Stop Hiding from the Lord

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1Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?

2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:

3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.

I want to ask a question,

and I want you to respond by raising your hand.

who truly desires to be in the presence of the Lord God Almighty.

I believe that was also the desire of Adam and Eve;

to be in the presence of the one that had spoke their life into existence.

I believe that they were content walking in the garden.

I believe that they were happy.

I don’t believe that they were discontent in anyway.

They had everything they needed to sustain life.

They had plenty of food.

They weren’t in need for clothing.

They were able to walk in the garden in the cool of the day and spend time with God.

but as we just read;

The serpent which was more subtle than any other beast of the filed that God had created.

Meaning that he was crafty and cunning.

Deceptive in his ways;

One even defines him as being so “delicate” and “precise” as to be difficult to analyze.

In other words he was so delicate and precise in his actions; that he was hard to figure out.

This serpent was able to capture the mind and the heart of a man and a women that walked in the very presence of the Lord.

In the cool of the day;

They spoke to God in a way that you I have never been able to do.

Having everything they needed and lacking nothing;

The enemy of their soul was able to captivate them;

The enemy was able to deceive them in a delicate and precise way; that they were unaware until the damage was already done.

if this creature was able to deceive Adam and Eve in such a manner as we read;

then how much more do you and I need to be on guard from his tactics and schemes.

Be not fooled tonight,

The enemy does care how long you have walked this journey.

1 day or 10 years

The enemy does not care what position you hold within the church or within the community.

He does care If you have a personal walk with the Lord

It does not bother him that you read the word of God daily and you pray daily

It does not bother him whether you been a member of this church all your life.

He is delicate and precise in his attack.

He knows where you are strong,

but hear me tonight friend:

he also knows where you are weak.

We’re not talking about a creature with a little reds cape and forked horns.

He is more subtle than any other beast of the field.

God called unto Adam in the garden:

He said to Adam; Where you at?

I come to spend some time with you.

I come to walk with you in the cool of the day but I can’t find you.

Then Adam cries unto God and tells Him; I heard your voice and I was afraid because I was naked and I hid myself.

I believe the Lord is calling out to His people;

and they are no where to be found because they are ashamed of what sin has done in their life

and they have hid themselves from the presence of the Lord.

All across this world tonight; within the walls of our churches.

Saints of God are hiding themselves from the presence of the Lord because of what sin has done to their life.

Adam had been deceived by the enemy and He was ashamed because of his nakedness and he hid himself from God.

And so many Christians are hidden from the presence of the Lord

And they are doing it within the walls of the church.

Tonight; in this building; there are some of you that are hiding from the presence of the Lord because of decisions and choices you have made that have caused you to be ashamed before the Lord.

As I look as this story; I ask myself the question.

Why is it that Adam and Eve took of the fruit.

They had everything they could have ever wanted.

and I’m reminded of what the bible tells us about the enemy;

How is like a roaring lion; seeking whom he may devour.

I don’t know about you;

But I got friends and love ones; that the enemy has gotten his grip in them;

People that have been destroyed

They didn't start off that way:

They didn’t just wake up one morning and say hey:

I wanna be addicted to drugs.

They didn’t just wake up and say:

Hey I think I’m gonna live my life in such a way that is unpleasing to God.

They didn’t just wake up one day and say: I think Im gonna cause pain and grief in my family.

they didn’t just wake up one day and say I’m gonna be a hell raiser.

No

It’s The delicate and precise attack of the enemy.

It hurts my heart tonight;

So many have been tricked by the enemy.

and now their lives are a living hell.

So much potential being wasted because the serpent was more subtle than all the other beast of the field and they bought into his lie……………………….

I don’t understand why some buy into it and some don’t;

but I do know that the “consequences” are real and Like Adam we hide from the presence of the Lord.

Which is just the opposite of what we need to do.

Instead of hiding form the presence of the Lord we need to pursue the Lord…………………

Because it’s in His presence;

that there is fullness of Joy.

It’s in His presence

there is a peace that passes all understanding.

It’s in His presence

there is forgiveness of sins.

It’s in His Presence

there is a Place of refuge that you and I can run to and rest in the shadow of His wings.

The bible tells us that Adam said; that he heard the voice of God and he was afraid because he was naked and he hid from God.

My friend if there is any place you and I need to be is at these altars pursuing after the presence of the Lord.

I’m convinced the reason I am still walking this journey is because of the altar.

I remember when I was in the Navy and Lucy and I lived in Jacksonville we went to church at Faith Temple A/G

The only time we missed a service is if we were out of town

and if we were out of town we went to church where we were.

But I remember service after service;

ever time the altar call was giving I would come down and pursue the Lord;

I sure them people thought that;

I was a sinner that was struggling;

and sometimes that was the case

But the reality is;

I wanted to be closer to the Lord,

I knew there was something about being in His presence,………………………..

I recognized that there was an enemy that was after my soul and That there was safety at the altar

The altars had become my refuge:

I didn’t care what others thought about me.

I wanted more of God.

I am convinced; the reason I am still pursuing after the Lord is because of the times I spent in His presence at His altars………………………..

The enemy is delicate and precise in his attack.

but the results are devastating…

I don’t know why it is; but the natural reaction to our sin is to hide form God,

Thats exactly what Adam and Eve did: they hid from the Lord.

You and I don’t have to hide from the Lord

We need to pursue God with every fiber of our being!!!!!!

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you………………………….

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