Sermon
Series: God is Closer
Than You Think
The Promise
Genesis 3:1-9
Dr. Larry D. Thorson
God
is closer than you think but sometimes he doesn’t feel very close. Look at Adam in our text today. I think most people picture Adam living in
the garden and God living someplace else far away called heaven and
occasionally coming down to earth to visit. But it wasn’t that way.
You
see, the Bible is real clear that God isn’t restricted to any location. So in the Garden of Eden, God and Adam—in a
sense—hung out together. When Adam worked—God was right there. When Adam named animals, God was right there.
When
Eve was created, and Adam first saw her—God was right there. Adam may have said: “God—nice job on the
woman! I had no idea you could do that.” Adam and God were—among other
things—inseparable friends. What Adam
did—he did with God. The same with
Eve. Where Adam and Eve went—they went
with God that is until Adam and Eve’s fateful decision to disobey God. A day
some people call “the fall.”
After
the fall, God came to the garden to walk with them in the cool of the day. Apparently, that was part of their routine
together. They’d go for a walk. But this
time, Adam was not there. And God called out (look at Genesis 3:8): “Adam—where
are you?” There’s a rustling behind some
shrubbery and a timid voice answered God in v.10: “I heard you in the garden,
and I was afraid. So I hid.” God wanted
to be with Adam. But Adam didn’t want to be with God. And God’s heart breaks. But God does not give
up.
You
see, God’s great desire was to be with Adam.
And even though the relationship had been violated because of Adam and Eve’s
choice—because of their sin—God continued to want that relationship restored.
God longed for the intimacy of their walks—of just hanging out together. So God worked with Adam’s descendants. And
every once in a while one of them would get it like Noah and Moses, Ruth and
David but for the most part they rejected him.
On
and on this theme went, until finally God wanted to be with his people so badly
that he came up with a really wild idea.
It’s like God said to the angels: “I can’t stand it anymore. I’m just
going to go on down there my self.” And
the angels probably said: “How are you gonna do that?” And God could have responded, “Watch this!” He sneaks down. And in the middle of the
night, he is born in a manger. He grows up in a one-horse town. And then he
gets a job pounding nails eight hours a day.
They give him a name, Jesus.
In
Matthew
It’s
like God is saying: “I just want to be with you.” God’s desire is so central that at the very
end of the Bible—when God sets everything right—the fulfillment of human
existence is described in the same terms: “Now
the dwelling of God is with[ human beings], and he will live with them. They
will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.” (
Revelation 21:3)
Now, let’s get specific and talk about how
we know that God is with us on a day to day basis. How do we experience that? There are certain thoughts that are
characteristic of God that when these are present, there’s a good chance that
they are the result of God’s presence with you. I want to walk through these four
signs of God’s presence so you can recognize them when they come this week.
One of the indicators of God’s presence
is:
1. Reassurance
When God was talking to Joshua, just
before Joshua led the Israelites into the Promised Land, God reassured him of
his presence and said: “Be strong and courageous. Do
not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you
wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9)
For a lot of people, when they think
about God, they think about him primarily as a kind of divine performance
evaluator. “Have I prayed enough?” “Have I read my Bible enough”. “Have I given enough time or money to
God?” If you think about God in this
way, you’ll find yourself avoiding him in your mind. You won’t talk to him
much.
Understand—in the history of the
universe, God has never asked anyone to do something by themselves. Whatever God calls you to do, he calls you to
do in partnership with him. And one of the ways you will know God is present is
when you experience his reassurance. For
example…
—Somebody rejects you, but in the midst
of the pain the thought occurs to you: I am loved by God.
—You face a challenge at work—maybe
even losing your job—but in the middle of all that anxiety an idea comes into
your mind: I can handle this. This will not
destroy me.
—You’re in transition. Facing a big
change, not sure how it will work out, suddenly you have this sense that you’re
not alone.
When those thoughts come into your
mind—whether through Scripture that you know, through a book or tape, through
another person—be open to the possibility that this is not a random occurrence.
This is the “Immanuel Principle” “God-with-you” at work.
A second sign of God’s presence with
you is his …
2. Guidance
The psalmist wrote: “I will praise the
LORD, who counsels me, even at night my heart instructs me.” (Psalm 16:7) Sometimes guidance will come to you when…
—You’re in a store, there’s a clerk
behind a counter that everyone treats like a machine, and you get a sudden
inclination to look her in the eye, to say an inner prayer of blessing.
—You’re stumped at work and all of a
sudden an idea breaks through that is just what you need.
—You’re feeling distant from your
child, all of a sudden an opportunity to build a bridge.
—You’re about to say something
stupid/self-promotional/damage-inflicting when a still, small voice in your
head whispers, “Shut … up.”
Remember the Immanuel Principle and be
open to the possibility that God is doing what he said he would do. He is with
you. He is reassuring you. He is guiding you.
The third sign of God’s presence with
you may not feel like he is “for” you. But it is one of the greatest
expressions of his love and desire to be with you and that is …
3. Conviction
Jesus said in John 16:8 that when the
Spirit of God is present “he will convict
the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment.” This is the hardest aspect of God’s presence. The truth is: my desire for God can be pretty
selective. Sometimes, I don’t want God to be around.
You know, it may be that out of all the
prayers that are ever spoken, the most common one, the most quiet one, the one
that we least acknowledge making, is simply this: Don’t look at me, God.
It was the very first one spoken after
Adam and Eve’s sin. God came to walk in
the garden, to be with the man and the woman, and asked: “Where
are you?” Adam responded “I heard you in the garden,
and I was afraid, so I hid …” Don’t look at me, God.
A businessman on the road checks into his
motel room late at night. He knows the kind of movies that are available to him
right there in the room. No one will
know. His wife won’t find out. His kids won’t see. (He knows the drill and
that hotels have a disclaimer, “The
name of the movie you watch won’t be on your bill.”) Go ahead. No one will
know. But first he has to say a little
prayer: “Don’t look at me, God.”
• An employee who is going to
deliberately make a coworker look bad
• A Christ-follower who makes financial
decisions that will keep him from tithing,
• A student who looks at somebody else’s
paper during an exam
• A longtime church attender who relishes
the opportunity to pass judgment on
somebody else
• A couple who claims to follow God but
refuses to give up sleeping together
Here’s
a key question when you experience the sign of God’s presence through conviction—will you at that moment stop? Will you say I’d rather let go of my anger/addiction/pride
than let go of you God?” Spiritual
growth, in a sense, is simply increasing our capacity to experience the
presence of God.
The fourth sign of God’s presence is…joy.
4. Joy
The Bible says: “You have made me to
know the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal
pleasures at your right hand.” (Psalm
—Some of you will be in your car,
driving away from the church service, music playing that makes you happy—you
will be singing and dancing and looking like a fool: that will give you joy.
—Some of you will be driving next to
someone who is singing and dancing and looking like a fool—that will give you
joy!
—Others of you will have put in intense
effort at work and accomplished something significant—it’ll be really good. You
get a surge of satisfaction and that will give you joy.
—Or you see a sunset, or a tree in a
forest preserve, or the face of a friend you love—that will give you joy.
—You will feel a rush of gratitude for
no reason at all. Just the sheer goodness of being alive. And you feel joy.
God’s great desire is to be with you! He has expressed it from cover to
cover in the pages of the Bible. He has gone to extreme lengths to be sure you
know it. He is showing you signs through every day of his presence.
This week … experience the reassurance
… the guidance … the conviction … the joy of his presence. Let’s make a commitment together … that for
the next six weeks we’ll do everything in our power to not miss a Sunday if
it’s at all within our ability to be here.
That we’ll be faithful to do our reading of the book. And that we will stretch out our hand to
grasp the hand that is reaching down to us from heaven.
God is playing the flute for you. You’re at the foot of Jacob’s ladder.
You’re living in “Beth-el,” the house
of God. God is closer than you think.
Adapted from John Ortberg’s God is Closer Than You Think