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John 10:10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.
I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
I. INNOCENCE GIVEN.
Genesis 2:7 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 being.
Genesis 2:8 The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the
man whom He had formed.
Genesis 2:16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the
garden you may freely eat;
Genesis 2:17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for
in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
Genesis 2:25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.
II. INNOCENCE THREATENED.
Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which
the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall
not eat of every tree of the garden’?”
Genesis 3:2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees
of the garden;
Genesis 3:3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God
has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ”
Genesis 3:4 Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.
Genesis 3:5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened,
and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
III. INNOCENCE LOST.
Genesis 3:6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was
pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit
and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.
Genesis 3:7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they
were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.
Once you know what is forbidden to you to know, you cannot unknow it.
Genesis 3:22 Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us,
to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of
life, and eat, and live forever” —-
Genesis 3:23 Therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till
the ground from which he was taken.
IV. INNOCENCE EXPLAINED.
Psalm 51:5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me.
Psalm 58:3, The wicked are estranged from the womb. They go astray as soon as
they are born, speaking lies.
Isaiah 7:16 For before the Child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good …
They don’t know right from wrong.
They don’t know truth from lies.
They don’t know God from Satan.
They don’t know faith from rejection.
Jonah 4:11 And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than
one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their
right hand and their left–and much livestock?”
Deuteronomy 1:38 Joshua the son of Nun, who stands before you, he shall go
in there. Encourage him, for he shall cause Israel to inherit it.
Deuteronomy 1:39 Moreover your little ones and your children, who you say will
be victims, who today have no knowledge of good and evil, they shall go in there;
to them I will give it, and they shall possess it.
2 Samuel 12:13 So David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.”
And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall
not die.
2 Samuel 12:14 However, because by this deed you have given great occasion
to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you
shall surely die.”
2 Samuel 12:23 But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again?
I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.”
2 Samuel 18:33 Then the king was deeply moved, and went up to the chamber over
the gate, and wept. And as he went, he said thus: “O my son Absalom—my son,
my son Absalom—if only I had died in your place! O Absalom my son, my son!”
Proverbs 4:23 Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it
John Ramsey says if he could tell his daughter anything, he’d say, “I’m sorry I didn’t
protect you. That’s a dad’s job.”
John 10:10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.
V. INNOCENCE NEEDED.
Mark 10:14 “… Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such
is the kingdom of God.
Mark 10:15 Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God
as a little child will by no means enter it.”
A Gallup poll showed that:
19 out of 20 Christians are saved before the age of 25.
After age 25, 1 in 10,000
After age 35, 1 in 50,000
After age 45, 1 in 200,000
After age 55, 1 in 300,000
After age 75, 1 in 700,000.
A Focus on the Family study revealed that ” 92% of people come to Christ by
age 14 and another 4% by age 18 which means that 96% of those who are reached
will be 18 years old and younger.”
As the late great pastor Adrian Rogers once said to pastors:
“It is not your job to fill the pew. It is your job to fill the pulpit. When you fill the pulpit,
the rest of it is in God’s hands.”
John 10:10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.
I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
