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[0:00] expected what was one sermon is turned into now a fourth and we're in chapter three we got through verses one through five and studied the cryptic conversation of the serpent and the woman and what was what he was seeking to accomplish there he did and then we looked in verse six and saw the captivating crop that the woman got her eyes fixed upon and realized it was to be desired to make one wise boy did that ever excite her and they sinned and then we were studied last sunday from verse number seven the camouflage covering and saw that they sewed fig leaves together and then went and hid amongst the trees of the garden camouflaging themselves and concealing themselves from the lord and we learned from that that the guilty sinner is the one that's worried about covering up before that there was nothing to cover up no need no worry no fear and then we also saw the work that's involved with covering up your sin and then finally that it's never sufficient the aprons that they sewed together they didn't get clothed until the end of the chapter when god made coats of skins and quote clothed them but for now they just have a covering and it's not going to get the job done and now i want to take your attention to the next part of this outline i think you figured out i'm using the letter c they're not ch's or k's and uh this this one we're going to call this the concealed couple the concealed couple in verses eight and nine and what we had already we focused in on that covering in verse seven but now we're going to look a little more and try to learn some things about the couple look at verse number eight i'll back up to verse seven it says the eyes of them both were opened and they knew that they were naked and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons 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 amongst the trees of the garden and the lord called lord god called unto adam and said unto him where art thou now this couple let's let's back it up a little bit this couple was created by god he formed him out of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and then at the end of chapter two we read that he caused a deep sleep to fall upon adam and he slept and he took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh and from the rib he made the woman eve so adam and eve created by god and placed into this immaculate surrounding and and uh garden eastward and eden a tremendous think god is starting over he's doing something and it's it's wonderful it's literally it's very much wonderful what god is doing here i'll just say they had a great relationship uh he he no doubt communed with them walked with them gave attention to them fellowship with them it was great he loved them they loved him they obeyed him he cared for them he provided for them he gave them everything they'd ever need and probably so so so much more they had it all at their fingertips they were created flawless if we want to call it that way they had everything they could ever imagine it was a wonderful relationship it has never been better now just that's what i wanted you to end that right there it has never been better than what these two had right in front of them given to them gifted to them and in communion with god it was i mean you could say well it's good to be saved and we we believe that but not as good as this place you didn't have the relationship with god they had it is good to have your sins forgiven not nearly as good as they had it it has never been better but when the couple sinned immediately things changed and in verse seven their eyes are opened

[4:03] and it's not the excitement that she thought it was going to be about being as gods knowing good and evil her eyes are open the first they know they're naked they've got to cover up their shame with that we read that back in chapter two verse 25 they were naked and they were not ashamed until the knowledge of good and evil till their eyes being opened now there's shame and they've got to cover and that's one change that took place immediately but a bigger change a much bigger change we read in verse eight and nine that when they hear the voice of the lord and he's in their presence he's walking in the garden they gotta hide they hide from god this is the concealed couple this morning god shows up and they're nowhere to be found they vanished and where are they and why are they not present where they always are present what's going on you would ask they're missing why are they missing adam where art thou some words that god should never have to say he should never have to ask the man where he's at this thing was perfect it was incredible what god had established and set up and something's changed and in this picture or in this scene i want to draw kind of a picture that i'll use to make application when god created adam and eve and we read it look back at chapter two i've quoted it to you verse number seven that he formed him out of the dust of the ground he became a living soul and chapter two verse eight it says the lord god planted a garden eastward in eden and there he put the man whom he had formed so god put him in a very specific place a garden that god planted he established it it was his work and there he put the man whom he had formed and what i want us to consider here is that god created this man placed him in a specific place a special place not just in the world but within the world in a garden not just within eden or in eden but within eden a special garden i see this as a picture here of the child of god that the bible says in ephesians that when you're born again and saved by the grace of god that you're a new or it says in second corinthians 5 you're a new creature all things become new just like this couple here brand new and in that the bible says that you're created in christ jesus so god creates in you a new man but he also places you somewhere the bible says he places you in the body of christ it's not just in the world but within the world a very special place god puts his new children in but when god shows up these two are nowhere to be found and i'll keep that in the back of your mind there this thought about this couple being placed there because that's going to tie into some things or some thoughts as we go through but the couple is still in the garden and they're actually very close by but they've concealed themselves they've hid amongst the trees and so let's consider what's happening here and allow this to reveal some truth to us i think something that we really want to take a hold of something that we want to apply to us and we've been making pretty good application through this whole chapter so far and i think there's more that we can find in this so let's pray and then let's read some more father i pray that you'll take now this very time this very minutes in front of us and take it and use it use it for your glory use it in our hearts use it in everybody's mind use it in their ears i pray you just distract them from their phones from this world from this afternoon from their plans and drive us to the word of god

[8:04] and to what took place all these years ago let us learn something lord i can't drive it into them i can just talk and talk but your spirit has to do the work it has to be a spiritual interaction and the word of god's capable and i pray that your spirit would do the work inside individuals and lord just get something out of this for your sake and for ours that we might grow thereby we pray in jesus name amen amen now let's learn a few things here first thing i want you to notice is as we read again in chapter 3 verse 8 the very beginning it says that they heard the voice of the lord god walking in the garden in the cool of the day what i want you to consider is that god hasn't changed in this situation there's some things that have changed they've changed they've made some decisions they've their reality has changed but god hasn't changed he hasn't gone anywhere in other words god hasn't changed what appears to be his routine he shows up and shows up in the very place that no doubt he's met with them on multiple occasions maybe on a daily basis at a specific time he's expecting the man to be there god doesn't change god is faithful and god's still looking to commune with the man and his wife but to his dismay and seeming confusion there's nobody around there's nobody to be found but what i want you to get out of that is god hasn't changed he's right where he's always been he's present he's available but consider something from god's perspective because he shows up he's coming he's in the garden he's walking in the garden god shows up after they sinned but i want you to consider something real specific and before we get to that do you ever um do you ever go someplace or or be out and about and feel like oh let's stop over here or get this thought in your mind and you go and it's closed you show up and it's bummer let down my kids go to six flags quite a bit lately with their passes and sometimes they're kind of excited making plans we're going to ride this ride then we're going to go this ride and they get there and the ride's closed that's just total bust total bummer got to change the plans now i know it doesn't happen much today with technology and phones and texting but back in the day when you didn't rely on it or have it or you you'd drive around you'd be out you'd say oh we're in the neighborhood of so-and-so your friends or family or you just say let's swing by and visit let's think and if you ever did that you show up and they're not home just it's kind of a letdown when you're anticipating even excited about riding a ride or or getting that cup of coffee or that donut or whatever it is that you get in your mind even just fellowship in this case there's a letdown and there's a disappointment and here's what i want us to think about with god and from his perspective because we often think about the results of this sin right here and we see the we see the sorrow we see the curses we see the change in their life and the thorns and the thistles and all the sweat of the brow and the desire being toward the husband we see all those but we're just looking at it from man and the woman's standpoint have we ever looked at it from god's standpoint that god showed up and they're nowhere to be found and he's disappointed we think about what we face the reaping that we face but another very real result of our sin is that god is robbed of something that he deserves he is we rob him of the joy that he deserves from us and the fellowship and the communion that's very real but we very probably never consider that we're stealing something

[12:08] something he desires something he shows up for but our sin not just hurts us it hurts him god created man for his pleasure but what pleasure does he get when man is nowhere to be found god wants to commune with his children he wants to hear from them i would imagine it's just my imagination they had a relationship the the almighty all-knowing creator and the man and his wife who've only been around here for a few days or weeks or whatever how much i imagine they would ask him questions he'd give them the answer or they would maybe show him what they've been working on or what they've been doing or things they've come ideas they've come up with from this tree or this plant and some ideas some who knows they were constructive they were capable they were intelligent and i can see them just bouncing ideas off of him and him talking with them and guiding them and blessing them i can see all of that taking place day after day as it should as god intended and then he shows up and he's let down his expectations in that moment were greater than his experience god hasn't changed god's still faithful god still shows up god hasn't gone anywhere but the man and his wife have look at luke chapter 13 keep your place i want to give you a little parable here luke chapter 13 god had expectations that day that were not met and what's he supposed to do about that just say oh well maybe another time what's god supposed to do when he doesn't get what he deserves and what he's expecting luke chapter 13 here's a parable about a tree it's it's likening this tree to or the nation of israel rather to this tree and to the relationship they had with god verse number six he says he spake also this parable a certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard and he came and sought fruit thereon and found none he's disappointed then said he under the dresser of this vineyard behold these three years i come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none cut it down why cumberth it the ground and as you know he tries to talk him into letting it go for another year but if it doesn't work he says okay fine but if that doesn't work cut it down that's that's the idea that's what happens to a tree when it doesn't bring forth fruit god has an expectation for the tree like he has an expectation for his children to show up to bring forth fruit you expect a cow to produce milk you expect a chicken to lay eggs you have some just natural expectations and when god shows up he expects his children to be there i want you to consider this morning i want you to realize that your sin robs god of something that he shows up looking for your sin will have consequences for you but it also affects your god now come back to genesis chapter three god hasn't changed god's still showing up god is faithful he's the same as he's always been but in genesis chapter three i want you to notice secondly that the separation is of the sinner it's it's from the sinner it says in the middle of the verse adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the lord god it's the sinners that hide that go

[16:14] running that are convicted that don't want to face up to this holy god every other day they heard his voice and came running every other day they were ready they were there but this day here he is here he comes and the sinners separate themselves they hid themselves from the presence of the lord adam and eve are the ones that evade facing god it's been said that if you and god are as close as you used to be you've heard this phrase before the statement if you and god aren't as close as you've used to be god isn't the one that moved god's not the one that moved away he's not hiding from you people get into a mess in their life and then they proclaim why did god allow this or where's god in all of this god's right where he's always been he hasn't taken steps away from you you've taken steps away from him and that's the case here it's the separation is of the sinner look at proverbs chapter two i want to run just a couple verses and put some bible on this thought proverbs chapter two it's not god that goes away it's not god that abandons his children it's his children that abandon god amen proverbs two and look at verse uh solomon warning his son he's warning him about some man he's worrying about a woman and in verse number 12 he warns him to deliver thee from the way of the evil man from the man that speaketh forward things sounds like a horrible guy but i want you to notice something about that man verse 13 who leave the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness they're the ones that left they're evil they're forward they're speaking forward things but they weren't always that way they walked away the sinner separated themselves from god look at the woman verse number 16 to deliver thee from the strange woman even from the stranger which flattereth with her words which forsaketh the guide of her youth and forgetteth the covenant of her god and all that takes place in her life you can read through these passage verses i'm skipping it's all ugly it all gets worse and worse and worse but you notice it they're the ones that have left and walked away give you another example look at luke chapter 15 we know this guy as the prodigal son we call him it's not a biblical term but it's it's a term that kind of fits his character and his actions he's a prodigal he's a rebellious young son that takes off and decides he's going to do it his way not the way he was raised he's going to take what's his and have fun and in verse number 11 this is a parable he's speaking to these pharisees and scribes in verse 11 he said a certain man had two sons and the younger of them said to his father father give me the portion of the goods that falleth to me and he divided unto them as living not many days after the younger son gathered all together and took his journey into a far country and there wasted his substance with riotous living now if you're familiar with this guy you you've read this you perhaps can skim through this and see that he lost all the money he had things were going bad he had nobody his friends took off on him he's in this far country with nothing and he just wasted it all and then it comes to himself and realizes things aren't like this back at dad's house and his servants are doing better than what i'm doing here i'm serving this man and his hogs his swine

[20:18] i could be better off serving my dad he'd take better care of me so he decides to go back and ask his dad if he can find mercy and serve his dad and he didn't ask to be his the son and you know set back up on high so he he goes back and he's um verse 20 he arose and came to his father but when he had a great way off his father saw him in compassion and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him and you know the story there he was received back as a son but the point is clear the the separation it was the sinner the son that that walked away from dad and when he came back guess where dad was he was right where he was the whole time the sinner had to go back the sinner had to repent the sinner had to come back to his father and get things right but as we see here the separation is of the sinner god doesn't follow you around in your sin he doesn't come where you are he stays where he is he's faithful to himself and to his righteousness you're the one that takes off he told israel your sins have separated between you and me this sounds all too much like me reading this prodigal reading these proverbs of these these guys and girls walking away from god and it just reminds me of my own self there was times in my life as a young man right with god seeking his will overjoyed with the word of god and with christianity and with what it is to be saved and as a teenager had the joy of the lord in my heart thinking in my heart that surely his goodness goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and then one day he shows up and i'm not there and one day turns into two days and two weeks and then sin gets so much in me it separates us i'm not showing up to church i'm not showing up to services but once a month i'm not even coming hardly at all i don't really want to be there i don't want to be around god's people anymore my countenance has changed my dress has changed my language has changed my face has changed because i've gotten so much sin it's just coming in coming in coming in it reminds me of those days where i was missing god wasn't missing god didn't go anywhere but the sinner is the one that separates himself now back in genesis 3 we have a concealed couple and god hasn't done anything different or out of his character he definitely hasn't done anything wrong and god is not to blame they're concealed because they know they're guilty they're concealed because they don't want to face god god's about to walk up on them and he is holy he is innocent he is pure and all righteousness and they know they don't belong in his presence they don't want to be anywhere near it it's hard to be around him when you've sinned but here's something that we need to take from this passage it's pretty important in chapter 3 and as i'll read verse 8 and 9 again says 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 and the lord god called unto adam and said unto him where art thou now it's interesting god asks a question where art thou now god aren't you all knowing surely god knows where they are the bible says the eyes of the lord are in every place beholding the evil and the good bible says in jeremiah can any hide himself in secret places that i shall not see him saith the lord do not i feel heaven and earth saith the lord surely he knew where they were so why ask the question i think there's a reason the reason is to get adam to give an answer that might sound simple but that's

[24:24] going to show us something adam sinned adam feared god adam hid himself he concealed he got away from the presence of the lord and god forced him to answer a question if there's no sin there's no question there's no hiding there's none of this and there's no need to answer but because of his sin he had to answer to god i hope you hear that this is going to reveal something to you and to me is that you and i are going to answer to god for our sins you're not just going to get away with it you're not just going to sin sin sin and hide hide hide and no it's okay maybe you're thinking oh i'm saved in the blood of jesus christ cleanses us from all sin you better be careful how you interpret your bible in certain passages doctrinally you're safe you're sealed you're not going to go to hell and pay for your sins i didn't say you're going to pay for your sins in hell i said you're going to answer for your sins let's put some bible on it don't let me talk to you look at romans chapter 14 romans chapter 14 if you're a child of god and have received his gift of eternal life and you possess eternal life like the bible says you can have and you can know it then you're a creation of his he's created you in christ jesus and he's placed you in the body of christ but one day the voice of the lord is going to come for you and you're not going to be able to escape a confrontation with this god now many of you know these verses but maybe not all of you know them and it's best that you see what the bible says about this very thought look at romans 14 and i'll start in verse number seven the bible says for none of us liveth to himself and no man dieth to himself for whether we live we live under the lord whether we die we die unto the lord whether we live therefore or die we are the lords and if you're a child of god that is that is your life that is it in a nutshell you are the lords you were bought with a price so he has every right to say to you just to expect of you to all of it anything he desires verse 9 says for to this end christ both died and rose and revived that he might be lord both of the dead and living but why does thou judge thy brother or why does thou set it not thy brother for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of christ for it's written as i live saith the lord every knee shall bow to me and every tongue shall confess to god verse 12 you better know this verse it better be a real verse to you this is bible to you so then every one of us shall give account of himself singular individual to god in verse 10 it says we must all stand before the judgment seat of christ christ and standing before jesus christ you will individually give account of yourself one more verse look at second corinthians 5 second corinthians 5 a little bit to the right are you ready to do that because you're going to do it whether you like it or not are you ready to give account of yourself you ready to answer because you're going to second corinthians 5 and come down to verse number 10 verse 10 says

[28:24] for we must all appear before the judgment seat of christ christ that every one may receive the things done in his body according to that he hath done whether it be good or bad somebody's going to receive some things and some of it's going to be according to what he hath done good or bad you're going to give an answer for the bad what i'd recommend is that you get it right now and if there's something wrong or you're a a prodigal in your heart or if you got that temptation in front of you or some serpent whispering things in your ears causing you to err from the truth you better fight that thing today you better get it under the blood today because you're going to answer for it then in genesis chapter 3 we study this concealed couple and we saw what has led up to this moment to the deception and the beguiling the serpent's involvement and we saw that she's listening to somebody she should have never listened to and then she's looking at something she never should have looked at and then they send the woman the man and they try to cover her and that's not going to do it and so then their next thing is to hide let's just hide they're sinners and they're hiding but they're going to give an answer god is right where he's always been he hasn't changed it's the sin that made the difference and caused them to abandon the presence of god and to get away from him but they didn't get away from it because he shows up and they've got to give an answer church one day he's going to show up and he's going to call us out of here and you're going to give an answer every one of us are going to give an answer for the work done in your body for the choices you made in this life if you see yourself this morning as running from god hiding amongst the trees of the garden avoiding his presence i'll give you some advice this is just my advice come out from hiding humble yourself and say god i'm right here yeah i got this stupid apron on that i made to try to cover up my sins but it's not doing the job i messed up god and i'm running from you if that's in your heart and if that's happening in your life today you don't have to leave here this morning in the same condition hiding from god with a dumb little covering on you can get it right his voice is calling he's in the garden he's looking for you he wants you to come back he wants you to come out come out wherever you are you may say well i've been hiding for a long time and i've really gotten away i'm in a big mess there's nothing the blood of christ can't cover there's nothing god can't forgive it just feels that way but it's not remember he hasn't abandoned you and if he's calling you it's because he wants you to come back he loves you and while it feels like it's too hard or there's too much opposition or i'm gonna have to deal with all of these things if i get right with god or get on my face before him i'm gonna have to all these friends i have

[32:25]  i'll have to stop that or all these things i bought or all these plans i made it sounds like it's a huge mountain you can't cross no that's just a mirage when you get on your face god gives you the strength you'll find out that god loves you when you come back to him you'll remember oh he is so good i forgot how good he is i forgot how good it is to be with him and to spend time with him i was i was thinking that was good for a moment but i got back will you come back will you come out from hiding life is too short to spend it in the far country or to spend it amongst the trees it's not worth it repentance is not as hard as it feels it's easy i've i've got experience and every time i've gotten right i find this just relief the peace of god oh it's priceless it's so worth it the joy comes back the rejoicing the celebration all of it comes back and here you thought oh i'll just go be a servant it's going to be so hard to serve and you find out no i'm rejoicing with my father there's a concealed couple i wonder if that's you this morning i wonder if god's calling you he wants you to answer he wants you to come out from wherever you are i pray that you'll hear his voice what if adam and eve refused to answer what if they ran can you run from god can you escape his voice not once you've heard it not once you know it not once you're one of his i'm imploring you if this is dealing with you if god's got your number this morning just just humble yourself and repent and get out from amongst those trees let's bow our heads together let's have a word of prayer together father you you you you