SERMON: “Two Questions of God”
One
of the most effective ways we learn is by asking questions.
Have
you noticed, I oftentimes begin a sermon by asking a question? (I just did!)
I
want us to look at two questions this evening directed towards man:
-
One is found near the beginning of time, the other is near the beginning of the
church.
-
One speaks to our relationship with God, and the other speaks to our
relationship towards others.
I. Question one is:
WHERE ARE YOU? (Our relationship to God)
In
the garden, after Adam and Eve had sinned, God came near to walk with his
creation in the cool or the evening....
Gen.
3:8 “And they heard the sound of the Lord
God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid
themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9
Then the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?"
A.
“WHERE ARE YOU?” - SPEAKS TO THE INWARD
CONDITION OF THE HEART
God
was asking far more than where Adam and Eve were -- hiding in the bushes....
He
knew a separation had taken place. Their eyes had been opened. Innocence was
lost. The creation had been tainted and spoiled. Sin had separated man from
God....
Isa. 59:1,2
speaks of the human condition: “Behold, the LORD'S hand is not so short That it
cannot save; Nor is His ear so dull That it cannot hear. 2 But your
iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have
hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.”
B.
“WHERE ARE YOU?” - SPEAKS TO THE FEAR OF ADAM AND EVE
Fear
separates. Adam and Eve find themselves
fearful of judgment where they hadn’t been in the past. They are experiencing a
side of God they haven’t seen…
Heb.
10:31 “It is a terrifying thing to fall
into the hands of the living God.”
There
is a healthy sense of respect in “fearing
God and keeping his commandments.”
We
must reverence and have respect for God – that is absolutely necessary.
But
we need to be fearful when we are in sin and God calls asking, “Where are you?”
Thankfully,
God is love and “perfect love casts out
fear.” (1 John 4:18)
Fear
involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.
C.
“WHERE ARE YOU?” SPEAKS TO THE NEED FOR REPENTANCE
If
we are in the presence of God, there is no need to return to him. But, Adam and
Eve had sinned. They were separated. God was calling to the conviction within
their hearts for the need for confession and repentance. Come out into the
open. You can’t hide from God.
David,
in Ps. 32:3-7, speaks of the condition of the human heart and the need for
confession and repentance. He said, “When
I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away Through my groaning all day
long. :4 For day and night Thy hand was heavy upon me; My vitality was drained
away as with the fever heat of summer…”
Verse 5, “I
acknowledged my sin to Thee, And my iniquity I did not hide; I said, "I
will confess my transgressions to the Lord"; And Thou didst forgive the
guilt of my sin :6 Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to Thee in a time
when Thou mayest be found; Surely in a flood of great waters they shall not
reach him. :7 Thou art my hiding place; Thou dost preserve me from trouble;
Thou dost surround me with songs of deliverance.”
“Where
are you” in relationship to God this evening?
Do you find yourself hiding from guilt, self-deprivation, low self-esteem,
habitual sin - do you sense God’s calling in your life?
Don’t
hide from God… Adam acknowledged he heard the voice of God....
Gen.
3:9 “Then the Lord God called to the man,
and said to him, ‘Where are you?’ :10 And he said, ‘I heard the sound of Thee
in the garden, and I was afraid …’”
Adam
couldn’t deny the voice of God. Ever
since that time, God has been calling for a response to his invitation to come
again into his presence....
We
must be willing to come out of the darkness into the light.
We
must be willing to take the step towards the voice that calls…
God
called Samuel, and Samuel heard his voice. But, wise counsel was involved.
1
Sam. 3 explains God’s calling of Samuel… In v. 8 we read, “The Lord called Samuel again for the third time. And he arose and went
to Eli, and said, "Here I am, for you called me." Then Eli discerned that the Lord was calling the
boy. :9 And Eli said to Samuel, "Go lie down, and it shall be if He calls
you, that you shall say, 'Speak, Lord, for Thy servant is listening.'" So
Samuel went and lay down in his place. 10
Then the Lord came and stood and called as at other times, "Samuel!
Samuel!" And Samuel said, "Speak, for Thy servant is listening."
:11 And the Lord said to Samuel, "Behold, I am about to do a thing in
Israel at which both ears of everyone who hears it will tingle.”
Sometimes
when God calls, we may confuse his voice. We may rationalize and reason for
ourselves what is best in our lives. We may go and ask others for advise and
counsel.
In
Samuel’s case, he sought a man of God who, in this instance, discerned that it
was the voice of God calling. His counsel: respond to God by saying, “Speak Lord, for thy servant heareth...” That is good advise for us as well…
We
may never hear the audible voice of God this side of Judgment. But, you can be
assured God is calling....The question is: Will we recognize it is him?
In
John 10:3 Jesus, “The Good Shepherd,” says, “....the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name, and leads
them out. :4 "When he puts forth all his own, he goes before them, and the
sheep follow him because they know his voice.”
The
world is screaming for our attention. Satan uses a bullhorn to distract us from
the things pertaining to life and godliness.
He tricked Eve with an offer she couldn’t refuse - she ignored what God
had said - and the devil uses the same
tactics on us....
“Where
are You?” When God calls, do you respond, “Speak Lord, thy servant heareth.”
II. The second
question: “WHY ARE YOU HERE?” (Our relationship to others)
Jesus’ final
instruction to his disciples in Acts 1:4 “Gathering them together, He
commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had
promised…”
V6, “So when they had come together, they were asking Him, saying,
"Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to
Israel?" 7 He
said to them, "It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father
has fixed by His own authority; 8 but
you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be
My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the
remotest part of the earth." 9 And
after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on,
and a cloud received Him out of their sight. 10 And
as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men
in white clothing stood beside them. 11 They
also said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This
Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same
way as you have watched Him go into heaven."
A.
Let me ask you, “Why are you here?” These stood gazing into the heavens…
1.
One obvious answer is: You are here, because you are not somewhere else. You
can’t be two places at once... even though we would sure like to be sometimes…
But,
you made it a priority to be here this evening... You are here instead of a
hundred other places you could be. You made the choice, and God bless you for
it.
But,
WHY are you …here?
2.
Out of obligation? Heb. 10:25 not forsaking our own assembling together,
as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more, as you
see the day drawing near.
Do
we get ‘bonus points’ for showing up on Sunday night?
3.
Are we here out of tradition or routine? You know it is where you are supposed to be and it has become as much
a habit as those who forsake the assembly have made it a habit to NOT be here…
Is.
29:13 “Then the Lord said, "Because
this people draw near with their words And honor Me with their lip service, But
they remove their hearts far from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of
tradition learned by rote, 14 Therefore behold, I will once again deal marvelously
with this people, wondrously marvelous; And the wisdom of their wise men shall
perish, And the discernment of their discerning men shall be concealed. "
:15 Woe to those who deeply hide their
plans from the Lord, And whose deeds are done in a dark place, And they say,
"Who sees us?" or "Who knows us?"
Be
assured – God knows our reason for being here…
4.
Is it out of devotion to God and service to others? - “…encouraging one another; and all the more, as you see the day drawing
near.”
B.
“WHY ARE YOU HERE?” IMPLIES THERE IS WORK TO BE DONE
As
the disciples stood gazing into heaven, the question was: “Why are you here - when
there is work to be done there...”
They
returned to Jerusalem and Acts 1:14 says, “These
all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with
the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.” (That is always a good place to start – in
prayer. Seeking God’s guidance.)
Shortly
after this, after being empowered by the Holy Spirit, Peter preached the sermon
on the Day of Pentecost resulting in 3,000 being saved. The apostles went about
ministering and serving others…
Those
things couldn’t have been accomplished by standing around staring into the sky.
Sometimes
we have “pie in the sky” dreams, but if we fail to follow through with prayer,
empowerment and preaching we won’t accomplish a thing... (There is you a good
three point sermon!!)
Sometimes
we fail at the ‘big things’ because we fail to be faithful in serving in the
simple ways and in the little areas where it can make a huge difference, but we
may think, “Why bother.”
Go
– because there is work to be done.
"We must work the works of Him who sent Me as
long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work.” (John 9:4)
C.
“WHY ARE YOU HERE?” SPEAKS TO THE CALL OF GOING INTO ALL THE WORLD
Where
are you in your walk with God? – The question calls to the inward searching of
the soul to examine our own relationship to the Father.
“Why
are you here?” shifts our focus from ourselves, towards serving others and
their needs. And the need to bring others into a saving relationship with
Christ....
When
Isaiah was confronted with the call of God in Is. 6:4 “... the voice of him who called out, while the temple was filling with
smoke. 5 Then [Isaiah] said, "Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a
man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes
have seen the King, the Lord of hosts." :8 Then I heard the voice of the
Lord, saying, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" Then I
said, "Here am I. Send me!"
Where
are you - are you ready to serve? Are you ready to do the work of the Father?
It
is really rather scary if you think of it: The all powerful creator of the
universe left it in our hands - as his church - to carry out the importance of
continuing his purpose.
-
It isn’t in the hands of the government.
-
It isn’t in obtaining educational advancement or attaining all knowledge (1
Cor. 13:2).
-
It isn’t through some miraculous intervention or technological marvel.
-
It isn’t even God himself speaking forth from the Heavens…
It
depends on YOU and ME..... Why are you
here?... To carry out God’s command to GO.
"Go therefore and make disciples of all the
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy
Spirit, :20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am
with you always, even to the end of the age" Matt. 28:19,20.
D.
“WHY ARE YOU HERE?” SPEAKS TO THE ANTICIPATION OF JESUS’ RETURN
That
reality motivated the early church.
“...Why do you stand looking into
the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in
just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven."
If
you read Paul’s words to the early church, there was a quick anticipation and
expectation for the return of Jesus. The early church sensed an urgency of his coming back at any time.
They
lived with that in mind and it affected everything they did and the way they
approached doing it.
Let
me ask you this: If God announced Jesus was coming back this coming Saturday
night…
WHERE
WOULD YOU BE this week? What would you be doing? Would it alter your plans any
or affect the places you went, the people you might call on, or the way you
would live?
Well,
we don’t know when, but he IS coming back. We must live as if it might be today.
If we lived with that presence, it would likely affect why we are here and what
we are doing.
Conclusion:
-
Where are you – in your relationship with God?
-
Why are you here – in relationship to those around you?
How
those two questions get answered will determine your destiny for eternity.
This
evening, if you are not a Christian, God is asking, “Where are You? Why are you
hiding? Come out into the open, come clean. I already know what you have done -
let me help you.”
Jesus
invites, "Come unto Me, all you who
are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and
learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for
your souls. :30 For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light." - Matt.
11:28-30.
If
you are a Christian, - why are you here?
Is
it to go and serve? Is it to pray and preach? Is your life characterized by
service to others, with the anticipation of his return... then don’t stand
around - get busy!!!
God
is ready to use you…“Here am I, send me.”
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