Where Are You?

Intro:

You ever do something so bad that you feel embarrassed or even ashamed to tell anyone? You hold it in for months and sometimes years. Sometimes we hold it in for so long, we actually forget about it for a while. Then it becomes part of our personality and who we are.

Are we at that point now? Are we so deep in our shame that we have become immune to feeling any shame at all.

We do things we regret all the time but the real question is, what do we do when we commit these mistakes? As human beings, we tend to hide our mistakes. As human beings we don’t like to be wrong and we don’t like for others to see our mistakes or who we really are.

We only like to show others what we want people to see of us. If we were to open up our hearts and be transparent, man…that would be ugly.

But sometimes we don’t even give it God, we keep it hidden inside and it becomes a problem. What to do in that situation?

When I was young, maybe around 13 years old and still living in NYC, my friends and I did something really stupid. We were bored at church, they didn’t have the amazing youth group setup you have here at NCFC. We had no youth retreats, no youth bible studies, it was just, “Shut up, sit down, and listen to this guy (the pastor) speak for 2 hours (no joke) and you better pay attention.”....So, yeah....we were bored.

My friend and I started to discuss some ideas on how to make church more fun. One of the ideas we came up with was to race cars, that’s right you heard correctly, race cars. Now you are probably asking yourself, “how and why did you come up with this idea?”.

Well, back in the day there was a show called “Knight Rider” and it was about a guy with a talking car (SHOW PIC). He would call and talk to his car from his wrist watch, what you all know to be an Apple watch today. (SHOW PIC).

They would fight crime together and race through highways and streets. One episode, they race another car that was trying to be similar to the main character but blud was not the main character. That is where we got the idea from.

My friend was older than me, he was 17 already and had his permit. So, he went up to the pastor and asked if we could create a “park cars” ministry.

The reason why this idea was good is because our church was in Queens, across the street from Shea Stadium where the Mets used to play. It was ghetto, broken down, dangerous area. People were afraid to walk alone at night because they had to park their cars in back of the building and walk all around to the main entrance.

On your way to the front of the church you would see junkies, drunk people, prostitutes on the other side of the street, it was bad. Walking to church was bad. We did eventually move away from there but in the meantime, we parked cars.

So, the pastor said sure only because they knew my friend had already been to prison and was an ex gang member, according to them because he still was but nobody knew. Anyways, they knew if anyone could handle it, it would be him.

So, the deal was we waited out front and we would have people park in the front door and we would park the cars for them. We recruited a few more youth members to help speed things up.

But....here is the catch. once we got to the back of the building we would line up two cars like they do in the Fast and the Furious (SHOW PIC).

I would stand in the middle of the cars and give the signal when to start the race from one side of the parking lot to the other. This is how we would spend our Saturday nights at church, racing church members cars.

Someone tried to convince us that this was not a good idea but of course, we didn’t listen. We saw church service as something boring and pointless and this was a fun way to distract ourselves.

One night we took a Chevy Trailblazer, which belonged to one of the guys dad. He didn’t like his dad too much so he decided to race it against another car and he lost control and hit a huge pot hole and scraped the bottom of the car. There was a small leak of something but it was barely noticeable. So we just parked it and left it alone.

Funny enough, we were all headed to a retreat the following weekend with the church. All week, my friend made sure to clean up where the car leaked and everything was fine.

The weekend of leaving came and our parents decided to leave Friday afternoon to avoid traffic. About 1 hour into our trip, the Trailblazer starts to smoke heavily from the front hood and the car overheats and turns off. It turns out that we had cracked the radiator from the bottom of the car when we hit that pothole.

My dad stops to help and my friend and I immediately knew why this had happened and we felt so guilty and ashamed. He had to get towed and find a ride, i’m sure it cost him a lot of money.

One of the youth members that was helping us told us we should come clean but we didn’t want to so, he confessed to what we were doing outback and what had happened. We were suffering with the guilt for a while until someone spoke up and confessed. We were mad at him for telling on us but we were more relieved than anything.

My friends dad exact words, when he found out what happened, were, “Where are you? Come face the consequences”. He came to church the following weekend really upset looking for me and my friends, the “Park Cars Ministry” team.

The Act

Genesis 3:1-5 We see that satan and Eve strike up a conversation. We are told that Satan appears as a serpant. What was this serpant like? I don't know. We also don't know if this is the entire conversation or if there was some small talk that existed before this. But we can discover and see the two-fold nature of Satan's attack:

Cast Doubt on God's Word

Satan begins to twist the word of God. He takes God positive instruction and seeks to paint it as something restrictive. Eve answers correctly . . . almost. She said, "You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and YOU MUST NOT TOUCH IT or you will die.

Could it be that Eve's addition to God's command is the handle that Satan needs? Satan declares openly that God will not do what He said. And then he seeks to attack and dispute God's character. He says, "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

Satan implies that the only reason God had placed the restriction on them in the first place was because He was protecting His own "turf". God was staving off the competition. You can see what Satan is banking on. He is sure that the man and woman will respond by saying, "Hey, why should I be the servant . . . I'd rather be God."

Satan knew that as long as Adam and Eve depended on God, they could not be touched, they would be safe. While they trusted God's promise they were under His protection. So Satan first sets out to get Adam and Eve to question God's credibility. He tries to get them to move out of the protected area and into the line of fire. He is still trying the same tricks today.

Today he will suggest that the Bible is

too old to be relevant

I know God says we should not commit adultery BUT . . I'm really in love!

The bible is biased because it was written by people and their laws of their society of their day

the stories in the Bible are all made up and ridiculous

No good because it was written by ordinary men

And perhaps you have heard a number of other reasons why the truth of scripture should be discarded. It doesn't matter what the reason is . . . the goal of the enemy is the same. Turn us away from God's truth. But if we turn away from something we must turn TO something else.

Get us to Trust ourselves rather than God.

Satan seeks to replace God as the authority with other things.

We start to see this when Eve saw how attractive the tree was, “Pleasing to the eyes’ and also “Desirable” for gaining wisdom. So she ate and Adam didn’t stop her, he joined in too.

Eve trusted her eyes and desires more than God’s word and she trusted her reason “it was desireable for gaining wisdom” We must be careful to not trust even our own eyes, our mind, or our desires over the word of God.

The enemy is still using that same tactic today. He wants us to trust ourselves, our feelings, our traditions, our desires, what we think is right and what feels good. The enemy will take different approaches but with the same goal in mind: Trust yourself rather than trust God.

“I know God says that we shouldn’t steal BUT.....I really want that new iPhone”

“I know God says I must forgive others BUT.....He doesn’t know what they did and how bad they hurt me!

“I know God says sex is for marriage BUT....I have desires and needs!

I know God says to love one another BUT....I can’t stand people, they all annoy me.

Proverbios 28:26 “Los que confían en su propia inteligencia son necios, pero el que camina con sabiduría está a salvo.”

What is the enemy trying to get you to do in your life today? What is he trying to convince you of that you know is wrong but you are trying to convince yourself that it could be good?

Adam and Eve had just doomed humanity over their desire to be like God, because they thought they knew best, because of their desire to be like or better than God.

The Consequence

We find ourselves in Genesis 3:7-8 “7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. 8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.”

At this point, Adam and Eve had messed around and they were about to find out.

Adam and Eve lost their innocence that day, sin caused them to lose their innocence because up this point they had been naked from the beginning but never really thought anything of it. It was normal to them because that’s how God created them, no bad thoughts or sinful desires.

But what was innocent and good, became shameful. Immediately man felt he could not stand in God's presence as he really was. Immediately man began trying to cover themselves. Man's relationship with God, died.

I could not see my friends dad the same after what we did. Every time I saw him at church I would try to avoid him and he would give me a death stare, rightfully so.

Imagine someone pulling out a projector (Show illustration of the 90’s projectors in school) and displaying who you are? If you don’t know what this projector is, you’re really young or i’m just really old.

How would you feel if you were in a room full of people and suddenly on a screen on one wall, scenes from your thoughts and life were shown? What if some of the foolish choices of your past were also projected on that screen? What if the screen portrayed the times you lied, used other people, and indulged your sinful desires even though you knew it was wrong? What would your first instinct be?

Of course you would be embarrassed, you would hide your face, you would probably get up and leave and never come back.

That's what happened to Adam and Eve. Can't you picture them sewing fig leaves together. I don't think they used one or two leaves. They weren't ashamed because certain body parts were visible . . . they were ashamed because THEY were visible. I think they sewed a bunch of leaves together in an attempt to make the first camoflague outfit! They wanted to blend in with the rest of the garden . . . hoping God wouldn't notice them.

They knew that as a result of sin, they were no longer friends of God . . . but enemies.

They had everything they needed to live a perfect life, literally. They lived in perfection, God’s original creation! No imperfections, no death, no sickness, no pollution, no crime, etc.

Adam and Eve were put in charge of God’s creation, “Be fruitful and multiply”. Take care of the beauty that was the Garden of Eden.

What happened? What would cause such foolishness in someone who had so much? How could they think they could hide from God? What would make them think that they could deceive the all-knowing one? Why didn't they admit what they did? Why didn't they take responsibility for their actions and plead for mercy? Why don't we? Sin tarnishes our reasoning ability.

Today we are tasked with taking care of what God created still, that is us! We are children of God, our bodies are his temple. Are we taking care of it or are we giving into our desires? Are we listening to that other voice that tells us it’s ok to go against God’s word and instructions because God is just trying to hold us back from our full potential! I can do better.

Our own desires will drag us into a sinful and shameful life. A life where we feel distant from God and start to think that God want’s nothing to do with us. The same man that had not long ago had been able to name all the animals due to the wisdom He possessed, is now hiding from God. The same woman that was specially made in pure perfection is now, also hiding from God.

In Genesis 3:9 God calls out for them and asks, “Where are you?”

Genesis 3:9-10 “Entonces el Señor Dios llamó al hombre: —¿Dónde estás? 10 El hombre contestó: —Te oí caminando por el huerto, así que me escondí. Tuve miedo porque estaba desnudo.”

God knew what they had done, He knew something was wrong. He asks “Where are you?”

In the middle of our shame and attempt to hide things from people, God sees us and ask “Where are you?”

God asks questions to serve a purpose, not to obtain information.

God asks questions to help people take ownership of their answers and to look at themselves as God sees them.

God asks questions to bring people into the light instead of hiding from him.

Adam answers right away with the reason why they were hiding but never confessed as to why they felt the way they did. (My son with chocoloat all over his mouth, stomach hurts but didn’t tell me he ate half a chocolate cake).

How does the interaction go between God and Adam and Eve? Lets read:

Genesis 3:11-13 “—¿Quién te dijo que estabas desnudo?—le preguntó el Señor Dios—. ¿Acaso has comido del fruto del árbol que te ordené que no comieras? 12 El hombre contestó: —La mujer que tú me diste fue quien me dio del fruto, y yo lo comí. 13 Entonces el Señor Dios le preguntó a la mujer: —¿Qué has hecho? —La serpiente me engañó—contestó ella—. Por eso comí.”

Adam and Eve are both avoiding the real reason why they ate from the tree because they were clearly afraid of what God was going to do. They thought if they pass the blame down to another person, God would only punish the person that “made them” sin.

Avoidance is a psychological coping mechanism brought on by a fear of the consequences of an action or decision. It could also be used to suppress unpleasant thoughts, memories or experiences from conscious awareness.

We, as parents, must be careful in how we deal with situations like this because we are teaching our kids the same thing. Kids learn by observing and imitating the actions of adults around them. There is something called “vicarious learning”. This is: he process of learning from the experiences of others, rather than through one's own actions. It's a type of observational learning that involves seeing, hearing, and feeling what others do.

Kids Observe how parents handle challenges can teach children how to approach their own problems.

Children learn to manage their emotions by observing how adults express and manage their own feelings

Children are highly observant and pick up on both positive and negative behaviors

Genesis 4:8-9 show us the perfect example of this, “Cierto día Caín dijo a su hermano: «Salgamos al campo»[c]. Mientras estaban en el campo, Caín atacó a su hermano Abel y lo mató. 9 Luego el Señor le preguntó a Caín: —¿Dónde está tu hermano? ¿Dónde está Abel?—No lo sé—contestó Caín—. ¿Acaso soy yo el guardián de mi hermano?”

You are probably thinking, weren’t their kids born after all this mess? Weren’t they born after they were kicked out of the Garden of Eden? Well, yeah. Do you think Adam and Eve stopped their behavior of avoidance?

I can’t imagine how they fought constantly about why they were kicked out. I can’t imagine the arguments they had afterwards about how the other was at fault.

Their kids saw their way of dealing with things and Cain just followed the same actions except, Cain took it to another level....murder.

Whatever we teach our kids, whether it’s good or bad, will only evolve into something better and great or something terrible and worse.

The Punishment

Here comes the punishment because God loves us but will discipline us when he has to.

Genesis 14-19 (READ)

Hebrews 12:6 “Pues el Señor disciplina a los que ama y castiga a todo el que recibe como hijo»”

Do you think the punishment was too much? Do you think it was extreme? Do you think God should have forgiven them?

Well, if you think about it, he did forgive them by covering them up. God showed them what he expected of them in order to be saved and return to his presence.

He sacrificed and animal to cover their sin

He kicked them out of the Garden of Eden so they wouldn’t be tempted to eat from the tree of life and live in sin and suffering forever.

If you think their individual punishment is extreme, you must also think the same about the punishments in your life.

Adam and Eve wanted to be like God but instead, what they did was disobey God’s command and instructions. We like to think we can do better, we like to live by our own rules but at the end of the day, we must always follow his commands and instructions.

Proverbs 3:11-12 “Hijo mío, no rechaces la disciplina del Señor ni te enojes cuando te corrige. Pues el Señor corrige a los que ama, tal como un padre corrige al hijo que es su deleite.”

We must accept when we do wrong and we also must accept the consequences.

But in all this God showed mercy and made that promise that one day someone will come and defeat the enemey.

We are now living in a process that God started back in the Garden of Eden. We are part of the salvation mission and must do our part to live a mission life. That is our purpose in life, to go out and make disciples of the world but in order to do that, we must give up our desires and way of doing things.

Everything we do must have God at the center.

Here is how it all ended for them and i ask you today, which one will you be?

Genesis 4:25 “Adán volvió a tener relaciones sexuales con su esposa, y ella dio a luz otro hijo, al cual llamó Set,[g] porque dijo: «Dios me ha concedido otro hijo en lugar de Abel, a quien Caín mató». 26 Cuando Set creció, tuvo un hijo y lo llamó Enós. Fue en aquel tiempo que la gente por primera vez comenzó a adorar al Señor usando su nombre.”

They started a new tradition with their kids in worshipping God, they set a good example even after all this mess.

What did Cain do?

Genesis 4:17-24 (READ)

Cain started his own city and was successful. They learned many skills like music and making things from metal but also, his actions and way of doing things was passed down to the next generation because murder happened again.

When God asks, “Where are you?” don’t be afraid to answer and confess what you have done. God loves us and is our father and will forgive us but will also discipline us.

This is why we must always think before we act. Does this please God? Is this the will of God?

Is there something you are ashamed of? Is there something you need to confess and bring to God?

Is a decision you made years ago taking the effect of Cain and you are seen it manifest in your kids or family?

Give it God because God can turn things around for you.

Enoch was a prominent figure in the Bible, appearing in the book of Genesis. He was the son of Jared, the father of Methuselah, and the great-grandfather of Noah.

“Noé era un hombre justo, la única persona intachable que vivía en la tierra en ese tiempo”