Lost and Found

Textual Intro Genesis 3:7-13

Introduction

Have you ever played hide and seek? It’s universally enjoyed by kids from 2-92. There is great joy in finding a great hiding place and watching those seeking you walk by you baffled by your disappearance. But the game can take a dark turn. Have you ever been told to hide and no one tries to find you? The jokes on you; you hide and no one seeks.

The truth is we are all playing hide and seek. We are afraid to be known so we hide, not allowing anyone to get to know us. We are ashamed of the gospel so we conceal the light within us. We are ashamed of our sin so we pretend to have it all together.

The real question is: is anyone seeking us, is anyone drawing us out of our hiding place?

God seeks when we hide

Man’s Response to the Fall 7-8

Because their eyes are opened to their guilt and rebellion they:

Futilely attempt to cover their shame (Shame) 7

Define Shame

Feelings associated with (but not limited to) failure, public exposure, disgrace, embarrassment, social rejection, ridicule, and dishonor.

can be a result of your actions or the result of being sinned against

Describe Shame

Guilt and Shame- Guilt Courtroom-you are guilty/Shame Community-you don’t belong, you are worthless

The voice of shame: I am worthless, unlovable, defiled, disgusting, failure, loser, stupid, ugly

The destructive power of shame

C.S. Lewis- I sometimes think that shame…does as much preventing good acts and straight forward happiness as any of our vices can do.

shame is the reason you are afraid to pray witness, pray in public-what if they find out I’m a hypocrite

shame is the reason we don’t go to community group or meet with someone for life on life discipleship- What if they know the real me and reject me

shame is the reason we play it safe and don’t attempt anything that requires faith-what if I fail-ILL-my biggest concern with planting Redeemer in TH, what if I fail?

How we deal with shame

Deny it- modern solution-you are not guilty, but held to oppressive standards- persistence existence of guilt, shame, anxiety. Shame has to go somewhere so we shame one another

Cover it- performance, earn and prove our value, pretend, curate a version of yourself to the world

How are you attempting to cover your shame?

Futilely attempt to hide from God (Fear) 8

This is the universal condition of the human race in their fallen condition

Romans 3:11b–12a“no one seeks for God. All have turned aside;”

Are you trying to hide from God? Are you trying to cover your shame?

How will God respond?

ILL- Mary Shelly, Frankenstein- A new species would bless me as its creator and its source; many happy and excellent creatures would owe their being to me. No father could claim the gratitude of his child so completely as I should deserve theirs.

God’s Response to the Fall 8-13

God seeks the lost

God seeks them out 8

He doesn’t appear with a legion of angels to destroy them, he doesn’t thunder a pronouncement of judgement (there will be judgement), his first words are full of grace.

God reveals himself not only as Creator but Redeemer

God calls them out 9-13

This is an act of grace

Where are you? 9 An invitation to come out of hiding into his presence

Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat? 11 An invitation to confess and repent

Man’s response to grace 10-13

Blame-shifting- Adam blames Eve, Eve blames the serpent, they both blame God

Response demonstrates they are spiritually dead

Just as God breathed the breath of life into Adam’s nostrils, granting him physical life; so he must breath spiritual life into his soul that he might be born again.

The danger of denying your sin

Proverbs 28:13 “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.”

Excusing your sin on God allowing difficult circumstances

You will never be found until you admit you are lost

Authorities in Australia say an 81-year-old man set out to get a morning newspaper and ended up driving 400 miles after he accidentally turned onto a major highway. Eric Steward drove for nine hours before he stopped and asked for directions. Steward eventually approached a policeman at a gas station and admitted he did not know where he was. He asked the officer to call his wife and talk to her for him. After he was reunited with his family, Steward said he took a wrong turn and just kept going

The rest of the Bible will reveals how God continues to seek the lost

Jesus came to seek and save the lost

God’s greatest gift to fallen humanity is his Son- John 3:16 his mission was to seek and save the lost

Jesus was shamed to cover our shame

Isaiah 53:3 “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.”

Do you feel worthless? Look to the cross and see your value

Do you feel defiled?- Look to the cross and experience cleansing through the blood of Christ

Do you feel afraid?- Look to the cross and know that nothing can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus

Jesus mission was to cover our shame and quiet our fear so we could draw near to God

He is our Redeemer who was shamed to cover our shame

He is our Good Shepherd who seeks us when we wander

RECAP- God seeks when we hide

Application- God is seeking you

Unbeliever

Believer- Prone to wander Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love

ILL- Fighting God’s call back to him as a teenager

Conclusion

God seeks when we hide. When we feel the burning pain of shame, when we feel useless, when we feel worthless, he seeks us out. He calls us out of hiding to experience healing through Christ’s wounds and hope through his resurrection. He calls us to confess our sin so that we can be cleansed by the blood of Christ and covered in his righteousness.

This evening, hear God’s voice calling you to himself: Where are you?

How will you respond?