HIDING FROM GOD
INTRODUCTION
I thank you for being with us today. The assembling of ourselves together
is a blessing. We come together to worship God.
I stand in awe at God's grace and goodness. Especially when I
look at heaven's record concerning man.
From the beginning of time in the book of Genesis, we read seven times, where God repented that he had made man.
It does not take a long period of time for man to turn from God. Man soon leaves God and forgets.
In the forty days Moses was on the Mount with God, the children of Israel forgot God. The Israelites built their golden calf in this short time. They had been delivered by God, and then turned to idols. Man has not deviated from this tendency to forget God.
Exodus 32:1-28
WHERE ART THOU
This is a very important question. "Where art thou".
Well you say, " I'm sitting right here preacher".
I am not talking about that. Where are you in your life spiritually? Where are you concerning your relationship with God?
From the outset we know, " God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed in him the breath of life: and man became a living soul. Genesis 2:7
The Lord planted a garden eastward in Eden and told man to multiply and have dominion over the earth. Man was given a job to tend and take care of the garden. Genesis 2:8
The wonderfully amazing thing is that God planted this garden.
Imagine a garden that God planted for mankind.
We talk about people who have a green thumb today. People that
can grow anything. This garden was spoken
into existence by the will and word of God. Genesis 2:8-9
The nectar and the fragrance of this garden had to be beyond anything we have ever seen or smelled. I am confident of this fact because God planted this garden for man. Genesis 2:8
The devil in the form of a serpent, more subtle than any beast of the field, approached the woman. Genesis 3:1
The devil asked the woman if it were true she could eat of all the fruit except from the tree of good and evil the tree of knowledge. Genesis 3:1
The Devil told the woman that God was holding back on the couple.
He said, because if they ate of that tree,
"they would be like Gods, and know good from evil."
Genesis 3:5
He said man would be like God. This tempted man by the pride of life, I John 2:15-17.
The fruit was good to look at. The fruit looked good for food, Genesis 3:6
Many people put all their faith in how something looks. A big cathedral attracts people more than God's word!
Sometimes something that looks good, but really it is not any good.
If I had a Rolls Royce and the outside looked good ,but the was no engine or transmission, I still would not have a car to get me where I need to go.
Looks is not enough. What's inside is what matters. The pharisees,
"looked good outwardly, but inwardly they
were filled with stench and rottenness, like dead men's bones",
Matthew 23:27
The fruit looked good and was much to be desired. Genesis 3:6
The woman took the fruit and ate of it and then likewise the man took the fruit and ate of it. Genesis 3:6
Heavens record said the couple, " heard the voice of God, as he walked in the garden in the cool of the day, Genesis 3:8.
God communed with this couple in a great way. Is this not a beautiful thought to all of us today?
God came walking in the garden and they heard him and they ran and hid. Genesis 3:8
God looked around and asked the question' Where art the"? Genesis 3:9
Adam spoke up and said, we are over here, "we hid ourselves because
we are naked and ashamed
so we hid ourselves." Genesis 3:10
This couple, Adam and Eve were way ahead of modern people. Most
folks aren't ashamed of nakedness anymore,
on the streets or anyplace else. This man and wife were ashamed
of their nakedness.
God asked how they knew they were naked. He asked man who had told him of his nakedness, Genesis 3:11
God already knew what had happened, yet he still asked man how he knew they were naked. Genesis 3:11
God knew exactly where man was. This question was a question of exposure.
We have had some of these questions posed to us as we were growing up.
"Did you do this," we were asked. Not because our parents didn't know that we did this or that.
The question was offered because they wanted us to confess up to our wrong.
Adam played the blame game. He said the woman that thou gave me
caused me to sin. Genesis 3:12
God asked the woman, what she had done. The woman blamed the devil for her deception. Genesis 3:13
Paul did say the woman was deceived, . I Timothy 2:14.
Man was not deceived man but took the fruit with his eyes open. I Timothy 2:14
The man and women were trying to hide. Genesis 3:8
We have brethren all over the country hiding. Today we have brethren hiding from the assembly. Not only did the hide in the beginning, and in the first century, but people try to hide from worship today.
Hebrews 10:25 " Forsake not the assembling of yourselves together as the manner of some.."
Some have hidden out today. We have brethren right here that should
be with us that must be hiding,
I don't see them do you?
If you see some who should have been here today, go tell them, I said they were hiding out.
Some may have reasons why they are not here today, but a lot of folks try to hide from God.
Adam and Eve were so ashamed of their nakedness that they made clothes from leaves to cover their bodies. Genesis 3:7.
God later killed animals for the couple and they made clothing from the skins. Genesis 3:21
There was just the two of ,but they were still uncomfortable with
their nakedness.
There was a fellow one time preaching in a country church in hot July.
The room was hot and he was behind a small pulpit.
He had a folder of sermon notes scattered out and was preaching away.
A little fellow ran up with an electric fan and the notes were blowing
everywhere. The preacher grabbed the notes and continued reading
, " And Adam said to Eve, the fan the papers again.. That little
preacher grabbed up his notes and looked down and started reading again.,
"and Adam said to Eve..., and Adam said to Eve.., ooh.. looks like there
is a leaf missing.
The man wasn't trying to be funny , but he was because, he was
talking about his leaf of paper not Eve's leaf.
THERE IS NO PLACE TO HIDE
Adam was trying to hide out. But really where can we hide form God. At the end of time people will try to hide from God.
Revelation 6:12-17 " And I beheld when had opened the sixth
seal, and lo, there was a great earthquake; and
the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
and the stars
of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely
figs, when she is shaken of
a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together;
and every mountain
and island were moved out of their places. And the kings of the earth,
and the great men, and the
rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman,
and every free man,
hid themselves in the dens and the rocks of the mountains; And said
unto the mountains and rocks,
Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne,
and from the wrath of the lamb:
For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?"
People will not hide from God, but will with fear and trembling stand before him. We sing the song:
" There is no hiding place down here, no hiding place down here,
well I went to the rock to hide
my face, and the rock cried out, there is no hiding place".
Gal. 6:7 " Be not deceived, God is not mocked. Whatsoever
a man sows that shall he also reap".
We may be sitting in this building today and be trying to hide out from God.
You may be hiding behind your pretensions and facades.
Hiding behind hypocrisy, stubbornness, and rebellion.
We can sit in a church building and try to hide from God, but remember
God is not fooled nor mocked.
PEOPLE WANT TO HIDE FROM GOD
Jonah were are you?
Jonah tried to hide from God in a boat going to Tarshish.
Jonah 1:3 " But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from
the presence of the Lord, and went down to
Joppa: and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof
and went down into it
to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the lord."
Preacher went to visit a family trying encourage them for Christ.
He knocked on the door, television blaring, some whispered voices.
In the door was a little window about eye level. Preacher looks in
and about that time another eye pops up. The woman was caught. The
door then opened, and the couple invited preacher inside. A little
dog was running on the floor and pretty soon the dog hit a can under the
couch, out rolled a miller beer can. Man became angry and wanted
to kill the dog. The dog hadn't been drinking the beer the man had.
Just as that beer can was exposed, so shall every sin be exposed.
II Corinthians. 5:10 " For we must all appear before the judgement
seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things
done in this body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or
bad."
The couple was running and hiding from God.
People are running from God. But the Lord sees it all. Nothing
is hidden.
Hebrews 4:13 "Neither is there any creature that is not
manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and
opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do".
Psalms 139:1-12
You can't go far enough to get away from God. You can't hide anything God does not know about.
We need to quit running from God. We need to, have what
we need in the lord, live like we need to live,
and prepare to die like we ought. There is heaven's glory
awaiting the saved.
Are you hiding from God today? Are we trying to run and get away
from God?
What is hindering you from being a New Testament Christian today.
Are you running, hiding and trying to fool God? Obey the Lord's commands.
Believe Jesus Christ is the son of God, John 8:24
Repent and turn from sin, Acts 3:19
Confess Christ with the mouth, Romans 10:10
Be baptized for the remission of sins, Acts 2:38
Live faithful unto death, Revelation 2:10
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