Sermon Central
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Hide And Seek
Contributed by Johnny Creasong on Dec 17, 2009 (message contributor)
Summary: We, who were ceated for the express purpose of having fellowship with God, have a tendency to work incredibly hard at abandoning Him.
HIDE AND SEEK
What does it mean to "abandon," "forsake," or "leave alone" the omnipresent God, God who is everywhere. How is that possible? It is ONLY possible if God allows us to leave, allows us to turn our back upon God Himself. Yes, it is much like the parent playing "Hide and Seek" with a young child that hides herself under the blankets in the middle of mommy’s and daddy’s bed. She thinks she is hidden, but the tell-tale lump is always present in the middle of that bed. The loving parent sets aside his or her adult ability to see and sift through the evidence of the child’s presence and allows that child to believe that she is hidden from the parent.
On a more serious scale with more serious consequences,
God allows His people to play "Hide and Seek" with their actions.
He allows us to delude ourselves into thinking that He can’t see us and that He is unaware of our rebellions and self-destructive behaviors. But He is only able to do so because He is powerful enough to take the hurt, the pain, and the loneliness of being "abandoned." How ironic!
We, who were created
for the express purpose of having fellowship with God,
have a tendency to work incredibly hard
at abandoning Him.
26 "…There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known.
27 What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs.
(NIV)
13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
(NIV)
The first promise of the coming Savior was given by God immediately following Man’s first sin.
God so loved mankind that He gave him a piece of His own nature, breathing into Adam the breath of life so that he became a living soul. Unlike all the other creatures crafted by the Lord’s own hand, man had the ability to choose. Even when he chose wrong instead of right, God prophesied that a savior would come to break the power of sin and bring the presence of God.
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, ’You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?"
2 The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,
3 but God did say, ’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.’"
4 "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman.
5 "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.
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.
9 But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?"
10 He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid."
11 And he said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?"
12 The man said, "The woman you put here with me-- she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it."
13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."
14 So the LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, "Cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life.
15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."
(NIV)
Evidences of Playing Hide and Seek
