, God always provides a plan B. You say, sin has consequences. I've done things in my life, and now I just can't go back, you know, to certain places. I don't have certain options anymore. God forgives. God always provides a plan B, and I will prove that to you tonight. But look at Hebrews chapter eight. Not only does God forgive, but in Hebrews chapter eight and verse number 12, look what the Bible says. He says, for I will be merciful to their righteousness, and their sins and their iniquities, will I remember no more. God talks about his mercy in Exodus chapter 33 as well. But God literally says here, he's like, I will be merciful. This is, you know, you confess your sins. God will cleanse you from all unrighteousness. And the Bible here says, he literally will remember your iniquities no more. So this is how stupid it is for people to just be obsessed, you know, over, you know, past things in their life and past sins, is because like God doesn't even remember them. The Bible says once you've confessed them and you've gotten those things right, and you've worked that out, you know, with the Lord, yeah, there may be consequences on this earth that you still have to deal with, but the Bible says God doesn't remember those sins anymore. In Hebrews 10 verse 17, he says, and their sins and iniquities, will I remember no more. Like he literally doesn't remember on purpose. How that we all could say that. You know, how much better would relationships that we have be if we could be as holy as God in that area where somebody could get right with us and we could just say, you know what, I don't even remember what it is. So this is what God is saying, hey, we just need to move forward. Right, so that being said, God forgives. God doesn't even remember your sins, and God always provides a plan B. You're like, hey, that all sounds really, really good. Thanks for the sermon tonight because this is a really positive message, but here is the whole point of the sermon. Consequences may remain. After all of that, after God forgiving you, after God providing you a plan B to serve him with your life, and then God literally saying to you, you know, as if him telling you he forgives you isn't enough. He's like, I literally don't even remember that stuff. He's saying, look, but you need to understand as a perfect example with Adam and Eve that consequences may remain in your life. I mean, there's plenty of examples of this. I mean, many examples, you know, you can think of it for a pastor. You know, if a pastor gets into sin that, you know, disqualifies him from being able to be a pastor, that's a consequence right there. That would be a consequence. It doesn't mean that that pastor couldn't get right and that he couldn't fix that relationship with God and patch that relationship with, you know, people in his life or whatever, but the point is consequences will remain. You think about what we talked about this morning. You think about this morning, you think about, I mean, just raising kids. You think about raising kids. What are we doing? Think about the sermon from this morning. What are we doing when we're raising kids? We're building a wall. Aren't we building a wall? Aren't we putting a layer of brick on foundation? We have the right foundation and then we're putting a layer of brick. We're using tempered mortar. We're putting another layer of brick on. You know where the best, you know where the best point to get a wall straight is? Those very first few levels of bricks because the thing is you start going off right away it's gonna be harder and harder to get that wall straight. Now you're gonna have to like re-correct over here and it's gonna be this crazy weird wall. It's best to get it correct right away because look, here's what you need to understand with your kids. Your corrections with your children, I know a lot of the children in this church are young, but the corrections with your children as they get older will become smaller and smaller and smaller. As your children grow up, the corrections will get smaller and smaller and smaller. You look at people that maybe just raised their kids wrong. They raised their kids wrong. They raised their kids with, you know, crooked walls with untempered mortar like we talked about this morning. And then what's gonna happen if you do that from this morning? That wall is gonna come crashing down. That wall is gonna come crashing down. This is where maybe you have an older child that just doesn't have the character that you wish that they did from the Bible because you just raised that child with untempered mortar and then God literally tore that wall down to expose that rotten foundation. So you just did it all wrong and then you figure it out and you get it right. You still got that pile of bricks there. You still got that pile of bricks there. You still have that, you know, that mess to deal with and to clean up. And as, look, as we're building these walls and strengthening these walls and building these walls straight on a solid foundation, you have to understand that, you know, you wanna make those major corrections, those major moves right away when they're young and get those first couple rows super straight because as they get older, the corrections get smaller and smaller and there will become a point with your kids where you got what you got. I hate to just lay it down and break it down to you like that, but, I mean, if you allow, if you allow your children to go through pain and suffering and then you get right 20 years later and you figure, oh, right, like I didn't do that right and I'm sorry I put you in danger, kids, and I'm sorry that, you know, we didn't do this right and we exposed you to that and it affected you here, that's just not gonna be a simple overnight fix. You know, that's not something that is going to be easy to just take away because those consequences will remain. You just think about, outside of your family, just think about just individual sins. There's individual sins that will just have lasting consequences and you just go on for hours and hours going through sins. The easiest one to think of is, you know, fornication. You know, we talk about, you know, purity on both, you know, the young ladies and both the young men, how they're to go to their wedding day, you know, pure and undefiled from the world, but a lot of people fall into the sin of fornication and guess what, there's many times that there could be consequences there. Whether they be, you know, bad health consequences, you know, maybe there's a child out of wedlock that happens and that's something that's just not going to go away. Maybe that happens with, you know, a bad person or somebody and then look, then you get right. Well, then the other person doesn't get right and there's no marriage there and look, that problem will be with you, that consequence will be with you for the rest of your life on this earth. The same as Adam and Eve getting thrown out of the garden. You think about people that make mistakes in their lives like, you know, being a drunk and then, you know, getting in a car and then, you know, killing somebody. You know, and they never drink again. They get saved, maybe they were saved. Either way, they get right, they confess it, they get saved, they confess it to God, they get right with God, they still killed somebody. You know, they're still in prison. Maybe, you know, maybe for the rest of their life. Maybe even after they get out of prison, they're suffering because of their record or they can't get the right jobs or whatever it is. Look, there's plenty of consequences that come from not following the way God wants us to do it. Even after God has forgiven us, even after God has said, I don't even remember those things anymore, but we deal with the consequences on this earth. For years, some of these things. Even simple, worldly things like, say you just don't understand anything about finances and you just make dumb decisions financially, those things can stick with you for years. You declare bankruptcy or something and these simple things will affect you. There will be consequences. And you're just like, hey, I'm never doing that again and I'm getting that right and I'm gonna go to church and I'm gonna follow what the Bible says about how I should be a steward of God's blessings in my life and I'm gonna listen to Proverbs and listen to the pastor preaching about all these things. There's still consequences though. They're still there. They're still there. Even after you get right, even after God has forgiven you, God has forgotten everything that you've done, but the consequences are still there. This is what I'm talking about. Just realizing that some things in our lives or the sin in our lives may demote us in our lives. Meaning, you know, that bar that we were reaching for before, we just might not reach that bar because of our sin, because of the consequences on this earth. Maybe somebody has a work history where they go and they work at a different place every month and they just have no references and they just got this horrible reputation and they're just like, I'm changing now. I'm fixing this. I'm fixing this. I'm not gonna be like this anymore. I'm gonna go somewhere. I'm gonna not be lazy. I'm gonna work hard. I'm gonna serve my master at work like I'm serving the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm gonna get this thing right. I'm gonna confess all this, but there still may be consequences. You're starting at the bottom somewhere. You're just gonna have to deal with that demotion. I mean, the point is these things, go back to Luke chapter nine, these things, there are things, there are sins that you commit that will stick with you, that will stay with you, that will affect you. Look at Luke chapter nine and verse number 62. But the thing that you have to remember is verse number 62 of Luke chapter nine. Jesus said unto him, no man having put his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God. I wanna leave you with two points tonight on what you need to remember. You're just like, okay, I get it. There's consequences. But I don't like those consequences and how do I handle those consequences and how do I go forward with my life? Maybe my consequences are severe. And look, somebody's gonna have more severe consequences than somebody else. It's just gonna be the nature of what they've done and what the other person has done. But Jesus is telling us two things that we need to keep in mind here in verse number 62. The first one is this. Don't look back. That is the first lesson that Jesus is teaching these three men. Don't look back. That's why we don't have sin competitions in this church. We don't sit in the back of the church and don't ever do this. You'll see visitors do this sometime. You know, like be generous. Don't be generous. Don't like ball out a visitor or anything. But the point is, like you'll see visitors come in here and be like, oh, I used to do this and I used to do this. And look, we don't have sin competitions in this church. We don't have competitions because you know what ends up happening actually? It turns into like a bragging contest on who was worse. What a wicked thing to bring into a church. So we don't have sin competitions in this church. Look, if you're into a bunch of stuff that you know that, you know, I probably wouldn't be into or don't agree with, just don't bring it up in the church then. At least do me that favor. But the point is, we're not gonna sit in the back of this church and be like, oh yeah, I used to do this and I used to do that. I used to do this. I used to do that. Because we shouldn't make light of sin. We shouldn't make mock of sin. But the main thing is, it doesn't matter what's back there. We're not supposed to look back there. It's like God doesn't even remember what's back there. Why are we looking back there? These are things. These are things. There's a reason that the Bible says these are things that shouldn't even be spoken of. Because, you know, all the mistakes that we've made in our lives, we're trying to like, you know, fix in the next generation. I hope that's the plan anyway. So don't look back is the first thing that Jesus is saying. He's saying don't look back there. What would be the point? What would be the point of that? As long as, look, if you have faith in what God is saying here, I mean, just think of the logic of it. If you have faith that God has forgiven you. If you have faith that, look, you know you've confessed it. You know you had like godly sorrow. 2 Corinthians 7 sorrow. You had the right kind of sorrow where you just had indignation towards that sin. That sin disgusts you. That sin in your path, it disgusts you. You know what? You don't have indignation if you're standing up and you're like, oh yeah, we used to do this and we used to do that. Would you? No, no, no. You have to have indignation towards that sin. And then if you've done that and confessed that with that heart to the Lord, then all it takes is faith that God has forgiven you. He told you He has. Faith that God says He doesn't even remember it. I mean, that's what God is telling you. He doesn't even remember. So don't look, there's no logical reason to look back there if you have the right heart, have confessed it because God tells you it's gone. It's gone. And the second thing is this. It's the first part of the verse where Jesus says, no man having put his hand to the plow. So the first one is don't look back. And the second one, you say this is too simple. Then why do people mess it up so much? The second one is keep your hand on the plow. I mean, this isn't hard doctrine tonight. Whatever these things are, whatever these consequences are, keep your hand on the plow. That is what Jesus is saying. You know what I'm sick of seeing? You know what I'm sick of seeing? I'm sick of it. I'm sick of seeing people take their hand off the plow because of a sin consequence. What sense does that make? What sense does it make? You know what Satan's goal is? Satan's goal, what can Satan do to you? Can he send you to hell? No. Satan can't send you to hell. Satan's goal is to get you out of the Christian life. Satan's goal is to get you somehow out of the Christian life. So you think, oh, Satan's gonna try to get me into a bunch of sin. He's gonna try to tempt me and use my weak flesh in whatever area to get me. Yeah, maybe that's one thing. But what difference does it make to Satan if you get out of the Christian life for sin itself or for a consequence of sin? What does it matter? He wins. What does it matter if, you know, I capture your king in chess, you know, it doesn't matter how I did it. I did it. He wins. That's his goal is to get you out of the Christian life. So people will have, what people will do is they'll get right and all these things but then this sin consequence will just take them sideways in their life and they'll leave the Christian life. I'm tired of seeing it. But Jesus is saying, that's why you say, oh, why is this so, you know, need to be preached? Well, don't look back, number one, and don't take your hand off the plow because like that's the whole goal of Satan is to get your hand off the plow. I mean, people looking back makes no sense, but literally leaving and taking your hand off the plow because of a consequence of sin, which by the way, you take your hand off the plow because of a consequence of sin and sin will follow by the way. Sin will follow. It makes no sense. Jesus is literally saying there should be nothing. This is the whole point of Luke chapter nine in these verses. There should be nothing. That's why he just gives some extreme, let me go bury my father. It's like, let me go to my dad's funeral. Jesus is like, get right. He's like, no, it needs to be first. Don't take your hand off the plow. My dad's funeral? No, keep your hand on the plow. That's why Jesus uses these extreme examples here. So look for the kids and everybody that hasn't made mistakes in their life. This is the goal here, right? This is the goal. This is why, you know, you get up and you preach on divorce because the Bible talks about divorce and that could be uncomfortable because, you know, people in the church have been divorced and people in all different churches have been divorced. The point isn't to beat on people that have been divorced. The point is to understand to get the people that haven't been divorced, get them that message so they don't have to deal with that consequence. So plan A, obviously, just to wrap things up tonight, plan A obviously is to just not fall into these sins, these kids, and all of us that haven't fallen into things that have these dire consequences. Obviously, plan A is to not rebel against God in the first place. So that's the thing with the kids. The kids and, you know, all of us, we need to just like, hey, we're trying to raise our kids with this tempered mortar so they make, I mean, no children are perfect and nobody is going to be perfect. We're trying to raise this strong wall with this tempered mortar so they don't go off and make these massive mistakes that will follow them around, the consequences will follow them around their whole life. Maybe, and look, the more mistakes like that they make, the more risk there is that they will take their hand off the plow to deal with those mistakes, to deal with the consequences of those mistakes. But the point is this, folks, Luke 962 is a promise. It is a promise. It says, you know, keep your hand on the plow. You say, how is that a promise? Because what it is saying, in Luke chapter 9, chapter 62, it says, no man having put his hand to the plow and having looking back is fit for the kingdom of God. You're like, that seems more like a statement. But here's the thing. If he's saying, he's putting this emphasis, no man having put his hand to the plow and looking back, you know what he's saying? He's saying there is a way to keep your hand on the plow. That's the promise there. He's saying there will always be a way to keep your hand on the plow. If you take it off, it's because you took it off. That's why God, look, God always provides plan Bs. God always provides plan Bs and Cs and Ds and Es. That's a promise because Jesus is implying specifically in verse 62 that it's possible to keep your hand on the plow. You're like, but I've messed up so bad. It doesn't matter. Just get it right and keep your hand on the plow. But oh, I really messed up that time. Just don't let go of the plow. Get it right. God forgives. God forgets. Don't let go of the plow. There will be a way to deal with that consequence. Think about this for a second. I guarantee you it's a promise. There is a way to deal with the consequences of anything that has gone right wrong in a Christian's life while keeping their hand on the plow and still moving forward. People mess up and they let go of the plow and they're just like, forget the whole thing. This is what Jesus is telling us here. Don't do that. Deal with the consequences. Get it right. Take it like a man. You're like, man, I can't, I'm just never going to be that where I wanted to be. Fine. Be down here and God will provide you another plan to plow in a different direction and He'll provide you things that you never even thought of. Not everybody has to be the pastor of the church. Not everybody needs to be what you think you were supposed to be. There's many other different ways to plow in a Christian life. But if you let go, it's done. This is what Jesus is saying. No man having put his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God. Meaning, the kingdom of God on this earth, I mean, think about this. What does the kingdom of God need? The kingdom of God needs people that are going to hang on. I mean, how are we supposed to meet? How are we supposed to fill all these divine appointments for us unless we have people that are hanging on? Nobody here is going to be sinless. The point is, getting those things right, realizing that God lets it go once we've confessed it, and moving on. And just, if there's consequences, just like Adam and Eve, turn to Micah chapter 6. Just like Adam and Eve, you know, they could no longer walk in the garden with God. They just couldn't. I mean, it was just something that they just couldn't do anymore. God kicked them out. So there was nothing that they could do anymore. But turn to Micah chapter 6, and we'll end here. It doesn't mean, just because, here's plan B right here. You say, we can't walk with God anymore. No, we can still walk with God. Look at verse number 8 of Micah chapter 6. He hath showed me, O man, what is good. And what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy. I like how mercy just keeps coming up, like when God's talking about these things. And what? To walk humbly with God. So when we live the Christian life, when we do the commandments that the Bible is telling us, we are walking with God. We're walking with what God has given us about Himself. You know, we're literally walking with Him. So just because Adam and Eve couldn't literally walk through the garden with God anymore, they could still humbly walk with the Lord. By following Him in their lives. Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer.