European Bible Study Meeting, 2002It Is God who Seeks Man FirstApril 2nd, 2002 Afternoon Lecture Part 2Am I a God at hand, declares the Lord, and not a God far away? Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord.  Jeremiah 23:23-24Where Are You, Adam?Let’s turn to Genesis chapter 3 and read from verse 7.Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths. 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.  verses 7-8The moment the life of Adam and Eve was cut off from the life of God, they made themselves something to wear to cover their shame. But God walked in the garden to find Adam. But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”  Genesis 3:9Not even the heart of parents who have lost their child can be compared to that of God. The Bible tells us, “The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. And God saw that the light was good” Genesis 1:2-4. Similarly, when man’s heart fell completely into darkness and he was trying to cover himself, God first went looking for man. Such is the difference between religions that man creates and the work of God. This is what God is like; he is different from the idols that man makes. There can be no comparison.Adam and Eve hid from the presence of God. When they ate the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they did not think, “Oh! Now we’re in trouble. We had better ask God to help us”; they covered themselves with garments made of leaves from a tree and hid among the trees of the garden. It was God who first went out to look for Adam, calling to him, “Where are you?” This short passage in the Bible contains God’s amazing love and all that is in His heart.In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.  1 John 4:10This is an expression of the heart of God who went looking for man in the garden of Eden, calling out to him, “Where are you?” It was God who first went looking for Adam. It is not that we have loved God but the He loved us. When we read that God called to Adam, saying, “Where are you?” We should not think He was addressing Adam alone, but also each one of us, since we were also in Adam as his descendants. When we read the Bible, as people born on this earth and reading the recorded word of God, we need to think that God is speaking directly to us individually in our ears and in our hearts.And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.”  Genesis 3:10Adam heard the voice of God. God had first said to Adam, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” Genesis 2:16-17. There is tremendous power in the words of God, as we see from when He said, “Let there be light” Genesis 1:3, and, “Let there be an expanse in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters” Genesis 1:6. When these powerful words of God were heard by the sinner, Adam was afraid and hid from God. But Adam sewed fig leaves together to make a covering and clothed himself in it, and then he said, “I was afraid, because I was naked.” Was he actually naked at this point? Jesus said, “Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil” Matthew 5:37. In the Bible, it is either one thing or the other, light or darkness, right or wrong.Isaiah chapter 59 verse 6 says, “Their webs will not serve as clothing.” At this time, Adam was naked. What exactly was naked? It was the spirit was naked. This was because the door to sin was now open before him. At this time, Adam was clothed and yet he did not say to God, “I’m here.” Once he had sinned, he was terrified at the sound of God’s voice, and he spoke frankly to God, saying, “I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” This short yet critical exchange is to be found in Genesis chapter 3.He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”  Genesis 3:11God asked, “Who?” Even before Adam said anything about the forbidden fruit, God already knew what he had done. God knew about Adam’s wrongdoing even before He went out to look for him. Then God asked him, “Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” God must have felt really frustrated with Adam. And Adam must have felt very nervous.For his eyes are on the ways of a man, and he sees all his steps. There is no gloom or deep darkness where evildoers may hide themselves.  Job 34:21-22Here it says that evil cannot be hidden. There is no way that any action at all can be hidden. Any sin that disobeys God’s word must be resolved through God’s word. There is no other way.Am I a God at hand, declares the Lord, and not a God far away? Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the Lord. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the Lord.  Jeremiah 23:23-24Here it says that God fills heaven and earth. God knows and sees all things. God reads our hearts and knows all those sins that are committed where no one else can see, all those sins that arise in a person’s heart even though he may have a smile on his face. So we need to acknowledge, “Until now I have been making an effort to hide my sins. I have dedicated myself to my religious life in my effort to serve God and believe in Him. I’ve made such a great effort with charitable works and other good works, but now that I read the Bible, I find my hands, my fingers, my lips, my tongue, my hands, my feet, and my thoughts are all filled with iniquity, and there is no way that I can escape” see Isaiah 59:3-8. Examine yourself to see if you are able to acknowledge this in your heart as you read the Bible.The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? “I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.” Like the partridge that gathers a brood that she did not hatch, so is he who gets riches but not by justice; in the midst of his days they will leave him, and at his end he will be a fool.  Jeremiah 17:9-11People may think, “What am I going to do? Man’s heart is more deceitful than anything else in this world and desperately perverse. I wonder if there is anyone in the world who can read what is in my heart.” But God has said, “I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.” God knows everything.Let’s turn now to Matthew’s Gospel chapter 5 and read from verse 21.You have heard that it was said to those of old, “You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.” But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, “You fool!” will be liable to the hell of fire.  verses 21-22These are words of Jesus. “You fool!” is a curse in Hebrew. Jesus said that anyone who is angry with his brother or curses him, calling him a fool will be punished.So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison.  Matthew 5:23-25There is mention here of a brother who “has something against you.” For the Jews, the law had been accusing them for thousands of years. But also for us, the Gentiles who do not have the law, the conscience within our hearts constantly accuses us. This is explained in detail in Romans chapter 2 see verses 14-15. Jesus said to come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way with him, that is, while you are walking the path of life. He is telling us to solve the problem quickly while we are still alive. Jesus was not a person to say something like this without reason. At some point, “your accuser [will] hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison.” The time will come when the righteous and the wicked will be judged.Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.  Matthew 5:26“The last penny,” the last cent, the smallest denomination of money. Jesus was saying you will not get out of the prison without paying the full price right down to the last penny. You may think, “What am I going to do? I can remember committing terrible sins that would need to be paid for with far more than a penny.” But the Bible has the answer to this.You have heard that it was said, “You shall not commit adultery.” But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.  Matthew 5:27-28The law of Israel says, “You shall not commit adultery” Exodus 20:14, but Jesus said that anyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her. He was talking about the heart. God searches people’s hearts as the Bible says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? ‘I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.’” It may be that you clothe yourself in the garments of religion, the garments of morals, the garments made of fig leaves, controlling your heart and covering it up with your actions in the course of your life, but Jesus said, “Everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” He said himself that the sins you commit in your heart are still sins.If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one

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