Where Art Thou?

Adam and Eve had the good pleasure of living in a perfect home in the Garden of Eden. But as a condition of living in the garden, they were required to obey one primary restriction. They were forbidden from eating fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. God told them that if they touch or eat from the forbidden tree, they will die. However, they disobeyed God when they allowed Satan to convince them that they would not die if they ate of the forbidden tree. As a result, their eyes were opened and they realized they were naked. They sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves. During a cool evening in the garden, they heard the Lord God walking in the garden, so they hid from the Lord among the trees. God called out to them and asked, "Where art thou'?" From this story and the fall of Adam and Eve we learn that temptation within itself is not sinful. Rather, it is when we allow our fleshly desires to pull us away from God's word to resist the devil and he will free from us. This sermon is an excellent narrative of how easy it is to allow temptation to take control of our minds when we are drawn away because of fleshly desires.