← ArchiveSunday, October 13, 2013DateOctober 13, 2013SpeakerChris BurnsTextGenesisPassages in this sermonGenesis 30:04Genesis 40:04Romans 3:2013:171 Peter 1:1731:27TranscriptClick any line to jump there.0:00I want to ask you a question before we get started this morning. You can go ahead and turn in your Bibles to Genesis chapter 3 and Genesis chapter 4. You say, hadn't we been there long enough? No, we hadn't. But I want to ask you, what do you think about God when you think about God? Have you thought about God lately? What do you think about God when you think about God? Well, people say, well, we think about Jesus. Well, that's good. I'm glad. That's all right. But what do you think about God?0:29Is He big? What are the attributes that you think about when you think about God? Is He sovereign? What do you think about when you think about God? You know, the reality of the tragedy is that a lot of people don't think about God much because they're so busy thinking about themselves. And when they think about God, they think about God in relationship of themselves. Thus, it creates a little God instead of the God that He is,0:58which is a God that permeates and fills absolutely every minute section of the universe. Have you ever thought about that? Have you ever thought about God not to have a beginning? And that, and I'll catch your attention real quick, won't it? Now, how can something not have a beginning? It can't unless it's God.1:27Did you know God doesn't have an end? You say, if it doesn't have a beginning, how does something not have an end? You can't unless you're God. And you know, if there's anything that we've forgotten in the church today, it's how big God is. Because you see, I believe God is big enough that He can reach down and change absolutely any thought and any heart and any life in this building today.1:56He can change a person the way they think. He can change a person in the way they walk. He can change a person in the way they talk. He can do absolutely anything He wants to do. And when He began His creation, that's exactly what He did. The Bible says that He didn't call a conference for, He didn't create Adam first and Eve and then decide to bring them all in like we talked about last week and have a conference on how He'd do creation.2:25He did it really, I think, pretty smart when He made man last. He made woman after He made man. And then He gave them the responsibilities of working in the garden. And we talked about how beautiful that was last week. How awesome that it must have been to walk with God in the garden in the coolness of the evening. Talk to somebody about that breeze, that constant blowing breeze that blew through the garden and all of its beauty and its innocence and its sinlessness.2:52Until Satan makes his entrance into the garden. We talked about that. Satan tempts Eve and then Adam follows his wife Eve and they discern that they want to be like God. So they go in and partake of the forbidden fruit. And immediately the next thing that we see is that God is looking for Adam and Eve. And it is so foolish that Adam has been with God so long3:19and knows about God in a way that you and I would never know about God that he thinks he can hide from Him. But then again, that's not anything like us. We think we can hide from God as well. Did you know that? Many of us live today, just like Adam did for those few moments in the garden, hiding from God. And we talked about that a little bit last week. And what happens is, is that we really learn something about God that we didn't talk about last week.3:45And one thing that we need to understand about how great and how big God is, is Adam and Eve chose to sin against God. They realized their sin. They realized their nakedness. They sought to sow for themselves some fig leaves so they could cover their nakedness up because they did not want to walk up on God who was already throughout the garden and throughout the world, throughout the universe, and throughout everything. He permeated and was a part of everything. He really wasn't looking for Adam, but he was trying to give Adam an opportunity to hear from him.4:15And the joy and the real exciting part of that is, is that when Adam is running from God, who is calling out to Adam? God is. Adam, where are you? Now, I can't imagine how Adam must have felt trying to hide from God4:42and hearing God rustling around in the garden and walking through there and all of a sudden hearing his name called, Adam, where are you? Adam, why are you trying to hide from me? And in reality, God is giving Adam an opportunity to respond to him. I like John Phillips' take on this passage because he shares with us,5:09it is God's grace that sought Adam out, even though Adam had rebelled against God and had partaken of the forbidden fruit, sinned against God, recognized his sin, was running from God, and yet God was still calling out his name. I want to tell you something today. There's something important here that we need to understand is, and that is, is that when we're on the run from God, God is calling for us. I'm glad I serve a God that when I, no matter how hard I run or no matter where I try to hide,5:39and people try to hide in multiple places and in multiple ways. Now, I can't imagine where, could you think for just a minute, I mean, you're in a garden, you're familiar with a garden, you're familiar with activity of the garden, you've been walking with God in the garden, God's been walking with you in the garden, you've been having great fellowship with God, all of a sudden you sin, you realize you sin, you've gone off, you've cut you some fig leaves off in the garden, and you've wrapped these fig leaves around you, and you're trying to hide from God.6:07Is that not foolish? If you agree with me, would you just raise your hand? Then why are y'all doing it? Because we're foolish. Because we're foolish. Amen. Some folks didn't raise their hand and say, well, I didn't raise my hand. I know better. Let me tell you something. Most of us will spend a large portion of our life running from God6:35because we know or we feel this, though, that what we've done is unforgivable before him.6:53And we're afraid to turn when God calls. But this passage teaches us something far more beautiful than that. Let's go back. And I titled this, you know, titles are about worth a nickel, a title, because it can mean little. But I said, the fault that was felt. The fault that was felt. Now, you're going, the fault that was felt? What are you talking about, the fault that was felt? Have you ever thought about an earthquake?7:22Do you know there are lots of faults that run throughout the earth, and some of them are never felt? Do you realize that I've actually, Brad and some of these guys have got these earthquake notices on their cell phone. I'm thinking, well, how foolish. I don't want to know if there's going to be an earthquake. Well, it happens after there was an earthquake. So good. That means nothing happened. But I'd hate to be in the midst of one that said, earthquake, earthquake. And then the earth shatters, and my house is tearing apart. And I knew about it in just enough time to worry for the 30 seconds before it got to me.7:51So I don't have an earthquake warning on my cell phone. Because I've got Brad and Eric. You still got that? You don't? You took it all? You got worried, didn't you? Well, it's so many earthquakes. Seriously, there are all kind of faults. There are faults that run down the east coast. And we think of the big fault out where? That's right. Because that's where those people out there are so sinful, that fault's going to crack.8:17And half of California is going to fall off in the ocean and take all those people with them. Amen? And some of you guys are in here going, I'm fixing to move to California, preacher. Thank you. But, you know, we do. Some faults are felt. So I looked it up. And I want to know, how far is a fault felt? Say that real fast. And it just depends. Do you realize that some faults create new faults?8:47And those faults are felt. In reality, the tragedy is, is that if a fault begins to separate and the earth begins to move and an earthquake begins, it begins at a fault. In case y'all didn't know that. And it spreads out and the earth shifts. And the shifting of the earth brings land up and it brings land down. And it does all kinds of damage underground as well as on top of the ground.9:16And then from the focus center of that fault, that fault is felt to some degree from, you know, it can be a small one of one or two point, you know. And then that means that it's very small and you might not ever feel that. It can be three or four. And that means, you know, you might feel your house shaking. I think I was in, I thought we were in an earthquake in my house. You know, where I live, there's a road that runs behind it in front of it.9:45And I thought, surely that was an earthquake, but what, there was a guy going by with his radio on. And the house vibrated and the windows buzzed, but it wasn't a fault. But there are those faults like that, that get bigger, and they do create a lot of damage. And sometimes the damage goes unseen for a period of time. Did you realize that? There's always the seen damage, you know that. That's when the building falls, and you go, there's that damage right there.10:13That's bad. There's people hanging out of windows and everything else. But then there are those buildings that you look at that they have to go in with structural engineers and they have to examine them. Because we don't know what this actual earthquake did and how far this fault ran, that this structure of this particular building may not be safe for habitation any longer. So we have to find out exactly how powerful or how safe that structure was.10:39Verse 20 of chapter 3. Now the man called his wife's name Eve, but because she was the mother of all living, and the Lord God made garments of skin. I want you to make note of that. For Adam and his wife, and he clothed them. This is after the fall. Then the Lord God said, Behold, the man has become like us, knowing good and evil.11:06And now he might stretch out his hand and also partake of the tree of life and eat from it. And therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to cultivate the ground from which he was taken. So he drove the man out. I want you to notice that he drove the man out. And at the east of the garden of Eden he stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword, which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life. You know, we read through these passages so often,11:35and sometimes we don't really take time to realize what God is saying there. But I think once again, in God's pursuit of Adam, we see God's grace at work toward Adam because God took the first two living creatures from the garden that would ever die, and he sacrificed both of those creatures not to Adam but for Adam so that Adam and Eve would have skins to put on themselves so that they would be protected once they left the garden12:00because the ultraviolet rays and all the other things that life would throw at them now was going to come at them both physically, mentally, and emotionally. But God, because he's so big, looks at this feeble man that he created out of such love and he takes two precious animals from the garden that Adam had named12:26and the Bible says God killed them so that they could have clothes. So not only is God calling out for you and pursuing you, but God also is providing for you. You see, God is providing a way of forgiveness for you.12:53You can say, you know, I can forgive myself, but let me tell you, you can't forgive yourself for the sins that you have that you've committed against God. And let me just real quickly remind you that there's no one in this room that has not sinned. There's no one in this world that has not sinned, not since the time of Jesus and before Jesus had anybody not sinned. Jesus is the only person that has not sinned. Romans 3.20 tells us that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Not only that, it tells us that none seek him, not one, nobody even seeks after God.13:20But God pursues man. God pursued Adam. And then God provided the sacrifice that Adam needed so that he and Eve could be clothed and protected from the elements. Now, God is doing all that, and I want to make sure that you see that because it shows us what a great and gracious God we serve. But still yet, while Adam and Eve are in the midst of the garden13:50and are on their way out of the garden, and God is providing these things for them, there are still consequences that are going to be felt from the fault that went off in the garden. When Adam and Eve made the decision that they would rather listen to Satan than listen to God, a fault, a shaking of the very foundation of the universe began that would be felt for a long time.14:20You know, I almost said forever, but it won't be felt forever. I almost said eternity, but it won't be felt for an eternity. But it will be felt for a time. And we are still part of that time wherein that fault is being felt. Because we still feel the fault from the decision that Adam and Eve made14:42because that decision has created a genetic code that has flown through mankind since Adam and Eve that says every one of us is a sinner and has a nature to sin. Not all of us want to agree with that. I've been in conversation with people, and that man would say to me,15:12I had a man tell me one time, he said, you know, there's a little good in everybody, but not according to the Bible that I read there isn't. There's not any good in any of us. That's why it takes God to pursue us, because the Bible says we're not going to pursue God. And so as Adam is shunned out of the garden, God has made through his mercy and grace for him a sacrifice of animals so that he and Eve can be covered. And covered they are.15:43Genesis 4, follow with me. Now the man had relations with his wife, Eve, and she conceived and gave birth to Cain. And she said, I've gotten a man-child with the help of the Lord. And again she gave birth to his son, or to his brother, Abel. And Abel was the keeper of flocks, but Cain was a tiller of the ground. So it came about in the course of time16:13that Cain brought an offering to the Lord of the fruit of the ground. So Adam has been teaching his sons about God because they have knowledge of God. Well can you imagine what it must have been like if we just stop for a moment and think about Adam walking around and living outside the garden and his sons wanting to go in the garden to see what it would have been like. But there's that cherubim and there's that flaming sword. And Adam has to shamefully look at his sons16:41at every moment and say to them, we can't go there. And they say, and you know, what does every child say when you tell them something and they've asked you a question? Why? Can you imagine what it must have been like for Adam to try to answer the why? Why, Daddy, can't we go back into the garden? Why, Daddy, is that angel, that cherubim there, why does he have that flaming sword? Why does he not allow us to enter17:09that beautiful place that we can see so well? And it's so suitable for us, that take us in there.17:28So it came about in the course of time that Cain brought an offering to the Lord of the fruit of the ground and Abel on his part also brought to the first slings of his flock and their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and for his offering, but for Cain and for his offering, he had no regard. So Cain became very angry. It's a fruit of the root. It's a fruit of the root of sin17:57that was birthed in his father. So Cain became very angry and his countenance fell. Then the Lord said to Cain, Why are you angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well not, will not your countenance be lifted up? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. What a word of wisdom for us. Sin is crouching at the door and its desire is for you, but you must master it. Cain told Abel his brother18:28and it came about when they were in the field that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and he killed him. I did a little research on what happens when the home falls apart. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, after spousal killings and children killed by their parents are the most frequent type18:57of family homicide. But children kill their parents too with fathers most likely to be killed by their own children than mothers. And while not as frequently brothers and sisters kill their siblings, brothers are more likely than sisters to kill a sibling according to the same source. But sisters will kill their brothers too as you'll soon discover. The University of Michigan Health System states experts estimate that three children in a hundred are dangerously violent toward a brother or sister. But also reference19:27to a 2005 study that puts the number of assaults each year to children by a sibling is about 35 per hundred children. And why do you say that, Brother Chris, why is that? Because these things happen when the family goes awry. You see, I actually looked this up and I said, when there's divorce in the home, what are statistics of survival19:57of survival for children? Now, you're going to find all kinds of statistics and I will tell you there was one out there that said there's very little difference in the statistics of child surviving divorce as there is the child will survive divorce as well as a child of a wholesome family. But in reality, what we see over and over and over again are the struggles of children when dad is not taking the rightful position that God has called him to.20:26And when I talked earlier about the fault and how far it was felt, the fault of a father who is not spiritually leading his family is felt throughout his home. And I wonder had Adam, and Adam didn't divorce Eve, by the way, they stayed together, but when Adam and Eve chose to rebel against God and not listen to what God was saying to their heart and to their life and the promises that God had made for them, did they realize that one day20:56they would be standing over the grave of one of their sons that their other son had murdered? I thought about that. And I wonder what Adam and Eve truly felt when they had to bury one of their own realizing that they had never had to bury anything in the garden. And guys, it brings me back to this.21:25It is about time that we as dads took our eyes off our selfish desires and realized that the decisions that we make on behalf of our family and the decisions that we make on behalf of our children and the decisions that we make on behalf of ourselves are felt for ages to come. and immediately as well. The garden21:55The garden wasn't far from where Cain was. And I'm not so sure that they weren't close enough that he could probably still see the light from the sword of the cherubim at night. The Bible goes on and it says then the Lord came or excuse me the Lord said to Cain where is Abel your brother and he said22:24I do not know and you know it's when we're running from God we run from God with one lie after another and he says I'm not my brother's keeper and he said what have you done the voice of your brother's blood is crying to me from the ground now you are cursed from the ground which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand when you cultivate the ground it will no longer yield strength to you you will be a vagrant and a wanderer on the earth and Cain said to the Lord my punishment is too great22:54to bear behold you have driven me this day from the face of the ground and from your face I will be hidden and I will be a vagrant and a wanderer on the earth and whoever finds me will kill me so the Lord said to him therefore whoever kills Cain vengeance will be taken on him sevenfold and the Lord appointed a sign for Cain so that no one finding him would slay him then Cain went out from the presence of the Lord and settled in the land of Nod23:24of Nod guys I want us to take all this into understanding that sin there's a very simple sermon outline that I learned in college and that I also learned again in seminary and it's so simple that we almost say it without even thinking about its true meaning and number one is that sin will take you farther than you want23:53to go sin will keep you longer than you want to stay sin will cost you more than you can pay you know that's about as simple as it gets sin will take you where you never thought you would ever go in your life because we let our guard down spiritually because we refuse to accept the place of responsibility that God has given us this past24:22this past Thursday night we had a great men's night out we had somewhere between 50 and 60 men there and we heard from a from a great great speaker that's a part of the Scott Dawson evangelistic ministry and his name is Scott Lennon and Scott talked to us about the home being a safe house and he brought to my attention immediately the reality of what a safe house was a safe house is a place that you go24:52especially if you're on the run if the federal government has a safe house it's a place where very few people know now there are other types of safe houses when I lived in Knoxville Tennessee I got to ride around with a police officer a policeman for the city of Knoxville that was a member of my church and one Saturday evening or Friday evening he was taking me with him and we were going downtown and he got a call and it's interesting here was the call there's a lady that's been abused by her husband we want you25:22to come to such and such address she will be there with another lady you will take her to this street corner in this address and drop her off where there will be another lady that will pick her up and we got all that information and I asked him I said what are we doing he said this is what we do here in the city of Knoxville we have safe houses and I said really he said yeah this lady has been abused by her husband he's beaten her and he said or she25:52or she at least feels for her life and so either she or her children with her will be with this lady that we are fixing to go pick up I said really he said yeah we've got we'll put them in the back seat and then we're going to take them to this address I said is that the safe house he said no he said I don't even know where those safe houses are in the city of Knoxville I said what you're a police officer he said we are not allowed to know where these safe houses are I said what's going to happen he said well we're going to go26:22go there's going to be this lady at this address we're going to drop this lady off he's going to put that lady she's going to put this lady and if her family's with her in the car and they're going to take her off to some safe house where her husband can't find her until a judge can come in26:50so abused and you know when we picked that lady up I don't remember too much about her because I don't know that she ever looked me in the face or in the eye because I was just another man and you know there are all kind of movies about safe houses where we go and put these criminals until their trial comes up and save houses for this so that these people will be safe my friend I want to ask you man and I want you to hear I want you to answer me is your27:20your house a safe house for your family to come in the midst of a storm do you have a home where you have surrounded it with a barbed wire of prayer where you have placed sentinels of angels at every corner so that they may protect you are you living in a house that your wife feels27:50feels like it's the only place that she can come to your children feel like it's the only place they can come to and know they'll be protected they have no fear because you've established a safe house I want to tell you something the reason families are falling apart the reason children are killing each other and there are more children that are killing each other28:19other than in any other time is because we have forgotten the ability of the God that we serve to build us a safe house and a place where we can come can I tell you another safe house that's needed the church the church ought to be a safe house James in chapter 4 in our Sunday school lesson talks about the characteristics of those who quarrel and fight28:48and fight and are jealous and are upset over other people in the church because they are so attached to the world that they've taken their eyes off the very purpose that God has placed them here if we really wanted to fill up every pew in this church it's not that we would have to go out of these doors and beg people to come it's that we would allow Jesus Christ to live in us and them know that hey that's a safe house up there because God is the focus29:18focus of our safe house I want you to notice three quick things and we're going to close first of all God is big enough to provide the clothing29:33from the animals that were to cover Adam and Eve but Jesus Christ provides the white arraignment which is considered the righteousness of God that will cover us in the day of our salvation that allows us to come into the presence of God it is the unblemished lamb of God that was slain on the cross that provides us with new clothes I want you to know something else that God does when he moves into our life and we listen to him he gives us a new neighborhood he30:03he gives us a new neighborhood to live in does that mean that God is going to move you it may and it may not but it's going to give you a different view of the neighborhood that you live in when God had to move Adam out into a new neighborhood God never30:28Eve gave birth to her children God was still there working in and through them showing his grace and his mercy do you know something else that God brings into our life when we allow him to catch us he brings new relationships into our life you realize that most people live their lives in pure loneliness because they don't trust the people that surround them if you met somebody that's just literally afraid to share anything with you because you30:58you don't know that they're not going to share it with somebody else or they're going to share it maliciously God provides new relationships there were new relationships opened for them God provides an action for the consequences that we bring upon ourselves you know the glory of the message of Jesus Christ is that we have hope listen to first Peter chapter31:28chapter one verse 17 if you address his father the one who is impartially judges according to each one's work conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay on earth knowing that you are not redeemed with perishable things like silver gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers but with precious blood as of a lamb unblemished spotless the blood of Christ for he has foreknown before the foundation of the world but has appeared in these last31:57last days for the sake of you who through him are believers in God who raised him from the dead and gave him glory so that your faith and hope are in God you see the pursuit of God in the garden was that he never relinquished from constantly showing grace and mercy to Adam when he called out Adam where are you why are you running Adam responded when he caught up with Adam and he saw that the leaves were not going to be sufficient for the care that they were going to32:27to need once they were pushed out of the garden he provided a sacrifice of clothing for them when they pushed them out of the garden sure he put an angel up that would not let them enter back into the garden but God went out into the world and God established that relationship with them God seeks to establish that same relationship my friend God is big enough to overcome where you are and what you've done in this world to provide you with absolutely everything you need to know the32:57the joy the peace and the happiness of Christ eternal in your life today that's what Peter said right there my friend today we need to take a new look at how big our God is and we need to ask ourselves is my God big enough to take the bitterness of my heart out of me is my God big enough to take the selfishness33:26selfishness that is encrusted into my life so that I want everything to be what I want and not willing to waver in any way is my God big enough to take this proud heart and humble it before him is my God truly big enough to forgive me of my sin when you don't know what my sin is preacher but God does my friend yes and yes and yes and yes and yes again God God is big enough to33:56to take care of where you are at God is big enough for your drug habit God is big enough for your extramarital affair God is big enough for your drinking problem God is big enough for your fighting and your anger and your frustration can I tell you that God is even bigger than Obamacare now I don't mean to slam that in any way form or fashion34:26fashion but I tell you what I have never heard anything talked about so much in all my life if we talked about Jesus Christ as much as we complain about Obamacare we could save the world but my God is bigger than that did you realize that my God is bigger than the Dow is your God bigger than34:50my God is bigger than what I put in savings my God is bigger than my inability to reach out to my grandchildren when they're not with me and take care of them my God is big enough to take care of my 81 year old dad who's struggling in some ways my God is big enough to take care of you where you're at your God is big enough if you'll35:20to find out about us when in reality the book is about him and if we'll just read it we'll see how big he is and I could tell you how big he is but you may not believe me he's big enough to walk through life with Adam he's big enough to watch over Noah when he built the ark he was35:50was big enough to take care of Abraham as he led him out into the wilderness he was big enough to walk with Moses as he trampled through the wilderness to get to the river Jordan he was big enough for David when David was caught up in a sin so grievous that it called for stoning but God showed grace and mercy God is big enough to take Jeremiah out of the cistern and promise him a great fellowship of things that he could not even imagine God is big enough to36:20to take old Simon and turn him into Peter God is big enough to take that old rock solid hard theologian Paul and break his heart and mold him into a gospel preaching preacher God is big enough and he will always be big enough whether you know it or not accept it or not or realize it or not but I want to ask you something today36:49today if your God is big enough to take care of you then what would keep you from walking to this altar and repenting of the thoughts that have entered your heart that God wasn't big enough and you faltered in a lifestyle of sin and rebellion maybe you need Christ today let me tell you he's big enough to forgive you of your sins he's37:19he's big enough how far was Adam's fault felt still being felt how big is God I'll never figure that one out I may be in his presence for a couple hundred thousand years and still not know how big he is but he's big enough let's pray father today I would pray that you would permeate our minds and hearts with just the thought for a moment of how big you are God37:48God God God God God you're bigger than any picture that the Bible can paint of you God there's nothing that can contain you for all things are contained by you Lord you're as wise as you'll ever be you're not getting wiser every day you're as wise as you'll ever be and you're endlessly wise38:17wise God your grace can be shown to us more but you don't have more grace you have all grace oh God you're big you're an atoner you're a justifier you're a sanctifier you're a glorifier more importantly you're a reconciler God I pray today that38:46that you would do that which you are in this place and reveal to us here today just how big you are in Jesus name we pray amenMore sermons on Genesis →
